Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever Entertain Iowa in Preseason Win over Brazil The Indiana Fever continued its preseason in thrilling fashion with a 108-44 victory over the Brazil National Team in Caitlin Clark’s return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena at the University of Iowa. The Fever came out swinging with back-to-back threes in the opening :45 seconds from Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, setting the tone and taking the early lead. Indiana continued to find success at the three-point line through the first quarter and into the second, sinking 13 over the two periods from beyond the arc, contributing to the 70-24 halftime lead. Indiana’s defense held Brazil to a combined 27 points between the second, third and fourth quarters, limiting their opponent to single digits in two of those quarters. Clark capped off her night with a highlight-reel three-pointer, entertaining the sold-out crowd of 14,998 with a shot deeper than her NCAA scoring record-breaking mark.
Former Iowa Hawkeye all-time leading scorer Caitlin Clark returned to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, playing a game at the venue for the first time since being drafted No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Clark scored the first points of the game, and her first of the preseason 32 seconds into the first quarter, hitting a three from the top of the arc. Clark finished her night in memorable fashion, hitting a three-pointer from two feet deeper than her NCAA scoring record-breaking mark. Rookie Bree Hall made her professional and Fever debut, coming off the bench in the second quarter. Hall finished the game with nine points and four rebounds. Additionally, Jillian Alleyne made her Fever debut, coming on in the third quarter. Indiana Fever travel to Atlanta Dream on Saturday, May 10 at 3 p.m. for the team’s final preseason game before beginning the regular season at Gainbridge Fieldhouse against the Chicago Sky on Saturday, May 17 at 2 p.m. ET. The game against Atlanta will be available on WNBA League Pass, while the season opener with the Sky will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Indiana Pacers Take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals over the Cleveland Cavaliers It was a back-and-forth affair, but the Pacers prevailed, stealing Game 1 in Cleveland, 121-112. The Pacers retook the lead with 6:21 left in the 4th quarter and never looked back. “We’ve got to stay hungry,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “I haven’t heard many people that have gave us a chance in this series, so we’ve got to use that as some level of motivation. We know what we’re capable of. Game 2 will be exceptionally hard with them dropping Game 1, this building the way it is, all that kind of stuff. So we’re going to have to be ready, but our mindset has got to be, we’ve got to keep attacking.” Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers with 23 points. Tyrese Haliburton added 22 points and 13 assists.
“Coming into the series, there’s not a lot of people picking us to win by any means,” Haliburton said. “We’re definitely the heavy underdog in this series. But I think we’re trying to control what we can, and as a group, just keep believing in what we do. I thought we’ve had a great couple days of preparation for these guys, and our energy was just right from the start to jump. We knew this crowd was going to be probably the best away crowd we’ve ever seen as a group in the playoffs. So, I thought we did a great job responding, especially when they went on that run there, and we’re just figuring it out, figuring out ways to win.” Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell had a game-high 33 points. The Pacers led 64-58 at halftime. The Pacers have won Game 1 in both series of the playoffs so far. “It’s good that we can get this game out the way, so I get more film to look at,” Haliburton said. But definitely excited for the chess match that there will continue to be between us and them.” Game 2 will be at 7 p.m. this evening in Cleveland.
Parings Announced for the IHSAA Softball, Boys Volleyball and Baseball State Tournaments The IHSAA was busy Sunday Evening as they announced the Parings for the IHSAA Softball, Boys Volleyball and Baseball Tournaments with three straight hours of shows from 6-9 PM on IHSAAtv.org. Schools from all over the State of Indiana learned their paths to the state finals in these three sports getting ready for State Tournament play later this month.
Boys Volleyball was up first as 133 teams are entered for the Inaugural Tournament that will conclude on May 31, at Mackey Arena on the Purdue University Campus in West Lafayette. The Sectionals will start on May 13 and go through May 17, at 16 sites around the state. The Regionals will be a two-game format on May 24, at four sites and will determine the four teams that will compete in the IHSAA State Finals on May 31. The First Semifinal will be the Valparaiso Regional winner against the Center Grove Regional winner at 11 AM followed by the Perry Meridian Regional winner against the Peru Regional winner at 1 PM with the State Championship Match scheduled for 6 PM. Bloomington South is in the Terre Haute North Sectional and will face Martinsville in the First Semifinal on May 17. Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South will open Sectional play on Thursday with the winner taking on Evansville Memorial Saturday afternoon and the Semifinal winners meeting the championship match that evening. The winner of the Sectional moves on the Regional at Perry Meridian on May 24, to face the New Albany Sectional winner in the first Semifinal with the Sectional winners from Southport and Franklin meeting in the second semifinal with the championship match scheduled for that evening.
368 teams are entered for the 40th annual Softball State Tournament with Sectional play starting May 26, and going through May 31st at 64 sites around the State competing in four different classes. The Sectional winners move into a one game Regional Championship on June 3, with a two game Semi State on June 7 and the State Finals to be held June 13-14 at Purdue University’s Bittinger Stadium. Each Sectional Site will announce their schedule the week before the tournament begins. In Class 4A at Terre Haute South Bloomington South will face Terre Haute North in the opening round with the winner battling Terre Haute North in the second Semifinal. Bloomington North will face Martinsville in the first semifinal. The winner of the Sectional will host the Regional against the Sectional winner from East Central. The winner of the Regional will move onto the Center Grove for the Semi state and play in the Second Semifinal against the winner of Regional 6. In Class 3A at Edgewood Owen Valley and Cascade will kick things off in the opening round followed by Indianapolis Washington and Edgewood. Speedway will battle the Owen Valley/Cascade winner in the first Semifinal followed by Northview against the Indianapolis Washington/Edgewood winner in the second game. The Sectional winner will host the Regional against the Sectional winner from New Palestine. The winner of the Regional will move to Jasper for the Semi State and play in the Second Semifinal against the winner of Regional 13.
383 teams are entered for the 58th Baseball State Tournament which will begin on May 28, and run through June 2 at 64 sites around the State. Regionals are June 7, with two championship games at one site. The Semi States are June 14 with a two game four team format and the State Finals will be held at Victory Field in Downtown Indianapolis on June 20, and June 21st with two games each night to determine the Four State Champions. Each Sectional Site will announce their schedule the week before the tournament begins. In Class 4A at Terre Haute North it will be a city battle as Bloomington North and Bloomington South get the opening round matchup with the winner facing Terre Haute South in the Second Semifinal. Terre Haute North and Martinsville will face off in the First Semifinal. The Sectional winner will face the Columbus East Sectional Winner in the Regional. The Southern Regional Hosts are Center Grove, Mooresville, Madison, Evansville Reitz, Jasper, Floyd Central, Mitchell and Southridge and those matchups and sites will be announced after the conclusion of the Sectionals. The Four Semi State Hosts are Mitchell, Mooresville, Castle which will play at the University of Evansville and Jasper.
In Class 3A at Cascade Edgewood will face Indianapolis Washington in the opening round followed by Northview and Cascade in the second game with the winners to faceoff in the first Semifinal. Owen Valley and Speedway will face off in the Second Semifinal. The Sectional Winner will face the winner of the New Palestine Sectional in the Regional Championship game at one of the eight sites and then move on the Semi State at one of the four sites that were announced during the parings show. All three sports will have their State Finals streamed on IHSAAtv.org on a pay-per-view basis and Baseball along with Softball will have their State Finals available on the Radio via the IHSAA Champions Radio Network that will be available through member affiliates across the great state of Indiana.
Jake Hanley Named Big Ten Baseball Freshman of the Week Freshman first baseman Jake Hanley became the first player this season to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on multiple occasions, as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon. IU has won five of the 11 awards handed out this year. Hanley was instrumental in an important 4-0 week for the Hoosiers. He hit .467 (7-for-15) in the heart of the order with three home runs, six runs scored and nine RBIs. He went 4-for-5 with two home runs and five RBI’s in IU’s dominant 14-6 win over Evansville on Wednesday (April 30) evening. The Mason, Ohio native has taken the league by storm this season and appears to be a leading candidate for Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He leads all conference freshmen in batting average (.346), hits (64), home runs (13) and RBI’s (46). He’s also started all 48 games for the Hoosiers this season.
He’s the first IU player to win a Big Ten Freshman of the Week award on multiple occasions since Devin Taylor (3 – 2023) two seasons ago. As is well documented, Taylor went on to win the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award that season as well. IU returns home this weekend after a stretch of eight-straight contests away from Bloomington. The Hoosiers will play Purdue at Bart Kaufman Field (May 9-11) to wrap up the home slate in 2025.
Indiana University Softball to Open the Big Ten Tournament Against Washington No. 10 seed Indiana will begin the 2025 Big Ten Tournament against No. 7 seed Washington on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. This will be the first time this season that the Hoosiers and Huskies face each other. Last year the two teams met in the NCAA Columbia Regional. Should Indiana advance, it will face No. 2 seed UCLA in the quarterfinal on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. The semifinals will take place on Friday, May 9 and the final will be on Saturday, May 10. The entire 2025 Big Ten Tournament will be hosted by Purdue at Bittinger Stadium. The tournament features the top 12 finishing teams in the conference and is in single-elimination format. The Hoosiers have reached the Big Ten Tournament Final the past two seasons.
Indiana University Baseball Sweeps Abilene Christian in Dramatic Fashion Sunday afternoon will be effectively known as the TJ Schuyler game. The sophomore catcher has split the duties behind the plate this year but came through on multiple occasions in a 7-6 win over Abilene Christian at Crutcher Scott Field. He hit a two-run home run to spark a comeback in the sixth inning and got the game-winning hit to drop in the ninth. Schuyler was the only IU player with a multi-hit effort. On top of his clutch hits, Schuyler threw out Abilene Christian’s leadoff hitter – Zandt Payne – on two occasions at second base and played prolific defense behind the plate. He caught all nine innings and was responsible for all five pitchers that appeared in the contest. While Schuyler had the moments to book end the game, redshirt sophomore outfielder Joey Brenczewski had the hit in the middle of the contest that people will remember. Called in to pinch hit, Brenczewski launched a three-run blast into the trees in right field. That gave IU the lead for the time being and was his second pinch-hit home run of the year (Feb. 17 – vs. UNLV).
IU’s pitching staff struggled with command at times, but sophomore right-handed reliever Jackson Yarberry (W, 1-0) settled the storm at the right moment. After giving up a walk with the bases loaded, he proceeded to retire Abilene Christian’s 3-4-5 hitters in consecutive order in the eighth. Yarberry held the game in check and allowed IU to take the lead in the top of the ninth. He went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth to pick up the win. The win was IU’s fourth of the season when trailing by at least three runs. IU was either trailing or tied in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings and managed to find a clutch hit on all three occasions. The victory helped IU to its third sweep of the season (Ohio State, Michigan State and Abilene Christian). The Hoosiers will get a much-needed week off for finals before hosting in-state rival Purdue this weekend in the final series of the year at Bart Kaufman Field Friday through Sunday. IU will honor its senior class on Saturday afternoon and will play the Boilermakers on Big Ten Network for the Sunday finale.