Indiana University Athletics
Friday, April 17
Bloomington, Ind.
6 p.m.
Indiana University
vs
Abilene Christian
Baseball Central: Abilene Christian
4/16/2026 5:15:00 PM | Baseball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For the final time this season, the Indiana Baseball team (16-21, 6-12 B1G) will step out of conference play on the weekend. Abilene Christian will come to town for the return series in a home-and-home agreement against head coach Jeff Mercer's club. IU went to Texas last year at the beginning of May and completed a series sweep of the Wildcats in its off weekend from Big Ten action.
After a pair of midweek wins over Indiana State and Evansville, IU will look to ride a new wave of momentum into the penultimate weekend series in April. The Hoosiers are swinging the bats at a high level, helping to spark a 6-3 record in nine games this month. Sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie is hitting .529 in April with five home runs and 18 RBIs. As a team, IU has hit 23 long balls since the calendar turned.
Graduate student left-handed pitcher Tony Neubeck will get the ball on Friday as he aims to continue is hot run of form. He's recorded a quality start in three of his last four outings. At home this season, Neubeck has a 25-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He's gone six innings in all three of his outings at Bart Kaufman Field this year. Sophomore southpaw Brayton Thomas will have his start bumped up to Saturday.
This weekend's series will get underway on Friday (April 17) at 6 p.m. on B1G+. As it stands, the remainder of the schedule is set up for 2 p.m. (Saturday) and Noon (Sunday). As always, the weekend slate is subject to change with any potential weather in the area.
Gameday Info
vs. Abilene Christian (Friday, April 17th – 6 p.m. ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/4vyLOkD
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
vs. Abilene Christian (Saturday, April 18th – 2 p.m. ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/4cyohYo
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
vs. Abilene Christian (Sunday, April 19th – Noon ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/4ctzGbH
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
Probable Starters
Indiana vs. Abilene Christian
• Friday: LHP Tony Neubeck, Gr. (4-3, 3.48 ERA)
• Saturday: LHP Brayton Thomas, So. (1-2, 4.63 ERA)
• Sunday: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
(subject to change with any weather changes)
Leading Off
KOSKIE RAKES: Sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie is riding a team best 18-game hitting streak into this weekend's action. In that stretch, he is hitting .439 with 29 hits, five home runs, five doubles and 22 RBIs. Koskie has only struck out eight times in that span at the plate.
APRIL SURGE: Part of that run of form at the plate has come during this hot month of April for the young outfielder. In nine games this month, Koskie has a batting average of .529 and an OPS north of 1.600. He's slugged five home runs in his last 34 at-bats.
ON THE LEFT SIDE: Sophomore shortstop Cooper Malamazian will go for career hit number 100 this weekend. He's sitting on 99 and has the chance to join sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley in the 100-hit club. Malamazian has started 81-straight games for the Hoosiers.
BIG TONY: Graduate student southpaw Tony Neubeck has been a bulldog on Friday nights for the Hoosiers. In his three home starts this season, Neubeck has a 3-0 record with a 2.00 ERA. He's racked up 25 strikeouts to just two walks at Bart Kaufman Field on the year.
WEEKEND OFF: Every Big Ten teams gets one off weekend in conference play due to having 17 teams. Head coach Jeff Mercer is 14-3 in those games during his tenure as head coach. Last year, IU swept this same Abilene Christian team down in Texas.
SLUG PICKS UP: IU is starting to tap into some more power at the plate over the last week. In the last five games, the Hoosiers have hit 17 home runs including five in Friday's win at Maryland and six in Tuesday's triumph at Indiana State. Eight different players have homered in that stretch.
JUST JAKE: Sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley has started 93-straight games since arriving on campus. Only Dustin DeMuth (102 - 2011-12) has begun their career with more consecutive starts since the 2010 season. Hanley has collected 124 hits in that stretch of play as well.
PICKING UP STEAM: Junior right-handed pitcher Jackson Yarberry has thrown quite well in his last three outings. In that stretch, he's worked 9.2 innings with 13 strikeouts and just four runs allowed. Included in there was a scoreless effort in a win over Rutgers.
BIG REPLACEMENT: Redshirt junior outfielder Ayden Crouse has stepped in with a big impact in the absence of sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny. Crouse is hitting .538 in the month of April with a pair of home runs and eight runs scored at the top of the order.
Scouting the Opponent
Abilene Christian
• After a postponed midweek game, Abilene Christian will come to town with an 18-18 record and an off weekend from conference play. The Wildcats are 2-4 in WAC action with series losses to Cal Baptist and Tarleton State. Abilene Christian does own a midweek win over TCU this year.
• Graduate student infielder Zandt Payne was an on-base machine and has continued that this year. He leads the team in hits (49), runs scored (43) and on-base percentage (.469). He's walked more than he's struck out in 2026 (26-25). Senior infielder Diego Cardenas led the WAC in home runs last year and has already slugged 17 this season.
• Junior right-handed pitcher Aidan Coleman and junior left-handed pitcher Brett Lanman have each started all nine weekends this year. Coleman is 4-0 this season with a 4.63 ERA. Lanman has a 4.93 ERA with a team-best 47 strikeouts. IU faced Lanman last year in Abilene and knocked him out after the fourth inning. Former IU pitcher Evan Whiteaker is on staff for the Wildcats.
Inside the Series
Abilene Christian
• Last year was the first time these two teams have met in program history. The series was set for Bloomington but was changed in the fall to travel restrictions. IU opened the month of May with a sweep of the Wildcats down in Texas.
• The Hoosiers won the first two games comfortably but needed some late magic to finish off the sweep. T.J. Schuyler hit a big home run to get things going and finished the game off with an RBI single.
After a pair of midweek wins over Indiana State and Evansville, IU will look to ride a new wave of momentum into the penultimate weekend series in April. The Hoosiers are swinging the bats at a high level, helping to spark a 6-3 record in nine games this month. Sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie is hitting .529 in April with five home runs and 18 RBIs. As a team, IU has hit 23 long balls since the calendar turned.
Graduate student left-handed pitcher Tony Neubeck will get the ball on Friday as he aims to continue is hot run of form. He's recorded a quality start in three of his last four outings. At home this season, Neubeck has a 25-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He's gone six innings in all three of his outings at Bart Kaufman Field this year. Sophomore southpaw Brayton Thomas will have his start bumped up to Saturday.
This weekend's series will get underway on Friday (April 17) at 6 p.m. on B1G+. As it stands, the remainder of the schedule is set up for 2 p.m. (Saturday) and Noon (Sunday). As always, the weekend slate is subject to change with any potential weather in the area.
Gameday Info
vs. Abilene Christian (Friday, April 17th – 6 p.m. ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/4vyLOkD
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
vs. Abilene Christian (Saturday, April 18th – 2 p.m. ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/4cyohYo
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
vs. Abilene Christian (Sunday, April 19th – Noon ET)
Live Video: bit.ly/4ctzGbH
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
Probable Starters
Indiana vs. Abilene Christian
• Friday: LHP Tony Neubeck, Gr. (4-3, 3.48 ERA)
• Saturday: LHP Brayton Thomas, So. (1-2, 4.63 ERA)
• Sunday: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
(subject to change with any weather changes)
Leading Off
KOSKIE RAKES: Sophomore outfielder Caleb Koskie is riding a team best 18-game hitting streak into this weekend's action. In that stretch, he is hitting .439 with 29 hits, five home runs, five doubles and 22 RBIs. Koskie has only struck out eight times in that span at the plate.
APRIL SURGE: Part of that run of form at the plate has come during this hot month of April for the young outfielder. In nine games this month, Koskie has a batting average of .529 and an OPS north of 1.600. He's slugged five home runs in his last 34 at-bats.
ON THE LEFT SIDE: Sophomore shortstop Cooper Malamazian will go for career hit number 100 this weekend. He's sitting on 99 and has the chance to join sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley in the 100-hit club. Malamazian has started 81-straight games for the Hoosiers.
BIG TONY: Graduate student southpaw Tony Neubeck has been a bulldog on Friday nights for the Hoosiers. In his three home starts this season, Neubeck has a 3-0 record with a 2.00 ERA. He's racked up 25 strikeouts to just two walks at Bart Kaufman Field on the year.
WEEKEND OFF: Every Big Ten teams gets one off weekend in conference play due to having 17 teams. Head coach Jeff Mercer is 14-3 in those games during his tenure as head coach. Last year, IU swept this same Abilene Christian team down in Texas.
SLUG PICKS UP: IU is starting to tap into some more power at the plate over the last week. In the last five games, the Hoosiers have hit 17 home runs including five in Friday's win at Maryland and six in Tuesday's triumph at Indiana State. Eight different players have homered in that stretch.
JUST JAKE: Sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley has started 93-straight games since arriving on campus. Only Dustin DeMuth (102 - 2011-12) has begun their career with more consecutive starts since the 2010 season. Hanley has collected 124 hits in that stretch of play as well.
PICKING UP STEAM: Junior right-handed pitcher Jackson Yarberry has thrown quite well in his last three outings. In that stretch, he's worked 9.2 innings with 13 strikeouts and just four runs allowed. Included in there was a scoreless effort in a win over Rutgers.
BIG REPLACEMENT: Redshirt junior outfielder Ayden Crouse has stepped in with a big impact in the absence of sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny. Crouse is hitting .538 in the month of April with a pair of home runs and eight runs scored at the top of the order.
Scouting the Opponent
Abilene Christian
• After a postponed midweek game, Abilene Christian will come to town with an 18-18 record and an off weekend from conference play. The Wildcats are 2-4 in WAC action with series losses to Cal Baptist and Tarleton State. Abilene Christian does own a midweek win over TCU this year.
• Graduate student infielder Zandt Payne was an on-base machine and has continued that this year. He leads the team in hits (49), runs scored (43) and on-base percentage (.469). He's walked more than he's struck out in 2026 (26-25). Senior infielder Diego Cardenas led the WAC in home runs last year and has already slugged 17 this season.
• Junior right-handed pitcher Aidan Coleman and junior left-handed pitcher Brett Lanman have each started all nine weekends this year. Coleman is 4-0 this season with a 4.63 ERA. Lanman has a 4.93 ERA with a team-best 47 strikeouts. IU faced Lanman last year in Abilene and knocked him out after the fourth inning. Former IU pitcher Evan Whiteaker is on staff for the Wildcats.
Inside the Series
Abilene Christian
• Last year was the first time these two teams have met in program history. The series was set for Bloomington but was changed in the fall to travel restrictions. IU opened the month of May with a sweep of the Wildcats down in Texas.
• The Hoosiers won the first two games comfortably but needed some late magic to finish off the sweep. T.J. Schuyler hit a big home run to get things going and finished the game off with an RBI single.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP/OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballJacksonville Baseball Classic - Notre Dame Press Conference
Sunday, February 22
Jacksonville Baseball Classic - UCF Press Conference
Saturday, February 21
Jacksonville Baseball Classic - LSU Press Conference
Friday, February 20
Big Ten Tournament Press Conference - vs. Rutgers
Wednesday, May 21