A few weeks ago, Indiana was teetering on the edge of inconsistency.
Now, as the Hoosiers prepare for their toughest test of the season against the Bruins of UCLA, they look like a team ready to make a statement.
Indiana (12-9 overall, 4-2 in Big Ten play) has found its rhythm, rattling off five straight wins after a rocky start to the season. A 6-7 start to the 2025 campaign left questions about the team’s ceiling.
Those concerns deepened when the Hoosiers dropped two of three against Penn State in their Big Ten opener.
But since that series, Indiana has flipped the script, averaging 10 runs per game while allowing just four during its current win streak.
The latest victory, a 7-4 win over Evansville on Tuesday night, showcased Indiana’s growing confidence and ability to win in different ways.
"You feel better obviously than you did a couple of weeks ago," head coach Jeff Mercer said after the win. "But it's because of the practice time–being home for a bit, you get settled, you get healthy."
Tuesday’s victory didn’t come easy. The Hoosiers managed just seven hits—their lowest total in a win this season—but made them count.
"I didn't think we were very good offensively," Mercer said.
With Evansville clawing back to tie the game, junior outfielder Devin Taylor delivered a go-ahead solo shot in the seventh. Freshman third baseman Cooper Malamazian put the game on ice in the eighth, crushing a 414-foot, two-run blast.
On the mound, Indiana’s bullpen continued its recent dominance.
Redshirt junior Pete Haas earned his first save of the season, striking out four with his devastating changeup. Lefty Grant Holderfield added two solid innings of relief, consistently inducing weak contact and helping Indiana limit Evansville to just two extra-base hits.
For the third straight game, the Hoosiers’ pitching staff recorded 10 or more strikeouts, a sign that the staff—once a point of concern—has settled in.
While Mercer wasn’t thrilled with his team’s offensive execution Tuesday, but he acknowledged the Hoosiers are in a much better place than they were a few weeks ago.
He attributes Indiana’s turnaround to doing the little things better—limiting free passes, playing cleaner defense, and sticking to a plan at the plate. That attention to detail has been a driving force behind the cream and crimson's five-game win streak.
The Hoosiers have also benefited from stability after an exhausting early-season schedule that saw them play 14 of their first 16 games on the road. Now healthier and more settled, Mercer sees a team growing into its potential.
“You have success as you are able to do the little things well,” Mercer said. “It still may go wrong. You may still get beat if you do all the little things well. But you have no chance if you don’t.”
Now, Indiana faces a true measuring-stick series as it travels out west for a showdown with Big Ten newcomer UCLA. The Bruins (16-4 overall, 5-1 in Big Ten play) are tied atop the conference standings and have been dominant at home, posting a 12-2 record. Last weekend, UCLA swept Nebraska while allowing just eight total runs.
The Hoosiers, who won’t face conference co-leader Oregon this season, know this could be their toughest matchup until postseason play.
We've just done the fundamental things far better over the last 10 days," Mercer said. "We're going to have to do that this weekend. We're going to go play a top 10 or 15 team in the country on the road. It's going to be a great challenge."
With momentum on its side, Indiana heads west, eager to prove its recent success is no fluke.
A series win over UCLA wouldn’t just solidify Indiana's standing in the Big Ten—it would send a message that the Hoosiers are a legitimate contender.
"I certainly feel a hell of a lot better than I did a week or two ago," Mercer said. "We feel much better and hopefully we can continue to play high-quality baseball."
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