Indiana baseball’s power hitting wasn’t enough to secure a series win at Maryland over the weekend.
The Hoosiers hit eight home runs and scored 21 runs across three games. But inconsistent pitching led them to drop the final two contests at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium in College Park, Maryland.
Indiana fell to 14-21 overall and 6-12 in Big Ten play, losing the series to a Terrapins team that entered with the worst record in Big Ten play at 2-10.
In the first game of the series, the Hoosiers plated 11 runs on 13 hits and slugged five home runs to secure a 11-3 victory Friday night.
Sophomore catcher/outfielder Hogan Denny set the tone with a leadoff home run in the first inning. The long ball was Denny’s seventh of the year, and the Mooresville, Indiana, native’s first in four contests.
Sophomore outfielder Cole Decker added a solo home run in the fourth inning, his third of the season, to extend Indiana’s lead to 3-1. Then, the Hoosiers broke the game open in the sixth inning.
Indiana smashed three home runs and plated six runs in the sixth frame.
Sophomore infielder Cooper Malamazian got the inning started with his third round-tripper of the year. His last home run prior to Friday’s contest came on in 9-2 loss to Washington on March 7.
With two outs in the top of the sixth inning, sophomore left-handed pitcher/outfielder Caleb Koskie extended his hitting streak to 14 consecutive games with a three-run home run. His hit tied the longest streak by an Indiana player since Josh Pyne’s 15-game hitting streak in 2022. It was the Excelsior, Minnesota, native’s fourth-straight contest with multiple RBIs.
Redshirt freshman catcher Brayden Ricketts hit back-to-back long balls following Koskie. Ricketts’ fifth bomb of the season and 19th RBI put Indiana in front 9-1.
After winning the first game, the Hoosiers had the chance to take the series. However, Maryland quickly took control of the second game Saturday as it scored five runs in the second inning to take an early 6-3 lead.
Sophomore infielder Jake Hanley was the only Indiana player to hit a round-tripper on Saturday afternoon in the 14-4 run-rule loss.
The Mason, Ohio, native launched a solo home run to center field to make the score 6-4 in the top of the third inning before Maryland pulled away with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Ultimately, Hanley went 2-2 with one RBI and walk and two runs scored in the contest. The third inning long ball was his ninth of the season. Last year, he hit 14 long balls in 56 games played.
In Sunday’s game, the Hoosiers hit two home runs in the top of the fifth inning.
Redshirt junior outfielder Ayden Crouse, who only held a .577 OPS coming into the contest, hit his first deep drive of the season. Hanley added on with a two-run blast two batters later to give the Hoosiers a 5-2 advantage.
However, Indiana’s offense fell apart late.
After scoring six runs through six innings, Indiana went quiet down the stretch. The Hoosiers fell 8-6 after surrendering a walk-off grand slam in the ninth, a fitting end to a weekend where their power at the plate wasn’t enough to secure a series win.
The Hoosiers will look to rebound in their next contest in Terre Haute, against Indiana State University. Indiana lost to Indiana State 5-4 on March 24 at home. First pitch Tuesday will be 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
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.
