The final game of Indiana baseball’s long four-game weekend against Western Kentucky opened with redshirt junior outfielder Ayden Crouse getting hit by a pitch. He took first base, and sophomore infielder Will Moore followed with a walk. Just like that, Indiana had two on and no outs before the Hilltoppers had even recorded one in Sunday’s game.
Redshirt freshman designated hitter Brayden Ricketts stepped in next.
He got a pitch he could handle and didn’t miss it, driving a three-run home run to give the Hoosiers a 3-0 lead before Western Kentucky had even stepped to the plate.
In Ricketts’ next two at-bats, he didn’t see many pitches he could drive and was issued two walks, reaching base both times for the Hoosiers. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that he got another pitch to handle — and once again, he delivered.
Ricketts lined an RBI double to left field, scoring Crouse and extending Indiana’s lead to 5-2, giving him his fourth RBI of the game. He later advanced to third on a wild pitch and came home on a sacrifice fly from sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny to right field, pushing the Hoosiers’ advantage to 6-2.
Already 2-for-2 with four RBIs and two walks, Ricketts stepped to the plate for his fifth at-bat in the eighth inning with the bases empty and delivered again, crushing his second home run of the night to push Indiana’s lead to 7-2.
Ricketts was vital in helping the Hoosiers close the weekend on a strong note and his impact stretched across all four games in the Hoosiers 2-2 weekend against the Hilltoppers.
He finished the series 9-for-15 (.600) with three walks, while driving in seven runs and scoring three times. His two homeruns, five RBI performance in the series finale capped off the most dominant stretch of his young season.
Before the weekend, Ricketts had gone 7-for-27 (.259) across his previous eight games. In Bowling Green, he more than doubled that production in four contests.
Ricketts wasn’t as effective in the series opener, going 1-for-3 in the 4-1 loss. But in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, he broke out. Ricketts went 3-for-4 with an RBI, delivering a key hit in the eighth inning to extend Indiana’s lead to 3-1 and help secure the win.
Even in the 14-12 loss on Wednesday, Feb. 25, Ricketts went 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, staying active in the middle of the order.
The designated hitter’s breakout performance marked another young bat finding rhythm as Indiana’s offense continued to trend upward.
Scoring 33 runs in the past 5 games, Indiana’s offense is breaking out, and the production has been spread throughout several players.
Sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley has seen an uptick in production since his strong performance against Xavier on Feb. 25.
Hanley was just as steady, finishing the weekend 8-for-15 (.533) with two walks and three RBIs. He reached base 10 times across four games and delivered his biggest performance in Game three, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Hanley’s performance, while just as impressive statistically, carried a different weight. As the team’s top returning hitter following the departures of Devin Taylor and Korbyn Dickerson to the MLB Draft over the offseason, large expectations naturally have fallen on his shoulders.
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.
