Indiana baseball will return home Friday in a three-game series against Washington to open Big Ten play, following a two and a half week-long road trip with stops in Jacksonville, Cincinnati and Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Indiana’s first game of the series is at 5 p.m. Friday at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington.
The Cream and Crimson went 4-4 during their road swing.
The Hoosiers’ road swing ended with a 7-3 win over Western Kentucky University on March 1. Redshirt freshman catcher Brayden Ricketts had three hits in three at-bats — including two home runs — and drove in five runs in the Indiana’s fifth win. He collected the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award on March 2.
Indiana will look to remain undefeated on its home turf against Washington after it defeated Bradley University 15-3 in its home opener Feb. 17.
Washington enters the series with a record of 3-9. However, the Huskies have won two straight games against San Diego State University on March 1 and 2.
Graduate student outfielder Braeden Terry, junior outfielder Mic Paul and freshman infielder Ian Draper lead the Huskies’ offensive attack. Washington has averaged 4.50 runs scored per game through 12 contests.
Terry has started every game this season. The 6-foot outfielder has batted .415 in 41 at-bats. Last year, he appeared in 47 of 57 games primarily as a designated hitter.
Paul transferred to Washington from Louisiana State University after winning the Division I College World Series last year. This season, he’s made ten starts, holds a .324 batting average and has driven in six runs.
Draper has appeared in eight games but only started four. The freshman infielder is hitting .333 in 21 at-bats and has scored seven times.
Senior right-handed pitcher Gunnar Nichols anchors the starting pitching staff for Washington. Nichols has posted a 3.86 earned run average in three starts this year. In his last start March 1, he struck out ten batters in six innings pitched while throwing 94 pitches in Washington’s 11-2 win over San Diego State.
Redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Tommy Brandenburg rounds out the relief pitching, leading the team in pitching appearances with five. The 5-foot-11 redshirt senior pitched three innings and recorded his only save of the year against San Diego State on March 1.
Meanwhile for the Hoosiers, sophomore infielders Jake Hanley and Cooper Malamazian have found their stride.
Hanley, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season, is batting .533 (8-for-15) since his breakout performance on Feb. 25 at Xavier University. He has also recorded three extra-base hits in the past four games.
Malamazian — an All-Big Ten Freshman team selection alongside Hanley last year — is batting .323 (10-for-31) in the last eight games. Indiana’s shortstop got on base three timesin Indiana’s 7-3 win over Western Kentucky on March 1.
Indiana and Washington have met twice before. The Hoosiers are 2-0 all time over the Huskies. In the last meeting between both programs, Indiana won 1-0 on March 8, 2019.
Graduate student left-handed pitcher Tony Neubeck will get the ball for the Hoosiers on Friday. The southpaw is 0-1 this year but holds a 1.46 ERA in three starts.
First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. Friday at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington and will be streamed on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Will Kwiatkowski (@WKwiatkowski_15 and wdkwiatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana baseball season.
