Indiana baseball (3-5) had to wait an extra day to play Xavier (2-6), as the non-conference road matchup originally scheduled for Tuesday was moved to Wednesday afternoon due to cold temperatures in Cincinnati.
The Hoosiers took full advantage of the extra day off, defeating the Musketeers 10-4, their third win in the last five games. Indiana also picked up its first true road win of 2026.
The bats did the heavy lifting for Jeff Mercer’s squad, pounding out 15 hits to go along with seven walks and a hit-by-pitch. Every single bat in the Indiana lineup either recorded a hit or produced an RBI, with many doing both.
Mercer made a significant change to the lineup, moving preseason All-American Jake Hanley down to the sixth spot in the order. Coming into Wednesday, he was just 5-for-29 on the season. The cleanup spot—usually patrolled by Hanley—was manned by fellow sophomore Hogan Denny instead.
After sliding down in the batting order, Hanley responded with his best showing of the season. He went 3-for-5 with a double to go along with a trio of RBIs.
The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year looked more like the 2025 version of himself, and for an Indiana offense that has had no problems scoring runs early on in the season, getting Hanley back to his old form could mean dangerous things for the rest of the Big Ten.
Third baseman Will Moore made his return to the lineup with a bang. Moore sat out Indiana’s final two games in Jacksonville, while freshman Mateo Noto took his place.
Moore—batting second instead of his usual leadoff spot—reached base four times Wednesday. He went 1-for-3 with four RBIs, two walks and a hit by pitch. His one hit was a two-run home run over the left field fence, extending Indiana’s lead to six in the top of the seventh inning.
The reason Moore wasn’t at the top of the order was because right fielder Ayden Crouse made yet another start in the leadoff position.
The Chandler-Gilbert Community College transfer picked up three more hits Wednesday, while also driving in a run and stealing a base.
Crouse won’t provide much in the power department, but he is a perfect player to have in the leadoff position. He’s a singles hitter who shows solid plate discipline and is a bonafide base stealer. Wednesday was the third straight game the junior stole a base. He has also shined with his defense in the outfield, showing the ability to play multiple positions.
Cooper Malamazian and Cal Gates also had multiple-hit efforts on Wednesday, and it is fair to say it was the most balanced game the offense has played all season.
The pitching was up-and-down for the Hoosiers against Xavier, as Mercer and pitching coach Matt Myers continue to figure out how they want to operate the staff going forward.
As expected, with only one day of rest before a four-game series, Indiana decided to go with a bullpen game Wednesday. Seven pitchers took the mound for the Big Ten/Big East contest.
Freshman RHP Ivan Mastalski was used as the opener, and gave up one run across 1.2 innings of work. Two other freshmen, RHP Xavier Carrera and RHP Kellen English, saw work out of the bullpen. Carrera pitched a scoreless third inning and picked up the win, while English gave up two runs in the sixth inning.
The other four pitchers consisted of some of Mercer’s most trusted veteran arms. RHP Jacob Vogel came in to get one big out in the bottom of the second, as he stranded two Musketeers in scoring position. With Xavier being up 1-0 at that point, this game could’ve looked entirely different if the Musketeers got a hit in that situation, which would’ve likely scored two.
LHP Conner Linn bounced back after a rough showing against Notre Dame last Sunday, throwing two innings of one-run ball while fanning three.
After English gave up two in the sixth to cut the lead to four, Mercer smartly went with two veterans to close out the game.
RHP Michael Sarhatt struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning. RHP Gavin Seebold closed it out for Indiana, not giving up any runs across his two innings of work. Seebold has still not given up a run in 8.1 innings pitched this season. Ever since being moved to the bullpen midway last season, Seebold has arguably been Indiana’s most consistent pitcher.
This weekend, Indiana will head to Bowling Green, Kentucky for a four-game series with Western Kentucky, the 2025 Conference USA champions. This will be another great test for Indiana, as they face a conference champion in a true road series. The first game is scheduled for Friday afternoon, with a start time of 4 p.m. ET.
