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Jake Hanley's career night powers Indiana past Evansville

Browning Headshotby: Zach Browning05/01/25ZachBrowning17
Jake Hanley
Photo Credit: Indiana University Athletics

The future of Indiana Baseball was on full display Wednesday night at Charles H. Braun Stadium, as a career-best outing from freshman first baseman Jake Hanley powered the Hoosiers to a commanding 14-6 win over Evansville.

Hanley, the frontrunner for Big Ten Freshman of the Year, added another milestone to his standout debut campaign against the Aces.

The Mason, Ohio native turned in a four-hit, five-RBI performance, highlighted by two home runs — his third multi-homer game of the season. He finished a double short of the cycle and racked up 12 total bases, the most by a Hoosier in a single game this season.

Indiana controlled the game but didn’t pull away until a late offensive surge. A close contest for most of the evening broke wide open in the ninth inning when the Hoosiers erupted for eight runs, punctuated by a bases-clearing triple from fellow freshman Cooper Malamazian. Malamazian added three hits and three RBIs in another impressive outing from Indiana’s underclassmen.

In total, freshmen accounted for eight of Indiana’s 14 hits, continuing a trend of major contributions from the team’s youngest players. Every starter reached base at least once, and three players recorded at least three hits in the contest.

On the mound, graduate right-hander Drew Buhr returned from a six-week absence and pitched a scoreless first inning in his first start of the season for the Hoosiers.

Junior Aydan Decker-Petty took over and delivered four strong innings of relief, earning his first win of the year while tossing a season-high 57 pitches.

Freshman left-hander Brayton Thomas struck out a career-high four batters in middle relief, and right-handers Pete Haas and Jacob Vogel covered the final two innings to close out the win.

Junior outfielder Devin Taylor added to his already historic career with a solo home run — the 50th of his career — and moved into a tie for 10th on Indiana’s all-time RBI list (165), matching former Hoosier great Sam Travis.

The victory closed out the month of April on a high note for the Hoosiers, who now head to Texas for a three-game weekend series at Abilene Christian.

With just three series remaining before the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, Indiana is aiming to build momentum and secure its postseason path.

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