Indiana University Baseball gets a Midweek Win over Ball State at Bart Kaufman Field Senior lefty Deron Swanson (W, 2-1) was only supposed to be in the game for an inning or two. But on a day that IU desperately needed a standout performance on the mound, the Fort Wayne, Indiana native provided 13 outs and 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball. The Indiana Baseball team (19-14, 9-6 B1G) needed just five pitchers to finish off a 7-5 midweek victory over Ball State. Senior southpaw Ryan Kraft (SV, 1) was called on with the bases loaded and no outs in the ninth but picked up the final three outs to preserve a 7-5 win over Ball State on Tuesday at Bart Kaufman Field. IU finished off a season-long nine-game homestand with a 6-3 record. The Hoosiers won the final four games during the stretch by a combined score of 45-13. The effective start to the month of April has helped boost the IU RPI all the way up to 67 heading into this weekend’s series with Illinois.
Timely hitting was the name of the game for the home team on Tuesday night. Redshirt sophomore Korbyn Dickerson matched the Big Ten lead with his 15th home run of the season – a mammoth two-run blast in the second inning. Freshman shortstop Cooper Malamazian had a two-run single to hand the Hoosiers the lead for good. Junior second baseman Tyler Cerny recorded his 39th hit-by-pitch, breaking one of the more peculiar program records. He moved past Chris Hervey (38 – 2006-09) to take over the top spot on the all-time IU list in hit-by-pitches. He has 78 free passes in his three-year career, 39 of those coming via the hit-by-pitch. Coming off of four games in just over 50 hours, the Hoosiers will get just a little bit of rest before heading to Champaign to begin the back half of the Big Ten slate. IU and Illinois have exchanged turns winning on each other’s home fields the last two years. IU will hope to continue that trend this season as it looks to keep climbing up the league table. First pitch on Friday is set for 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT.
Indiana University Men’s Tennis Match against Southern Indiana Canceled Indiana Men’s Tennis’ match against Southern Indiana on Sunday (April 13) has been canceled. The match will not be played due to an injured Southern Indiana lineup. It will also not be rescheduled. Indiana will host Oregon on Friday at 5 PM and Washington Sunday Morning at 11 AM.
Former Indiana University Head Coach Branch McCracken Remains the Youngest Coach to Win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Florida coach Todd Golden’s age immediately became a topic of conversation when he hoisted the NCAA Championship trophy Monday evening in San Antonio. At 39, Golden is the youngest coach to win the tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. But did you know — two of the youngest coaches to ever win the NCAA Tournament were running the IU program? At 35, Bob Knight is tied for the third youngest coach to win the title when he led the Hoosiers to their undefeated season in 1976. He also led Indiana to an undefeated regular season a year earlier at age 34. Knight actually followed in the footsteps of his own college coach Fred Taylor, who led Ohio State to the 1960 title also at age 35. Indiana hired Branch McCracken right around is 30th birthday in 1938. And in just his second season at the helm in Bloomington, he led the Hoosiers to their first title.
McCracken was still just 31 when he led IU to the 1940 NCAA crown. And 85 years later, McCracken’s accomplishment is still three years younger than the next youngest national title winning coach on the list. McCracken and Knight are two of only nine coaches who have won the tournament under the age of 40 after Golden joined the list. The others are Harold Foster (Wisconsin, 1941), Taylor, Howard Hobson (Oregon, 1939), Don Haskins (UTEP, 1966), Jim Valvano (N.C. State, 1983), and Phil Woolpert (San Francisco, 1955). As a player, McCracken was a three-year letter winner for Hall of Fame coach Everett Dean at IU from 1928-30. McCracken led the Hoosiers in scoring for three years. As a sophomore he was named conference MVP. In his senior year McCracken tallied 147 points, a new conference record. He was named All-American and team captain for the 1929-30 season.
After a successful stint as head coach at Ball State from 1930-38 that saw him go 93-41 and claim the program’s only win against IU, McCracken was hired to take over for Dean and lead the Hoosiers. Although Dean laid the foundation for basketball greatness at IU, McCracken helped put the Hoosiers on an elite pedestal. He spent 24 years at the helm of the “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” and brought two National Championships, four Big Ten Championships and IU’s first four 20-win seasons to Bloomington.
Pascal Siakam’s Double-Double Leads the Indiana Pacers over the Washington Wizards Pascal Siakam scored 24 points and had 10 rebounds, Tyrese Haliburton had 22 points, and the Indiana Pacers won their fifth straight game, 104-98 over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. Bennedict Mathurin had 17 for the Pacers who pulled away late for the win. Justin Champagnie had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Washington, while Alex Sarr had 20 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks as Washington lost its third in a row and for the sixth time in its last seven games. Wizards’ backup forward Anthony Gill left the game with right hamstring soreness after going scoreless in 7 minutes. The Wizards scored just 13 second-quarter points, but game was still tied at 48-48 at half. The lottery-bound Wizards, who are in last place in the Eastern Conference, took their 62nd loss. Two losses in their final three games would give them the second-worst record in franchise history, better than only last season (15-67). The Pacers, who took a three-game lead on Milwaukee into the night, moved one step closer to clinching the No. 4 seed and homecourt advantage for the first round of the playoffs. Siakam’s basket with 2:04 to play gave the Pacers the lead for good at 94-92, then Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner hit 3-pointers down the stretch to put the game away. Turner’s 3 with 53 seconds to play made it 100-94. The Pacers took 37 free throws and hit 29 of them, while the Wizards were 11 of 15 from the line.
Parking is Sold Out for this year’s Indianapolis 500 The month of May is still weeks away, but the anticipation is building. Parking for race day of the Indianapolis 500 is already sold out, according to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Parking sold out faster than the last two years, with sales ending on April 18 in 2024 and on May 5 in 2023. With parking sold out, there are still other ways to get to The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Parking is available in the community of Speedway surrounding the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Bike to the 500 presents a route for race fans to ride their bikes without the frustration of traffic. Tickets become available on April 5. Shuttles take race fans from the airport and downtown locations for $60.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is expecting the biggest crowd since the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 this year. Josef Newgarden is looking to become the first driver to ever win the Indianapolis 500 in three straight years this May. The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 25. The Grand Marshal will be former NBA star Scot Pollard. NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan will drive the pace car before the race. The Sonsio Grand Prix is scheduled for Saturday, May 10 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s the 11th running of the Grand Prix. Alex Palou has won the race the last two seasons. He’s looking to be the first driver to win three straight years. He would also tie Will Power and Simon Pagenaud for the most wins in the race with three. Pole Day for the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 18. The Firestone Fast Six is scheduled for 6:25 p.m. Scott McLaughlin won the pole position in 2024. Team Penske swept the first row, with Wil Power starting in second and Josef Newgarden starting in third. The attendance for the Indianapolis 500 in 2024 was reportedly over 300,000.
Former Notre Dame Guard Olivia Miles Transfers to TCU for her Final Season Olivia Miles is transferring from Notre Dame to finish her college career at TCU. Miles announced her decision on “NBA on TNT” on Tuesday night and was talking to Candace Parker when she received a box from Shaquille O’Neal with a TCU jersey in it. “Very grateful to be going there, very excited,” she said. The 5-foot-10 guard had spent her entire college career at Notre Dame and was a projected lottery pick in the draft, which takes place in New York on April 14. She decided last week to not enter the draft and instead pursue one final year of college. She entered her name in the transfer portal and was one of 1,200 women’s basketball players to have done so since the portal opened two weeks ago.
Her time at Notre Dame ended when the Irish lost to TCU in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament. “Words can’t express how honored I am to have met, spoken with and played for each of you over the past four years,” Miles wrote on social media. “Your support means everything to me as I prepare to compete my graduate degree. I know that the University of Notre Dame will always be a key part of my story.” TCU lost in the next round to Texas. The Horned Frogs have had a lot of success in the transfer portal the last few years, adding 11 transfers to build the team from scratch. TCU coach Mark Campbell has helped revitalize the careers of Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince.
Miles started all 34 games this season for Notre Dame, averaging 15.4 points, 5.8 assists and 5.6 rebounds. She has a year of eligibility left after sitting out the 2023-24 season while recovering from a knee injury sustained a year earlier. The decision to leave college for the pros is more fraught than it used to be now that college players can earn money from lucrative name, image and likeness deals. By staying in college, Miles also stands to benefit from a new WNBA collective bargaining agreement that could give rookies higher salaries. Top picks in the WNBA currently make about $78,000. Notre Dame will look different next season. Sonia Citron, Maddy Westbeld, Kiatu King and Liza Karlen are graduating. Freshman Katie Koval announced she’s transferring to LSU.