Indiana baseball (13-11, 5-4 Big Ten) had UCLA in a rare spot last weekend — the Bruins dropped just their third home game in 15 tries on Friday night and were in danger of losing their first conference series of the season. Jeff Mercer’s team took advantage of season-best performances from starter Ryan Kraft (4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R) and reliever Cole Gilley (4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 6 K) en route to a 5-1 victory. Devin Taylor, Korbyn Dickerson and Tyler Cerny — all likely suspects — hit home runs in Friday’s win.
UCLA (18-5, 7-2 Big Ten), which has nearly matched last season’s win total (19) in just five weeks of regular-season action, decided losing once to Indiana was enough. It took down Indiana 7-4 on Saturday after scoring six runs between the sixth and eighth innings. Starter Michael Barnett (7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 10 K) out-dueled Indiana’s Ben Grable (5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R) and the Bruins saw no shortage of baserunners, amassing 12 hits. Reliever Justin Lee ran into trouble in the ninth and Taylor reached base representing the tying run, but Dickerson grounded into a fielder’s choice to set up Sunday’s rubber match.
The home squad led wire to wire in the series finale, jumping all over Indiana starter Deron Swanson (0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER) while Landon Stump (5 iP, 4 H, ER, 2 K) did well to keep Indiana quiet. Shortstop Roch Cholowski and first baseman Mulivai Levu combined for six of UCLA’s 10 hits in the 6-3 victory. After winning six straight games between March 11 and 21, Indiana has lost its past two and looks to right the ship versus a struggling Bellarmine team at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Bart Kaufman Field.
Indiana last faced Bellarmine in 2023, sweeping the Knights in a four-game series that included three games decided by two runs or less. First-year head coach Ben Reel joined the program after 15 years at NAIA IU Southeast, where he coached to the tune of a .674 winning percentage, the highest in program history. Bellarmine is off to a 6-17 start and it has been swept in three separate weekend series. The Knights are 3-13 in road games this season and hold a 3-2 record in midweek games.
Reel’s team is coming off a 1-2 weekend at Lipscomb. Bellarmine won the series finale, 19-17, in a chaotic game that featured 35 combined hits. The Knights scored 18 of their 19 runs in the first four innings and former Indiana pitcher Cooper Hellman (1-3) got the win, turning in 3.1 innings of four-hit, two-run ball while throwing three wild pitches.
Pitching to the tune of a 6.6 K/BB ratio, Gilley (3-1, 2.39 ERA) will start for Indiana on Tuesday, though midweek games usually feature a plethora of pitchers. Offensively, freshmen Jake Hanley and Cooper Malamazian are each batting .417 through four midweek games. Indiana has worked 25 walks while striking out 23 times.
Tuesday’s game versus Bellarmine is the first of nine straight at home for Indiana. It is scheduled for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus, the IU Sports Radio Network and WIUX Sports.
