Indiana University Athletics
Friday, May 1
Evanston, Ill.
8 p.m.
Indiana University
at
Northwestern
Baseball Central: Northwestern
4/29/2026 1:00:00 PM | Baseball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The stretch run awaits the Indiana Baseball team (20-25, 6-15) as it looks to make a 13th-straight trip to the Big Ten Tournament. It will need to do some heavy lifting in the final three weekends (nine conference games) of the regular season. Up first is a trip to Northwestern for a trio of important Big Ten games. Friday's contest will be played at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
A big midweek victory over Louisville on Tuesday evening might have been the start the Hoosiers needed for a great finish to the year. A 10-run outburst, helped by solo home runs from freshman designated hitter Owen ten Oever and sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley, allowed IU to hang on for the road victory over the Cardinals. The young freshman, ten Oever, has three home runs in his last five games.
The Hoosiers typically start to heat up in the month of May. Over the last two years, head coach Jeff Mercer's squad is 12-6 in the regular season during the month of May. That includes series victories in five of six weekends during that stretch. IU will likely need to win all three weekends this month to have a good shot at making the conference tournament.
Graduate student left-handed pitcher Tony Neubeck and sophomore southpaw Brayton Thomas will both make their 12th starts of the season, continuing the run of starting in every weekend series this year. IU's top bullpen arms, including graduate student Gavin Seebold, will be fully rested for the Northwestern series. First pitch on Friday (May 1) from Wrigley Field is set for 8 p.m. on B1G+.
Gameday Info
at Northwestern (Friday, May 1st – 8 p.m. ET)
Live Video: www.bigtenplus.com
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
at Northwestern (Saturday, May 2nd – 3 p.m. ET)
Live Video: www.bigtenplus.com
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
at Northwestern (Sunday, May 3rd – 2 p.m. ET)
Live Video: www.bigtenplus.com
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
Probable Starters
Indiana at Northwestern
• Friday: LHP Tony Neubeck, Gr. (5-4, 4.47 ERA)
• Saturday: LHP Brayton Thomas, So. (1-4, 5.88 ERA)
• Sunday: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
(subject to change with any weather changes)
Leading Off
THE BIGS: Indiana will play Friday night's game inside the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. It's IU's first game in an MLB ballpark since a weekend tournament at T-Mobile Park in Seattle back in 2019. In recent memory, IU also has played at Target Field (2013) in Minneapolis.
MAJOR MASTALSKI: Freshman right-handed pitcher Ivan Mastalski is tied for the team lead in appearances (19) and is likely to pitch in his 20th game of the season this weekend. He holds a 3.89 ERA and a 33-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his debut campaign in Bloomington.
CLOSE TO 100: Sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny is closing in on 100 career hits in an IU uniform. He sits at 96 entering the weekend's action and would join his fellow sophomores Jake Hanley and Cooper Malamazian in that category. He's one of three IU players with 50+ hits this year.
RED HOT TO: Freshman designated hitter Owen ten Oever, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, continued his success in Tuesday's win over Louisville. He's hit three home runs in his last five games and is batting .500 (10-20) since last week's win over Ball State.
MUCH TO PLAY FOR: IU is currently on the outside looking in for this year's Big Ten Tournament. However, with nine regular season contests to go; everything is in play for the Hoosiers. A weekend series win over Northwestern would be the first step in the right direction.
ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE: Over the last two seasons, IU is 12-6 in the regular season in the month of May. That includes wins in five of six weekend series during that stretch. With three series left to play in Big Ten action, the Hoosiers will need to replicate a mark similar to that.
FAMILIAR FOE: Northwestern manager Ben Greenspan played two seasons at IU and also served as an assistant under then head coach Tracy Smith. During his time in Bloomington, he helped IU to a trip to Omaha for the College World Series (2013).
STAY HOT: Sophomore shortstop Cooper Malamazian quietly had a fantastic month of April. He hit .369 over those 17 games but also had more walks (13) than strikeouts (12) in the month. Malamazian made his 100th career appearance for the Hoosiers in Tuesday's win.
Scouting the Opponent
Northwestern
• The Wildcats will look to dig themselves out of a hole at the bottom of the Big Ten standings this weekend. Northwestern has wins over Oregon, USC and Michigan State but has been swept in three consecutive conference series. Its last Big Ten win came on April 5th.
• Offensive consistency has been hard to come by for Northwestern. Senior outfielder Jack Lausch and junior infielder Ryan Kucherak have both launched 10 home runs this season. Lausch and graduate student infielder Noah Ruiz are the only lineup regulars hitting up above .300.
• Northwestern has ridden a small collection of pitchers on the year. 11 different arms have made between 10 and 15 appearances this season. Graduate student southpaw Ryan Weaver (6.95 ERA) and junior right-handed pitcher Matt Kouser (5.11 ERA) will start the first two games of the weekend.
Inside the Series
Northwestern
• Indiana has gotten the better of the all-time series. It's one of four Big Ten schools (Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan State) that IU has collected 100-or-more victories against. This is the first series between the two sides since 2023. They did play a non-conference game in February of 2025.
• Head coach Jeff Mercer will take on the Wildcats for the fourth time in his tenure for a weekend series. It's the third of those four series that it is set to be played in Evanston. He won the series in 2021 and swept the Wildcats in 2023.
• Northwestern head coach Ben Greenspan is very familiar with the colors on the other side. He played at IU in 2006 and 2007 and later served as an assistant coach under Tracy Smith (2009-14). He's in his third year as the Northwestern skipper.
A big midweek victory over Louisville on Tuesday evening might have been the start the Hoosiers needed for a great finish to the year. A 10-run outburst, helped by solo home runs from freshman designated hitter Owen ten Oever and sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley, allowed IU to hang on for the road victory over the Cardinals. The young freshman, ten Oever, has three home runs in his last five games.
The Hoosiers typically start to heat up in the month of May. Over the last two years, head coach Jeff Mercer's squad is 12-6 in the regular season during the month of May. That includes series victories in five of six weekends during that stretch. IU will likely need to win all three weekends this month to have a good shot at making the conference tournament.
Graduate student left-handed pitcher Tony Neubeck and sophomore southpaw Brayton Thomas will both make their 12th starts of the season, continuing the run of starting in every weekend series this year. IU's top bullpen arms, including graduate student Gavin Seebold, will be fully rested for the Northwestern series. First pitch on Friday (May 1) from Wrigley Field is set for 8 p.m. on B1G+.
Gameday Info
at Northwestern (Friday, May 1st – 8 p.m. ET)
Live Video: www.bigtenplus.com
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
at Northwestern (Saturday, May 2nd – 3 p.m. ET)
Live Video: www.bigtenplus.com
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
at Northwestern (Sunday, May 3rd – 2 p.m. ET)
Live Video: www.bigtenplus.com
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/46VZA6j
Probable Starters
Indiana at Northwestern
• Friday: LHP Tony Neubeck, Gr. (5-4, 4.47 ERA)
• Saturday: LHP Brayton Thomas, So. (1-4, 5.88 ERA)
• Sunday: TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
(subject to change with any weather changes)
Leading Off
THE BIGS: Indiana will play Friday night's game inside the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. It's IU's first game in an MLB ballpark since a weekend tournament at T-Mobile Park in Seattle back in 2019. In recent memory, IU also has played at Target Field (2013) in Minneapolis.
MAJOR MASTALSKI: Freshman right-handed pitcher Ivan Mastalski is tied for the team lead in appearances (19) and is likely to pitch in his 20th game of the season this weekend. He holds a 3.89 ERA and a 33-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his debut campaign in Bloomington.
CLOSE TO 100: Sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny is closing in on 100 career hits in an IU uniform. He sits at 96 entering the weekend's action and would join his fellow sophomores Jake Hanley and Cooper Malamazian in that category. He's one of three IU players with 50+ hits this year.
RED HOT TO: Freshman designated hitter Owen ten Oever, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, continued his success in Tuesday's win over Louisville. He's hit three home runs in his last five games and is batting .500 (10-20) since last week's win over Ball State.
MUCH TO PLAY FOR: IU is currently on the outside looking in for this year's Big Ten Tournament. However, with nine regular season contests to go; everything is in play for the Hoosiers. A weekend series win over Northwestern would be the first step in the right direction.
ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE: Over the last two seasons, IU is 12-6 in the regular season in the month of May. That includes wins in five of six weekend series during that stretch. With three series left to play in Big Ten action, the Hoosiers will need to replicate a mark similar to that.
FAMILIAR FOE: Northwestern manager Ben Greenspan played two seasons at IU and also served as an assistant under then head coach Tracy Smith. During his time in Bloomington, he helped IU to a trip to Omaha for the College World Series (2013).
STAY HOT: Sophomore shortstop Cooper Malamazian quietly had a fantastic month of April. He hit .369 over those 17 games but also had more walks (13) than strikeouts (12) in the month. Malamazian made his 100th career appearance for the Hoosiers in Tuesday's win.
Scouting the Opponent
Northwestern
• The Wildcats will look to dig themselves out of a hole at the bottom of the Big Ten standings this weekend. Northwestern has wins over Oregon, USC and Michigan State but has been swept in three consecutive conference series. Its last Big Ten win came on April 5th.
• Offensive consistency has been hard to come by for Northwestern. Senior outfielder Jack Lausch and junior infielder Ryan Kucherak have both launched 10 home runs this season. Lausch and graduate student infielder Noah Ruiz are the only lineup regulars hitting up above .300.
• Northwestern has ridden a small collection of pitchers on the year. 11 different arms have made between 10 and 15 appearances this season. Graduate student southpaw Ryan Weaver (6.95 ERA) and junior right-handed pitcher Matt Kouser (5.11 ERA) will start the first two games of the weekend.
Inside the Series
Northwestern
• Indiana has gotten the better of the all-time series. It's one of four Big Ten schools (Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan State) that IU has collected 100-or-more victories against. This is the first series between the two sides since 2023. They did play a non-conference game in February of 2025.
• Head coach Jeff Mercer will take on the Wildcats for the fourth time in his tenure for a weekend series. It's the third of those four series that it is set to be played in Evanston. He won the series in 2021 and swept the Wildcats in 2023.
• Northwestern head coach Ben Greenspan is very familiar with the colors on the other side. He played at IU in 2006 and 2007 and later served as an assistant coach under Tracy Smith (2009-14). He's in his third year as the Northwestern skipper.
Players Mentioned
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