Jake Hanley has a huge day at the plate, while Aydan Decker-Petty shined on the mound
By Carl James @jovian34 May 1st, 2025
“[Jake Hanley] was a one-man wrecking crew”
— Head Coach Jeff Mercer
Indiana Hoosiers 14, Evansville Purple Aces 6
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score | Postgame with Jeff Mercer
EVANSVILLE, IN – The Indiana Hoosiers faced off against the Evansville Purple Aces in a make-up game on April 30, 2025. The game, originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 29th, was postponed one day due to storm activity. Despite the weather concerns, the game proceeded as planned at German American Park in Evansville on Wednesday evening in front of a very nice crowd.
The Hoosiers offense was led by a huge day from freshman first baseman Jake Hanley. After the game, coach Mercer said, “He had a huge day. He’s seen a lot of really good pitching. That sharpens you and hardens you.” Hanley 4-for-5 on the day, with two homers, a triple and 5 runs batted in. Fellow freshman Cooper Malamazian also had a multi-hit day, driving in three runs. Senior catcher Jake Stadler was the other multi-hit Hoosier.
The Hoosiers started strong with graduate student Drew Buhr on the mound, who managed to escape a jam in the first inning after allowing a single and a walk. This was Buhr’s first appearance in a month after suffering a minor injury. Mercer said that, “having Drew back out there is a huge shot in the arm.”
Jake Hanley opened the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning, giving Indiana a 1-0 lead. The Hoosiers continued to build their lead with a two-run home run by Devin Taylor in the third inning, followed by Hanley’s second home run of the game, making it 4-0.
Evansville struggled to generate offense against Indiana’s pitchers. Aydan Decker-Petty was particularly impressive, allowing only one base runner in his first three innings of work. Mercer described Decker-Petty progression, “he’s changed his load. He’s kind of gotten back to what he was doing in the fall.” The Purple Aces did manage to score two runs in the fifth inning off of decker-Petty, narrowing the gap to 4-2. Despite this, Decker-Petty completed his fourth inning of work, maintaining Indiana’s lead.
The Hoosiers’ bats were quiet in the sixth inning, but freshman lefty Brayton Thomas delivered a strong performance, keeping Evansville off the board in the sixth and seventh innings. Indiana’s offense came alive in the eighth inning, with Jake Hanley hitting an RBI triple and scoring on a wild pitch, extending the lead to 6-2. Mercer reflected on Thomas’ struggles this past weekend at Iowa, “tough luck with the two-strike safety [on Friday], and then we wanted to get him right back out there and he struggled. And that happens sometimes for young guys. And then we wanted to get him right back out there again.” Thomas struck out four Purple Aces in 2 scoreless frames.
Evansville attempted a comeback in the eighth inning, scoring a run on a ground rule double and bringing the tying run to the plate. However, Pete Haas managed to strand two runners with a strikeout, preserving Indiana’s lead.
The Hoosiers exploded in the ninth inning, scoring seven runs, including a bases-clearing triple by Cooper Malamazian and an RBI single by Jake Stadler, making it 14-3.
Jacob Vogel closed out the game for Indiana, despite Evansville adding three runs in the bottom of the ninth. The Hoosiers secured a decisive 14-6 victory, showcasing strong performances both at the plate and on the mound.
Indiana continues the road trip with a weekend non-conference bout at Abilene Christian in Texas. “I want to see us play really good baseball,” was coach Mercer’s declaration. “In times when you take it on the chin like last weekend [at Iowa] you have to reset your focus and continue to get better. That series start Friday at 7pm ET and will be shown on the ESPN+ streaming platform.