BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The ball left third baseman Cooper Malamazian’s bat like a firework, soaring into the Bloomington night before settling just beyond the right-field fence—a grand slam and an exclamation point on a dominant performance.
Indiana’s 13-0 rout of Bellarmine on Tuesday night wasn’t just a win—it was a statement about how much the Hoosiers have grown over the past three weeks.
“It was a really good day,” head coach Jeff Mercer said postgame. “We played really well.”
For the first month of the season, Indiana struggled to find its footing. A 7-9 start, marked by frustrating midweek losses and a deflating Big Ten-opening series defeat to Penn State, left the Hoosiers searching for answers. Since that low point on March 9, they have found them.
Seven wins in nine games, a sweep of Ohio State, a tightly contested series with powerhouse UCLA, and dominant midweek victories have flipped the script. The Hoosiers are no longer searching for a spark—they're finding their groove.
“We’ve improved tremendously in the last month,” Mercer said. “We’re hitting our stride. We’re playing pretty good baseball all the way around.”
That improvement was on full display against Bellarmine. The offense erupted for 15 hits, four home runs and 13 runs—a relentless attack that started in the first inning and never let up. Malamazian’s grand slam in the fourth, part of a six-RBI night that etched his name into Indiana’s record books, put the finishing touch on an overwhelming performance.
“I think we’re playing all facets of the game super well,” left-handed pitcher Grant Holderfield said. “The pitchers are doing a really good job on the mound, defenders are fielding it really well and the bats are awesome. All three facets are clicking at the right time.”
On the mound, Indiana was just as dominant. Seven pitchers each worked a single inning, and none faced more than five batters. Bellarmine never got a runner to third base.
When the Knights mounted a slight threat in the fifth, freshman third baseman Will Moore turned a smooth double play to erase it. The shutout was Indiana’s first since May 2023.
“We try to stick to the same approach and the plan,” Holderfield said. “I think we did that very well today.”
Indiana’s resurgence isn’t just about execution—it’s about expectation. Mercer has learned how to put his players in the best positions to succeed while also helping them manage the pressures of college baseball. Mercer noted the distractions within a program that contributed to Indiana’s early season struggles.
Facing elite competition has sharpened the Hoosiers’ edge. Last weekend’s series at UCLA, though it ended with two narrow losses, proved they could compete with one of the nation’s best.
Mercer isn’t handing out moral victories, but he acknowledges the series set a new standard for his team.
“We went and played well against a really good team on the road,” Mercer said. “That has to be the standard in which we play the game.”
Against Bellarmine, the Hoosiers met that standard—and then some. On Tuesday night, the standard was clear and undeniable.
“We played today like we played this weekend,” Mercer said. “The reality is that you’re playing against your own standard and your own expectations.”
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