Indiana baseball looks to carry explosive offense into series at Maryland

On April 2, 2024, Tyler Cerny and Jasen Oliver celebrate a home run at Bart-Kaufman Field. The Hoosiers defeated the Sycamores 16–7.
Briana Pace/The Indiana Daily Student photo

Following Tuesday night’s 16-7 victory over Indiana State University, head coach Jeff Mercer said that the Hoosiers appeared carefree and at ease.

This season’s outcomes have mainly fallen short of expectations. Indiana (16-14) has lost a number of games that it could have won due to bullpen collapses and extended periods of weak offenses that proved to be insurmountable.

Mercer believes the Hoosiers have already begun to shift into a new gear, though. This weekend, they travel to College Park, Maryland, to play the Terrapins (20-8) in a three-game series that begins on Friday at 6 p.m. as the reigning Big Ten Champions.

Brock Tibbitts, a junior catcher and first baseman, departed the game early on Tuesday due to what seemed to be a leg injury, and Mercer did not give a timeframe for his recovery. Although Tibbitts’ departure would be felt, Indiana is a hot team right now and has one of the best offenses in the Big Ten.

Jasen Oliver, a rookie second baseman, has been a revelation for Indiana, a club that is third in the conference in hitting average thanks to his excellent swing. Oliver currently bats sixth in the order in an attempt to continue his 12-game hitting streak after winning Big Ten Freshman of the Week last week.

Sophomores Devin Taylor and Tyler Cerny have performed exceptionally well, while juniors Carter Mathison and Josh Pyne have regressed from last year despite the latter hitting a game-winning home run to help the team defeat Indiana State.