Cole Gilley continues his elite level performance in conference play as freshman plate 9 runs
By Carl James @jovian34 April 13th, 2025
“He’s [Cole Gilley] so tough to square up, because you don’t get the same look twice.”
— Head Coach Jeff Mercer
Indiana Hoosiers 12, Illinois Fightin Illini 3
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score | Postgame Media
CHAMPAIGN, IL – After struggling Friday, Indiana’s bats got back on track Saturday with a pair of big innings. Several Hoosiers came through in different ways. Junior Devin Taylor had two hits and walk, driving in two runs.
He had his table set even being at the top of the order thanks to a freshman group all hitting 5 through 8 in the order who got base 10 times and scored nine runs. In that group Caleb Koskie and Hogan Denny each had three hits and three runs batted in. Denny also had a solo home run. Head coach Jeff Mercer reflected after the game, “that group is super coachable. They follow the plan really well. They are unselfish in the way they have their at-bats.”
On the mound, grad student righty Ben Grable opened the game for the Hoosiers. He was locating really well in the first inning starting the game off with a 1-2-3 inning. He lost a bit off-speed command after that and gave up two earned runs in his 3.2 innings of work.
Grable worked through his difficulties, but with runners on a 3-run lead, pitching coach Dustin Glant went to another grad student righty, Cole Gilley. That turned out to be the only Hoosier pitching change need in the game.
“If you are an opposing hitting coach, what do you say? What do you do? Cover this zone, or sit this pitch? He’s got five pitches he throws for a strike in any count. He’s so tough to square up, because you don’t get the same look twice.” Mercer was clearly very happy with Gilley, who went 5.1 innings allowing just 5 baserunners and one run on a solo shot. Four of those baserunners and the run came in the 9th inning with the game so well in hand that Mercer and Glant just let Gilley finish it. So, the final line belies just how utterly dominant Gilley was in this outing.
The win moves the Hoosiers to 20-15 overall, 10-7 in B1G play, good enough for 7th place, but only half a game out of the top four in search of that key high seed in a pod at the B1G Tournament next month in Omaha, Nebraska. The Hoosiers will attempt to win the series in a rubber match today, Sunday, at 2pm ET at Illinois Field in Champaign.
