Pete Haas ends his career with a gem out of the ‘pen and Freshman Cal Gates makes a loud statement at the plate
By Carl James @jovian34 May 18th, 2026
Indiana Hoosiers 11, Illinois Fighting Illini 2
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score | Postgame Media
“We don’t close that game out without [Pete Haas’] performance.”
-Head Coach Jeff Mercer
While the season as a whole has been disappointing, Indiana Baseball concluded the spring on a bright note Saturday, playing well in all facets of the game.
Neither team scored in the first inning, but it felt like Illinois had the advantage. Illinois’ freshman starting pitcher Ike Young was electric, sitting 97mph on hist fastball, occasionally hitting 98mph. After the game Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer said, “he was throwing an essentially a 90 mile an hour slider in there for a strike”. Indiana was not able to get a hit until a bunt single by Caleb Koskie in the bottom of the fourth inning.
“And so you kind of got him down a few ticks velocity wise, didn’t land the off speed as much. And then you’ve got guys on base, and now you’re adding pressure. And we just battled our tails off, and then you get the big blow.”
The “big blow” was an opposite field grand slam off the bat off freshman outfielder Cal Gates. “He gets in a two-strike count, he follows the plan beautifully, his fastball timing away, he gets a two-strike fastball away, and stays on it and hammers it to the left for the grand slam, and really was the game-defining moment”
Sophomore Brayton Thomas’ first inning, while allowing no hits or runs, did have the bases loaded on free passes as Thomas’ did not have good command of the fastball. When he came back onto the mound for the second inning, the plan changed. Mercer reflected, “this is what we did with [former Hoosier and now pro pitcher] McCade Brown. You know, this is how we would get McCade through that a little bit when he would struggle some early, is he feels more comfortable with the slider.”
Thomas put up three more zeros and after the big Hoosier fourth, he had a 6-0 lead going into the sixth inning. Illinois adjusted to the heavy slider mix and launched back-to-back solo homers. Mercer then went with senior innings eater Pete Haas. Haas had been hit hard in prior few outings, but he’s shown an abilty to pound the zone, something you need to be able to do with a big lead.
“Well, that was what you hope a senior does in his last outing. It’s kind of a swan song. And, you know, he really was tremendous today. We played really good defense behind him, but he was able to get the fastball in and then really play off the off-speed stuff. And it couldn’t be for a better person.” Mercer continue to explain how Haas has been a leader and mentor to the younger Hoosier pitchers.
Haas stranded the inherited runners in the fifth and then managed to get into the 9th without allowing any runs. He ran out of gas there and with two on and one out, Mercer turned to freshman Kellen English to close out the game. “By setting a path, we have a lead. And so, you know, I talked to Pete about that being his role early in the year. Clear the way and allow those young guys, give them protection, let those young guys grow up and develop underneath you and your tutelage and your maturity and wisdom, and then the path.
And he did that for us today. And his last outing could not have been better. And we played really well.”