Indiana baseball returns to Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington on Tuesday to host Ball State University in its seventh midweek matchup of the season. The Cream and Crimson are coming off their second Big Ten series win over Rutgers this past weekend.
After starting the season 4-0 in midweek games, Indiana has lost its last two, both by a 5-4 final score. The Hoosiers fell to Indiana State University on March 24 and the University of Evansville in 11 innings on the road on March 31.
The Hoosiers are led by a sophomore core that features infielder Jake Hanley, left-handed pitcher/outfielder Caleb Koskie and outfielder/catcher Hogan Denny.
Hanley has started all 31 games this year and holds an .344 batting average and 1.017 OPS. In the past five games, he’s hit 9 for 21 with three home runs and seven RBIs.
After notching a career-high four hits in a 9-6 defeat to Rutgers on Saturday, Koskie followed it with a two-RBI performance Sunday afternoon. The 6-foot, Excelsior, Minnesota, sophomore is batting a team-best .345 on the season with a .924 OPS through 87 at-bats.
Denny had a successful three-game stretch against Rutgers, like Koskie, going 7 for 12 with four RBIs. He has the same batting average as Hanley at .344 in 122 at-bats this year. The Mooresville, Indiana, native has hit six home runs, holding an OPS of 1.074.
Ball State started the year strong but has faltered in recent contests. The Cardinals hold a 15-15 record and are 10-5 in the Mid-American Conference but have lost four straight games heading into Tuesday’s affair. They are 8-3 at home and 4-9 in road games.
Ball State lost to Xavier University at home on March 31 — an opponent the Hoosiers beat Feb. 25 10-4 on the road — before getting swept at Miami University (Ohio) last weekend.
Head coach Rich Maloney has been managing the Cardinals for the past 21 seasons. He has led Ball State to a 698-439-2 record over his coaching tenure in Muncie, Indiana.
The Cardinals’ offense is led by sophomore infielder Brayden Huebner, graduate student utility player Ryan Muizelaar and senior infielder/outfielder Gavin Balius headline the hitting. All three players are batting above .350 in at least 80 at-bats this year.
Huebner holds a .381 batting average and 1.203 OPS in 84 at-bats. He’s hit seven home runs and 23 RBIs this year, and stolen 10 bases after swiping zero last year.
Muizelaar transferred to Ball State after playing his first three seasons at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota. In his first season with the Cardinals, he holds a 1.007 OPS and has recorded six home runs and 31 RBIs through 102 at-bats. The Grand Forks, North Dakota, native was named the MAC Player of the Week on March 30 after he batted 8 for 14 with eight RBIs in three games against Ohio University.
Balius hasn’t hit a home run this year and has only nine RBIs in 111 at-bats. However, he’s hit 34 singles and holds a .351 batting average and a .434 OBP with six hit-by-pitches.
Ball State’s starting pitching is led by junior left-hander Keegan Johnson and sophomore right-hander Brendan Garza, who were both named as top MAC Draft Prospects for 2026 and 2027 by D1 Baseball before the season started.
Johnson was also named the MAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year and best overall draft prospect in the conference on Feb. 13. But, the Frederick, Maryland, native has struggled this year, as he holds an 8.46 ERA in 27.2 innings. He allowed three earned runs in 3.1 innings during his last start on March 28 against Ohio.
Garza was named to the MAC Draft Prospect list for the 2027 MLB Draft.
The 6-foot-1 sophomore has worked 45 innings this season, posting a 4.40 ERA. He threw Ball State’s first no-hitter since 2019 in seven innings during a 10-0 run-rule win against Ohio on March 27 two starts ago.
Garza was also named the MAC Pitcher of the Week on March 2 after throwing a complete-game shutout on 101 pitches in a 1-0 win Feb. 28 at the University of Hawaii.
The starting pitchers have yet to be announced for Tuesday's affair. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. The game 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.
