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(06/26/19 6:25am)
The past year in Indiana athletics gave us a little bit of everything. This summer, the HN staff is recounting the best from the year. Each week, we’re revealing a new game, moment, or memory which stood out to us as worthy of a spot in our #HNTop10. It all culminates in August with our best moment from the year.
Up next in our countdown? A massive Indiana Volleyball win over Michigan in Steve Aird's first year.
#10: Stevie Scott's debut and the arrival of stability in Indiana's backfield
#9: Indiana Volleyball's resume win over #14 Michigan
(06/14/19 4:02pm)
Incoming Indiana Basketball freshman Nathan Childress is not your typical recruit.
Childress isn’t ranked anywhere or in the database of major recruiting services like his fellow incoming freshmen Trayce Jackson-Davis (five-star recruit) and Armaan Franklin (three-star recruit).
In fact, Childress, who hails from Zionsville -- just 70 miles north of campus -- wasn’t even named a 2019 Indiana All-Star like Franklin and Jackson-Davis. Rather, he’s been flying under the radar for almost his entire basketball career.
By way of being undervalued, Childress will be a preferred walk-on for Indiana this winter. In this role, Childress will not receive any athletic scholarship, but has a guaranteed roster spot with the team.
Most walk-ons never see the floor, and Childress knows that, but he doesn’t mind. He just wants to do what he can to help.
“My role as a walk-on is just to make the team better every day in practice,” he said. “I’m going to go in and work hard and treat it the same way as every other player.”
Childress will be one of two walk-ons on Indiana’s roster for the 2019-2020 season. Vijay Blackmon will join Childress and as a senior for the Hoosiers, despite originally having his name in the transfer portal this offseason.
(06/06/19 6:56pm)
Even after getting eliminated in regional play and seeing their season come to a close last weekend, Indiana Baseball is still winning.
Throughout this week’s MLB Draft which spanned from Monday through Wednesday, the Hoosiers saw a school record 10 players come off the board. Indiana had the most draft picks of any Big Ten school and is tied for the fourth most draft picks nationally for the 2019 draft.
Compared to a year ago in the 2018 MLB Draft, Indiana saw only four players get drafted.
(06/02/19 10:42pm)
Indiana Baseball has been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament after a 9-7 loss to the regional host and No. 7 national seed Louisville Sunday.
This is the third straight season where Indiana has seen its season end in the regional round.
It was also the Hoosiers’ second meeting with the Cardinals this season as well as the second straight loss to Louisville. On May 14, Indiana hosted Louisville and fell to the Cardinals in another high-scoring, close affair, 8-7 in 12 innings.
High-powered offense in Sunday’s game was expected with a national power like Louisville that averages 7.5 runs per game, coupled with the nation’s home run leader in Indiana.
Typically, when the Hoosiers lose ball games it’s because of a lack of offense. That wasn’t the case today though -- not even close. Despite hitting struggles throughout the entire postseason, Indiana’s bats had 9 hits on the day as the Hoosiers made great contact with the ball.
The unusual difference today was that Indiana missed multiple offensive opportunities to win the game, even as the Hoosiers scored seven runs in the game.
The Hoosiers stranded a total of 10 runners on base over the course of the game. There were many instances where those runners very well could have scored and taken the lead, but Indiana just didn’t take advantage.
Obviously, scoring some of those baserunners could have allowed Indiana to tie or take the lead during the game, but had it not been for missing early opportunities, Indiana could’ve avoided digging itself into an early hole.
In the second inning, an error by Cade Bunnell led to a four-run Louisville rally which was followed by a home run from Alex Binelas in the third, extending Louisville’s lead to 6-0 just a third of the way through the game.
The third inning wasn’t just bad defensively for the Hoosiers. In the top of the third, they had their worst missed scoring opportunity of the game. With no outs and the bases loaded, Indiana found a way not to score any runs by virtue of two straight strikeouts and a Scotty Bradley popout to center field.
If the Hoosiers could have scored a few runs here and there early on, they wouldn’t be playing a massive game of a catch-up, which ultimately doomed them.
It was a bit of déjà vu for Indiana against Louisville. In the first meeting between the two clubs, Indiana was down 6-0 to start the game in the fourth inning, too.
The Hoosiers dug themselves a hole on Friday against Illinois State too when they were down 7-2 going into the sixth inning. They did end up tying in the seventh, but fell short by a score of 8-7 at the end of the day. Once again, the big run deficit made Indiana pay the price with a loss.
In reflection, the Louisville loss finalizes Indiana’s record as 37-23 for the season with a postseason record of 1-4. The Hoosiers lost both games in the Big Ten Tournament to Iowa and Minnesota, and had losses to Illinois State, along with Louisville, in the NCAA Tournament. The only postseason win for Indiana came Saturday over Illinois-Chicago.
Beyond the postseason struggles, it was a very good season for Indiana. For a program that has never been historically relevant in baseball, Indiana continues to positively grow its image. The season was highlighted by winning a regular season Big Ten title and making a sixth regional appearance out of the last seven seasons.
These achievements can be attributed to first year Head Coach Jeff Mercer, who won Big Ten Coach of the Year this season. With the team losing only six seniors on the roster this year and a lot of underclassmen who had prominent roles returning for next year, the Hoosiers could be even better in year two of the Jeff Mercer era.
(06/01/19 8:38pm)
LOUISVILLE --- Indiana Baseball stayed true to their identity with an excellent hitting display to keep their season alive in a 9-5 win over No. 4 seed Illinois-Chicago Saturday to avoid elimination from the NCAA Tournament.
Today’s win on the second day of Regional action in Louisville was the Hoosiers’ first postseason win all year after going two-and-out in the Big Ten Tournament and losing to Illinois State yesterday 8-7.
“It’s a good win for our club to go out and have to play a game like that and find a way to come out on top,” Indiana Head Coach Jeff Mercer said.
It was a different team from a day ago when the Redbirds struck the Hoosiers out 18 times fell in an uninspiring loss.
(05/31/19 11:15pm)
What could have been a miraculous comeback for Indiana Baseball fell just short in a high scoring 8-7 loss to Illinois State Friday in Louisville. The Hoosiers are now into the losers’ bracket and will face either the Cardinals or University of Illinois-Chicago Saturday morning, continuing the first round of regional play.
Through the first six and a half innings of baseball, Indiana looked nothing like a tournament team against Illinois State. Brent Headrick, the Redbirds’ starter and Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of The Year, was dealing and had total control of the game.
Indiana’s bats couldn’t hit Headrick. The junior tossed a career-high 14 strikeouts and allowed only three hits and four total baserunners in a six-inning appearance. The only real damage done was a two-run home run from sophomore Elijah Dunham in the first inning. After that, the tall lefty was practically untouchable.
(05/23/19 11:38pm)
Indiana Baseball exited the Big Ten Tournament in a surprising 9-4 loss to a shorthanded and desperate Minnesota baseball team today at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.
The Golden Gophers simply wanted the game more. With a 27-26 record, Minnesota now has no choice but to win out in the Big Ten Tournament if the Gophers have hopes of playing in an NCAA Tournament Regional. The Gophers showed that determination against Indiana as they exploded for nine runs and limited IU to just three hits all day.
What’s even more impressive is that Minnesota is without its best pitcher and player, sophomore utilityman Max Meyer, who is injured and unlikely to play the rest of the week. Meyer holds the best ERA in conference at a 2.28 mark, and hits for a .256 average.
Unlike Minnesota, Indiana was anything but impressive during its brief stint in Omaha. The No. 1 seed Hoosiers looked nothing like the regular season champs that they were, as they easily bowed out with two losses in as many days to No. 8 seed Iowa on Wednesday 4-2, and No. 4 seed Minnesota Thursday afternoon.
Fortunately for Indiana, the Hoosiers are a lock for the NCAA Tournament and will receive some extended rest, as the NCAA Regionals don’t start until May 31.
Before then though, let’s take a look at what Indiana struggled with today and what needs fixing before the NCAA Tournament gets underway.
(05/23/19 2:34am)
Entering the Big Ten Tournament, everything was going Indiana’s way.
The Hoosiers had won five of their last six, swept Rutgers at home to end the season and pulled out an unlikely regular season Big Ten title in the first season under new Head Coach Jeff Mercer.
All of that momentum vanished Tuesday night when No. 1 seed Indiana lost 4-2 to the last and No. 8 seed Iowa at T.D. Ameritrade Park in Omaha.
In the regular season, Indiana had virtually no trouble with the Hawkeyes. They swept them by a combined score of 23-4.
The only trouble in that series for Indiana came from one Iowa pitcher, Cole McDonald, who kept Iowa in a close ball game on March 22 with his eleven strikeouts. Indiana did end up winning that Friday match-up, 3-2, on a Logan Kalehta walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth.
The same trouble for Indiana, McDonald, got the better of the Hoosiers this time around.
Tonight, the senior righthander was stellar from the mound once again against IU as he earned the win. He allowed only five hits and one run while striking out nine batters and walking just one in eight innings of work.
McDonald seemingly has had the Hoosiers’ number all season long, his two highest strikeout totals in individual outings this year have both come against Indiana.
The senior didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning and maintained control of the game the whole way through.
He had one rough inning, the top of the sixth, that saw the Hoosiers’ Drew Ashley triple and Matt Gorski single up the middle
to score him and go up 1-0 with no outs.
McDonald wasn’t fazed though; he would follow by getting Indiana’s Matt Lloyd to hit into a double play and Elijah Dunham to fly out to center to end the inning just two batters after the run scored.
That 1-0 lead wouldn’t last long either as Iowa’s offense exploded in the top of the seventh, where they scored three of their four runs. After the offense’s help, McDonald went right back to work, allowing no more runs and only one more hit for the rest of his outing.
Coupled with McDonald’s dominance from the mound, Indiana’s offense struggled tremendously again without any home runs and another lackluster performance against an opponent’s ace.
IU, the nation’s home run leader with 90 thus far, has a losing record in games where they don’t hit a home run this season. It’s no secret that Indiana is reliant on the long ball and today was yet another example of it.
Fortunately for Indiana, they have not been eliminated from the Conference Tournament. The Big Ten Tournament is a double-elimination format, so with one more loss in the tournament, Indiana would be eliminated.
The Hoosiers will look to rebound Thursday at 2 p.m. CDT, Indiana will play No. 4 Minnesota in an elimination game. Minnesota won the first game of the series this season with their ace Max Meyer on the mound. Matt Lloyd walked off to complete a huge Hoosier comeback in game two, and Indiana ran away with game three.
From here on out, it’s do-or-die for the Hoosiers.
(05/22/19 12:29am)
Big Ten Tournament Preview: Iowa
The regular season Big Ten Champion Indiana Hoosiers will look to build upon their success as they begin play in the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday in Omaha, Nebraska.
As the No. 1 seed in the Tourney, the Hoosiers will take on the No. 8 seed, Iowa, on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Only the top eight teams in the regular season conference standings make the Big Ten Tournament and it is in a double elimination format. Every first-round game starts on Wednesday and the tournament will conclude by Sunday.
The tournament is split into two separate double-elimination brackets of four teams each with the two winners of the individual brackets playing each other in the championship game.
Indiana’s bracket consists of No. 4 seed Minnesota and No. 5 seed Nebraska along with Indiana and Iowa.
Bracket 1 includes the match-ups of No. 3 seed Illinois vs No. 6 seed Maryland and No. 2 seed Michigan and No. 7 Illinois.
The full bracket is listed below:
[embed]https://twitter.com/B1Gbaseball/status/1129908637764341760[/embed]
Now, let’s take a closer look at Indiana’s first round match-up with the Hawkeyes.
Regular Season Meetings with Iowa
The Hoosiers and Hawkeyes last met on the weekend of March 22, the first series of Big Ten play for the season.
Throughout the entire series, Indiana had Iowa’s number as the Hoosiers swept them with relative ease.
In the Saturday and Sunday games Indiana beat Iowa 13-1 and 7-1, respectively. The Friday game was the only one of the series with a close final score of 3-2.
At the same time, Indiana had control and was leading the entire game until the ninth inning. Logan Kaletha’s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth brought home Cole Barr for a dramatic Indiana victory. The Friday game was the one instance the Hoosiers struggled to score against the Hawkeyes.
[embed]https://www.thehoosiernetwork.com/2019/03/22/pauly-is-so-good-miltos-pitching-kalethas-hit-lift-indiana-baseball-to-series-opening-win-over-iowa/[/embed]
The Iowa series was also the last time Kaletha has seen the field for the Hoosiers. The senior outfielder got injured in the Sunday game of the series and hasn’t had any playing time since.
Hitting
As a team, Iowa has a strong presence with the bats. Iowa’s team batting average stands at .269, fourth best in the Big Ten.
The Hawkeyes are also ranked third in the conference in on-base percentage (.368) and fifth in hits (477).
Over the course of the season, Iowa’s bats put up an average of 5.3 runs per game and 9.2 hits per game. As good as of a contact hitting team as the Hawkeyes have been, they do struggle with hitting the long ball. Iowa has only hit 29 home runs on the year which ranks them eighth in the conference.
Iowa’s top two bats are sophomore Izaya Fullard and junior Austin Martin, the roster’s only two players who have an above .300 batting average.
Fullard is hitting for a team-best .310 batting average and is tied with Martin for the most RBIs on the team with 30. Fullard has shown strong plate discipline, taking 22 walks and only striking out 25 times in 187 at-bats. The sophomore is more of a contact hitter as well, he has only five home runs on the season with a total of 13 extra base hits.
Martin’s stats are pretty similar to Fullard as his batting average is just barely lower with a .307 mark and as mentioned before, he has the same number of RBIs with 30. Martin has 21 walks, 14 extra base hits and two home runs too.
Pitching
The pitching duel between the clubs should be excellent as both teams will pitch their usual Friday starters, the best arm on each team.
Indiana will have senior righthander Pauly Milto on the mound to start who has been fantastic for the Hoosiers all season. Milto owns an 8-5 record, 94 strikeouts and 16 walks with a 3.51 ERA on the season. Milto has only allowed three home runs on the year as well.
In his start against Iowa earlier in the season, Milto was very dominant against the Hawkeyes. He went 8.1 innings when he allowed seven hits and two runs while striking out 10 batters. Both runs were scored in the ninth inning when he stayed in to try and finish the complete game.
Iowa’s pitching is something that they struggle with a bit more than their hitting, evident from their 4.51 average team ERA. At the same time, their starting pitching is very strong and that should be the case for the Hawkeyes on Wednesday.
Iowa will start a righthanded senior pitcher too in Cole McDonald. The senior ace has been a reliable arm and Friday starter all year for the Hawkeyes as indicated by his 74 strikeouts.
McDonald also has a 3.78 ERA, 28 walks and only three home runs allowed with a 5-3 record for the season.
Against Indiana on March 22, when the two schools as well as Milto and McDonald battled the first time around this year, McDonald did a great job against the Hoosiers. He struck out 11 batters, walked one, gave up six hits and just two runs in one of his best starts of the season.
Whoever delivers the better pitching performance between McDonald and Milto this time around could very well determine which team wins. Indiana has struggled at times against Friday starters, so that could play into the hands of the Hawkeyes.
(05/16/19 9:57pm)
Indiana Baseball will host Rutgers for their final series of the season in what is a crucial weekend for the team.
On Tuesday night, the Hoosiers fell to No. 9 Louisville in a marathon of a game, 8-7 in 11 innings at home. The loss likely eliminated any hope of Indiana hosting a regional in the NCAA Tournament.
Despite the regional chances being dashed, the Rutgers series arguably means more as Indiana is still in the hunt for a regular season Big Ten Title.
With a 33-19 overall record and 14-7 record in conference play, Indiana ranks second in the Big Ten, 1.5 games back of the conference leading 15-5 Michigan Wolverines.
Luckily for Indiana, this weekend they’ll have an easier series to play than the Wolverines. Michigan will travel to Nebraska for their weekend series.
Rutgers is a far weaker opponent and is eighth in the Big Ten compared to Nebraska who is fourth in the league. Not only in conference standings, but the contrast between Rutgers and Nebraska is quite stark.
Rutgers: 20-28 overall, 9-11 in conference. RPI: 178
Nebraska: 26-19 overall, 13-8 in conference. RPI: 37
Even with an easier task at hand, Indiana can’t afford to lose focus, even if they don’t end up winning the Big Ten. Any loss to Rutgers, especially at home, will not help their NCAA Tournament resume in the slightest.
With that being said, let’s take a look at what to watch out for with the Scarlet Knights.
Hitting
From the plate is where Rutgers struggles the most and it’s quite obvious that batting is the team’s weak link.
As a team, the Scarlet Knights have a .238 batting average, tied for the second-worst mark in the Big Ten with Michigan State.
By comparison, Indiana’s batting average isn’t far better, only .253, but the Hoosiers put up a lot more runs and have a far more explosive offense.
Rutgers ranks second to last in the Big Ten in runs scored (194) compared to Indiana’s conference-leading 358 runs.
Rutgers also has 15 home runs on the year while the Hoosiers are tied for the most home runs in the country with Arizona State with 84.
Rutgers doesn’t have many individual standouts from the plate. They have no player hitting over a .300 average on the season and only have two who are hitting better than .250.
Redshirt freshman Tim Dezzi is the team’s best bat with a .292 batting average on the year. Dezzi is a pure contact hitter as well, with only six extra base hits all season, all doubles. Dezzi does have 19 RBIs though and has only struck out 28 times in 168 at-bats.
Sophomore Mike Nyisztor is also a reliable guy in the lineup for the Scarlet Knights. Nyisztor has a .286 batting average and leads the team in hits with 57. The sophomore has hit one home run on the year and has 10 RBIs.
Pitching
Pitching would definitely be the strength of the team and is the anchor that allows the Scarlet Knights to win baseball games.
As a team, their ERA isn’t that impressive, 4.28, but their weekend starters are quite talented and better than the team averages may indicate.
Rutgers’ Thursday starter is sophomore lefthander Harry Rutkowski. He doesn’t have a very good record, 2-5, but has a 3.55 ERA, 74 strikeouts and only 22 walks to his name on the year.
Friday, the Scarlet Knights will start junior lefty Tevin Murray, who’s ERA of 2.31 is the fourth best in the Big Ten. Murray also has thrown 78 strikeouts and has a 4-4 record. Opposing batters are only hitting for a .189 average against Murray.
To end the series on Saturday, Rutgers will send redshirt junior righthander, Tommy Genuario, to the mound. Genuario only has 37 strikeouts on the season but has only walked 22 batters and boasts a 2.58 ERA.
If Indiana can learn to adjust to Rutgers’ strong pitching, than they should be in good position to win the series and give them a chance at a Big Ten Title.
Weekend schedule:
Thursday (6:05 p.m.)
LHP Harry Rutkowki vs RHP Pauly Milto
Friday (6:05 p.m.)
LHP Tevin Murray vs RHP Tanner Gordon
Saturday (12:05 p.m.)
RHP Tommy Genuario vs LHP Andrew Saalfrank
(05/14/19 2:53pm)
After taking two of three games in Ann Arbor against Michigan last weekend, Indiana Baseball will face national power and No. 9 ranked Louisville at home on Tuesday.
Indiana’s two wins over the current leaders of the Big Ten propelled them back into the national rankings at No. 25 to make for a big-time match-up with the Cardinals.
The Hoosiers only have four games to go in the regular season with Louisville Tuesday and their last conference series this weekend at home against Rutgers.
Indiana is balancing two goals as a win over Louisville would be a huge resume boost, but the Hoosiers are also prioritizing an opportunity for a Big Ten regular season title in the weekend games.
Nonetheless, these last four games are huge for the team and the direction the rest of the season will take.
Now, let’s take a closer look at what challenge Louisville will present.
Indiana Flavor in the Cardinals’ Roster
It should come as no surprise due to the school’s proximity, but Louisville has quite a Hoosier feel to their roster.
Of Louisville’s 38 players, nine of them are from Indiana. By comparison, the Cardinals’ roster has just as many players that hail from Kentucky as well.
The two teams, even if in different conferences, are very familiar with one another as they recruit a lot of the same kids.
Indiana’s previous head coach and current Mississippi State Head Coach, Chris Lemonis, was also a former Louisville assistant.
Hitting
As expected from their No. 9 ranking in the country and their 40-12 record on the year, Louisville is an excellent hitting team.
As a club, the team batting average is .296 and the Cardinals have five guys who hit over a .300 mark.
The top bat for Louisville is junior Tyler Fitzgerald who hits in the No. 3 spot in the order. Fitzgerald is very dominant from the plate with a .340 batting average to lead the team. The junior has also put up 60 RBIs on the season with seven home runs and a .411 on-base percentage.
Alex Binelas has been a fantastic freshman for the Cardinals and owns the fifth spot in the order. Binelas bats for .326 batting average and has 25 of his 45 hits being extra base hits along with 41 RBIs on the season.
Sophomore Lucas Dunn is Louisville’s lead-off guy and has great plate discipline. Dunn has only struck out 21 times in 124 at-bats. He’s also taken more walks (22) than the number of times he has struck out. Dunn also hits for a .315 batting average and has 18 RBIs this season.
Pitching
For the Hoosiers’ starting arm, it will pretty much be a homecoming game. Indiana will send freshman righthander, and practical Louisville native Gabe Bierman to start on the mound.
Bierman is a Jeffersonville, Indiana native and grew up very close to the University of Louisville. From Jeffersonville High School, Bierman’s alma mater, to the University, it’s less than a 20-minute drive.
Bierman has grown a lot throughout the course of the season and has an impressive stat line to show for it. Bierman has 37 strikeouts, a 3.75 ERA, and a 3-0 record in 15 appearances.
Louisville’s starter comes into the game with a very similar background and season stats.
Louisville will give an opportunity for their starting pitcher to have somewhat of a homecoming as well. The Cardinals will start righthanded freshman, Jack Perkins, who is a Kokomo, Indiana native.
Perkins will play in his home state after what has been a very solid first collegiate season. Perkins is 3-0 on the year with a 3.49 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 14 appearances.
It should certainly be a fun pitching duel both with the talent and the off-the-field connections on the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday night and will be aired on ESPNU.
(05/13/19 2:51pm)
Indiana Baseball flipped the switch in their most important series of the season at Michigan over the weekend as the Hoosiers took two of the three games to win the series.
Indiana defeated Michigan easily on Friday, 10-4, and followed up with another high-scoring win on Saturday, 10-8. On Sunday, the Hoosiers fell just short in dramatic fashion, 6-5 in the 11th inning.
A sweep would’ve been welcomed, but the bottom-line is that this was a very successful weekend for Indiana. Coming off of a rough stretch where they had lost three of their last four, they went on to beat a team in Michigan who had won 13 in a row entering the series and hadn’t lost a series at home all season.
With the series win, Indiana’s record has improved to 33-18 with a 14-7 conference mark, second best in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers still trail Michigan for the best record in the conference but are only 1.5 games back.
Now, let’s take a look at the aftermath of the Michigan series with three takeaways.
Indiana Responded with Urgency, Kept Big Ten Chances Alive
The Hoosiers’ chances weren’t looking bright prior to the Michigan series with Indiana slumping and having to play the Big Ten leaders on the road, but Indiana certainly rose to the occasion and salvaged their chances for a Big Ten regular season title. Not only that, but Indiana got their confidence back with two statement wins in a near sweep on the road.
Indiana was in dire need of a momentum swing, especially entering the home stretch of the season with only four games left.
Indiana will host No. 6 ranked Louisville on Tuesday and will play their last series of the season this weekend against Rutgers to end the regular season and conference play.
As great of a win as it would be for Indiana if they were to upset Louisville, the focus will likely be on Big Ten play. Indiana is trailing Michigan by 1.5 game in a tight race at the top of the league.
The top five of the Big Ten standings are as follows:
Michigan: 15-5
Indiana: 14-7
Illinois: 13-8
Nebraska: 13-8
Minnesota: 13-8
Rutgers will be the last chance for the Hoosiers to improve their conference record. Thankfully for Indiana, Rutgers will be at home and is a far weaker opponent than Louisville or Michigan with a 20-28 overall record and a 9-11 record in conference.
Michigan will end their season with a tougher task as they face Nebraska on the road.
If Indiana is going to win the Big Ten, they’re going to need to play a good series and get some serious help from Nebraska in the process.
The Bats Woke Up (and on a Friday?)
Following a four-game stretch where Indiana scored a total of 12 runs, the Indiana offense more than doubled that figure at Michigan in which they scored 25 runs in the three games.
The Hoosiers also totaled 27 hits for the series, an average of nine per game. Saturday featured the Hoosiers’ three home runs of the series as well. Matt Lloyd, Elijah Dunham and Cole Barr all went yard to protect the Hoosiers’ national lead of home runs (84).
[embed]https://twitter.com/IndianaBase/status/1127300771345829896[/embed]
The offensive jumpstart was needed if the team wanted any chance to beat Michigan and stay competitive throughout the remainder of the season.
What was most shocking was that the Hoosiers delivered their most complete offensive performance of the season for a Friday game in this Michigan series.
Indiana has proven to be a juggernaut from the plate all year, but the bats have struggled tremendously on Friday nights.
In the win on Friday, Indiana had 10 hits to go along with their 10 runs scored. Before the Michigan series, on Friday nights Indiana puts up an average of about 6 hits and 3.5 runs in Big Ten play.
Those numbers are inflated as well by the Michigan State series where Indiana’s Friday contest featured 15 Hoosiers hits and 13 runs.
When taking that game out, Indiana was averaging 4.6 hits per game and a run per game in Friday games in Big Ten play prior to the Michigan series.
To not only flip their momentum with a huge win over Michigan, but also reverse their Friday hitting slump in the process is impressive.
Catching Issues
Indiana could potentially have another injury concern with senior catcher and starter Ryan Fineman.
In the 10th inning, Fineman got pulled after favoring his back after taking a swing at the plate.
Fineman had been out earlier in the season due to injury too. The senior missed time in game two of the Maryland series on March 30 and didn’t return until the Ball State game at Victory Field on April 23.
With Fineman being taken out on Sunday, senior Wyatt Cross entered the game and struggled on the last play of the game to give the Wolverines the win.
With the bases loaded, no outs and a tied 5-5 score in the bottom of the 11th inning, Michigan got the best of the Cross and the Hoosiers. Michigan’s Jordan Brewer hit a ground ball to Indiana shortstop Drew Ashley who threw home to prevent the winning run from scoring.The throw was a bit short though, and Cross couldn’t corral the bounce from the baseball, allowing Michigan to win.
The Indiana loss was certainly not Cross’ to blame, but Cross will have to tighten up defensively as the Hoosiers move closer to the postseason with potential for Fineman to be out with injury.
For now, Indiana will take this positive momentum back home, where they finish the season with four straight at Bart Kaufman Field. The week will start on Tuesday when they host No. 6 Louisville. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
(05/10/19 3:59am)
Slumping after losing three of their last four games, Indiana baseball has arguably their most important series of the season this weekend on the road at Michigan.
Indiana’s record and standing in the Big Ten has slipped as of late with two losses last weekend at Illinois and a 5-2 loss at Kentucky Tuesday night. Their overall record now stands at 31-17 and their conference record of 12-6 barely puts them at second in the Big Ten. Additionally, they have fallen out of most national polls and their RPI has slipped to No. 30.
Michigan, on the other hand, is playing far better than the Hoosiers right now. The Wolverines are surging as they have won 13 straight games and are No. 1 in the Big Ten with a 14-3 conference record. Michigan’s recent dominance has vaulted them to No. 19 national ranking from the USA Today’s Coaches’ Poll.
As much as it is a challenge, this weekend’s series is also an opportunity for the Hoosiers to make up for their recent struggles. A series win would be a great boost to a team in need of a spark and a strengthened resume.
It would also help the Hoosiers make some headway in climbing back in the Big Ten standings.
The current top five ranked teams in the Big Ten standings are as follows:
Michigan: 14-3
Indiana: 12-6
Nebraska: 13-8
Iowa: 11-7
Minnesota: 11-7
Now, let’s take a deeper look at the challenge Michigan will provide.
Better Team Than a Year Ago
The regular season isn’t over yet, but the Michigan Wolverines are already a far improved baseball team than they were a season ago.
Through 47 games, they have a better record (36-11) than they did for their entire 2018 season (33-21).
The Wolverines are also a notably better team from the mound and have slightly improved from the plate too.
Michigan’s team ERA has decreased from an average of 3.46 in 2018 to 2.95 this season. The team batting average has increased from .275 to .289.
Hitting
As previously stated, the Wolverines are a very strong hitting club with a team batting average of .289 from the plate. That stat ranks first in the conference.
Michigan isn’t just first in the Big Ten for their batting average, but a number of other offensive statistical categories as well.
The Wolverines are also first in the conference in:
Slugging Percentage: .470
On Base Percentage: .399
Runs Scored: 333
Hits: 454
RBIs: 303
Doubles: 104
Stolen Bases: 75
Walks: 243
The plethora of team dominance from the plate is supplemented by some great individual hitters. Michigan has three players hitting above a .300 batting average.
Junior Jordan Brewer leads the team and the Big Ten with a .366 batting average. Brewer also has 47 RBIs and 11 home runs on the season.
Sophomore Jordan Nwogu isn’t far behind with a batting average of .348, second on the team and fifth in the conference. Nwogu has accounted for seven home runs and 28 RBIs. The sophomore also has great plate discipline as he has taken 32 walks, the third most in the Big Ten.
Senior Blake Nelson rounds out the three-headed monster of the Michigan bats with a .343 batting average and 27 RBIs.
Pitching
Like the team batting dominance within the conference for Michigan, the Wolverines are also first in the Big Ten for average team ERA at a 2.95 mark.
All three of their starters have a sub-three ERA with very successful records.
Michigan’s Friday starter is Karl Kauffman who holds a 2.30 ERA along with an 8-3 record and 73 strikeouts with only 19 walks.
The Saturday starter, Tommy Henry is arguably just as good. The junior is also 8-3 on the season with a 2.75 ERA. He beats out Kauffman in strikeouts and walks with 82 and 18, respectively.
Sophomore Jeff Criswell is the Sunday starter and isn’t far behind his other rotation members. Criswell possesses a dominant 2.40 ERA with 65 strikeouts and a 5-1 record.
With a series win, Michigan can assert their dominance on the Big Ten’s best outside of themselves and solidify their spot atop the conference. For Indiana, they can inch closer to the Wolverines with a series win and give themselves a much-needed boost heading into their last week of the regular season.
First pitch of this huge Big Ten series is set for 8 p.m. on ESPNU Friday night. Here are your pitching matchups.
Friday night:
RHP Pauly Milto vs. RHP Karl Kaufmann
Saturday night:
RHP Tanner Gordon vs. LHP Tommy Henry
Sunday night:
LHP Andrew Saalfrank vs. RHP Jeff Criswell
(05/08/19 4:43am)
The Kentucky Wildcats defeated Indiana handedly Tuesday night by a score of 5-2 in Lexington.
This was the Hoosiers’ third loss in their last four games and brings their record to 31-17 overall.
It was an overall rough performance from Indiana that featured essentially no success from the plate and a number of miscues on defense from behind the plate too.
The game was also the first of a brutal five game stretch for the Hoosiers, who have the Big Ten leaders, Michigan, on the road for a weekend series, followed by a Tuesday home game with No. 14 Louisville.
Now let’s take a look at the details from IU’s loss to Kentucky with three takeaways.
The Bats Never Got Going
Much like the majority of the Illinois series last weekend for Indiana, the bats never showed up.
The Hoosiers recorded a total of five hits for the game and had no momentum from the plate.
It didn’t help that the team’s two most explosive hitters, junior Matt Gorski and senior Matt Lloyd went a combined 0-8 from the plate. Gorski struck out twice and Lloyd once.
When Gorski and Lloyd aren’t producing, it makes winning baseball games a lot tougher for the Hoosiers.
In the two losses of the Illinois series, Gorski was 2-8 and Lloyd was 0-8 from the plate. In those games, the Hoosiers as a team put up a combined six hits and one run.
Indiana is going to need those two to put up numbers if they want to win in the postseason, and the team’s weakness without Gorski and Lloyd’s best efforts showed against Kentucky.
Catching Struggles
Arguably, the biggest struggle against Kentucky Tuesday night was the lack of consistency from the catchers.
Reserve catcher and senior Wyatt Cross was given the start in what was supposed to be a day off for senior and starter Ryan Fineman.
The break for Fineman didn’t last long as Cross was pulled in the fifth inning. Cross struck out in both at-bats and also had a wild pitch get behind him in the first inning which gave Kentucky its first two runs and an early lead.
When inserted into the game, Fineman struggled just as much. The senior struck out in his only plate appearance and recorded an error in the fifth inning.
Fineman attempted to pickoff Kentucky senior Ryan Shinn at third, but a poor throw ended with the ball in left field, allowing Shinn to score easily.
Three of the five runs allowed by Indiana came on catching mistakes, an unusual occurrence for the Hoosiers.
SEC Caliber Opponent Should Help Team Grow
Indiana Baseball has had plenty of success playing a strong schedule this season and that has vaulted them as a fringe top 25 team who bounces around in the polls.
In the RPI, Indiana ranks No. 28 thanks to, not only their strong record, but great non-conference competition against teams like UConn, Coastal Carolina, Washington and Oregon State.
When the Hoosiers play SEC schools though, they struggle mightily. In addition to Tuesday’s match-up with Kentucky, Indiana got swept in their second series of the season at Tennessee.
The SEC is the consensus best conference in baseball, and it shows. Kentucky, a team with a .500 record at 24-24 stymied Indiana, the Big Ten’s No. 2 ranked team in the conference standings.
Kentucky’s record was purely misleading and Tuesday night displayed how talented the Wildcats really were. The Wildcats were also No. 42 in the RPI which also shows that they were a legitimate team.
On the bright side for the Hoosiers in all of this is that playing against SEC schools like Kentucky, is a great learning experience and will prepare them better for other tough match-ups down the road, like Michigan this weekend.
The opportunity for improvement following the loss is the only major positive for Indiana from last night. They will have to regroup quickly with the aforementioned Michigan series starting Friday followed by a home matchup with No. 14 Louisville next Tuesday.
(05/06/19 3:29pm)
Three Takeaways: Indiana Baseball Loses Two of Three at Illinois
Indiana Baseball dropped two of three in a series loss on the road at Illinois to halt their momentum following an important series win over Minnesota.
The Hoosiers’ record now stands at 31-16 overall and 12-6 in the conference.
This was the first Big Ten series lost all season for Indiana. They were previously 5-0 in conference series this year.
Indiana lost on Friday and Saturday by scores of 4-0 and 3-1, respectively. The Hoosiers avoided the sweep with a dominant 9-2 victory over the Illini Sunday.
Due to the poor performance, Indiana hurt their standing in the Big Ten as well. They rank second and trail Michigan by two-and-a-half games for first in the conference.
With that being said, here are three takeaways from the series.
Bats Struggle on Friday Again with No Rebound
Indiana’s batting wasn’t pretty on Friday against Illinois. Friday offensive struggles are nothing new for Indiana, but the Hoosiers typically bounce back after game one.
Against Illinois, they never did. Friday and Saturday featured mediocre performances from the plate as in the two games the Hoosiers combined for six hits, three in each game.
Junior Matt Gorski and sophomore Elijah Dunham each had two of the six hits.
Indiana displayed their reliance on the home run again this weekend as Dunham’s home run in game two was their only run of the game and in game three when the Hoosiers scored nine, Indiana had three long balls.
Dunham went yard again along with sophomore Cole Barr and senior Ryan Fineman each having a bomb too. Their three home runs accounted for seven of the nine runs scored against Illinois on Sunday.
Andrew Saalfrank Quietly Dominating
It’s no secret anymore but junior Andrew Saalfrank is cruising from the mound for the Hoosiers.
In a weekend where senior ace Pauly Milto and Saturday starter Tanner Gordon didn’t pitch to their potential, Saalfrank shined.
The junior threw seven innings and only allowed four hits, no runs and struck eight batters en route to a win.
Saalfrank now has the best record of the pitching staff at 7-1, leads the team in strikeouts with 82 and has the lowest ERA among the weekend starters at a 2.03 mark.
It should be noted that Saalfrank has thrown significantly fewer innings (57.2) compared to Milto (83) and Gordon (68.2). They all have made 12 starts though.
The Schedule Only Gets Tougher
Indiana losing this series makes their hopes to win the Big Ten all the more difficult. They are by no means out of it, especially only being behind two-and-a-half games, but this was a series Indiana could have taken advantage of with Illinois being about a .500 team in conference play prior to this series.
Indiana will have a chance to overcome their setback next weekend when they’ll travel to Ann Arbor to play in a series against Michigan that could very well decide the Big Ten.
It should be noted that following Michigan, the rest of the top five in the Big Ten standings is very tight.
Michigan (14-3)
Indiana (12-6)
Iowa (11-7)
Minnesota (11-7)
Nebraska (12-8)
Before they play Michigan, Indiana will face Kentucky on the road this Tuesday. Despite Kentucky owning a 23-24 record, the Wildcats shouldn’t be overlooked.
Playing a brutally tough SEC schedule, Kentucky’s overall record is a bit misleading. By taking out their 6-18 conference record, the Wildcats look a lot stronger at 16-7 in the non-conference.
Regardless, it should be a good test for the Hoosiers before having to play the Wolverines in Ann Arbor.
(04/27/19 9:54pm)
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For almost the entire game Indiana Baseball looked dead in the water, but when down 6-4 in the bottom of the ninth facing a full count with two outs and two men on base, senior Matt Lloyd thought otherwise.
From there, Lloyd launched a deep shot over the right field fence to beat Minnesota 7-6 in walk-off fashion.
“Matt Lloyd, he’s the baddest man alive,” Indiana Head Coach Jeff Mercer said.
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Lloyd’s bomb capped a comeback from the Hoosiers that was in a way, indicative of their entire season. The Hoosiers live and die off the home run.
Going into the weekend, Indiana led the nation in home runs with 72, five more than any other team. Like the rest of the season, the home run has made its presence known for the Hoosiers in the Minnesota series as well.
Six of the team’s seven runs today came from the long ball and two of their three runs from the game yesterday did as well.
Up until the seventh inning, Indiana only had one hit and was trailing 6-1. From that sixth inning to the end of the game, the Hoosiers earned six more hits, three of them being home runs.
Despite the long ball playing such a big role in the Hoosiers’ offense, Mercer doesn’t believe that the home run is a focus for the team.
“We’ve built an entire offense around the identity of not hitting home runs,” Mercer said.
Mercer believes that the team’s mentality is hitting hard line drives and just putting the ball in play, and Indiana just has a knack for hitting a lot of home runs.
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The first-year head coach also said that when the team struggles, it’s not because of a lack of the deep ball, it’s a mental thing.
“The issues don’t come from the home runs,” Mercer said. “The issues come from not trusting the process to get to have offensive success,”
When the Hoosiers don’t trust the process of their offense, it is apparent, particularly in the form of strikeouts. Just as they are the conference leader for home runs, Indiana also leads the Big Ten in strikeouts with 460 of them, 63 more than second-place Maryland in the statistical category.
Indiana struck out 15 times today to add to their conference-leading total.
The lack of focus and mental struggles showed in the Minnesota series except for when the Hoosiers rallied in the game today, according to Mercer as well.
“We were as uncompetitive, and as unfocused and rattled as I’ve ever seen us,” Mercer said. “I don’t know what it is, there is a mentality that has to change.”
Luckily for the Hoosiers, that mentality changed right when they needed it to in order to salvage the win and series for Indiana. Had Indiana lost, that would have lost them their first Big Ten series of the year and would have been their first time losing back-to-back games since March 13.
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The win was also Indiana’s first against Minnesota since 2017 and the Hoosiers had previously lost six in a row against the Golden Gophers.
Indiana has a chance to win the series against Minnesota tomorrow in the rubber match, with first pitch set for noon. For Mercer though, it’s just about the effort the team brings every day.
“I don’t care what happens, I just want to go compete,” Mercer said. “If we win, we win. If we lose, we lose. The one thing you can control is your ability to compete.”
(04/27/19 3:02am)
In an all-around rough game, Indiana baseball suffered another Friday night loss, 7-3 to Minnesota, its third of their five Big Ten series thus far.
Both the pitching and hitting had tough nights for the Hoosiers. The hitting struggles are usual for Indiana on Fridays as they only average under four runs on Friday games in the Big Ten compared to an average of about nine runs per game for the season.
(04/25/19 6:30pm)
Fresh off of a 9-3 win over Ball State at Victory Field in Indianapolis Tuesday, Indiana baseball is set to host Minnesota in an important series this weekend.
The weekend’s slate of games will have a major impact on the Big Ten standings. Indiana is currently alone at the top of the conference with a 9-3 record in Big Ten play. Minnesota isn’t far behind; they hold a 7-5 conference record and are in fifth.
The Golden Gophers are the defending regular season and Big Ten Tournament Champs and made a Super Regional a season ago. Going into the season, Minnesota was expected to experience similar success as they were voted the preseason favorite in the Coaches poll.
Minnesota has struggled to replicate that success thus far; the team has a losing record at 17-20 after boasting 44 wins just a season ago. Despite the lack of success, Minnesota certainly has plenty of talent. It should be a competitive series against an Indiana team that has won 11 of their last 12 games and has a 28-13 record.
These will be the first games Indiana plays all year as a ranked team as well. According to Baseball America, Indiana is the No. 25 ranked team and in RPI Indiana ranks at No.22.
Let’s take a deeper look at what Minnesota offers to the series.
Utilitymen
Similar to Indiana’s senior utilityman, Matt Lloyd, who plays first base and pitches as a closer, Minnesota has a multi-skilled utilityman as well in sophomore Max Meyer.
Meyer can practically do it all as the Golden Gophers’ Friday starter has the best ERA at 1.93 on the team for starting pitchers and is second on the team in batting average at a .283 mark.
Lloyd has the second-best batting average on Indiana and has the second lowest ERA of Indiana’s bullpen arms.
Both guys are essential to the two teams’ success and could be argued are the clubs’ most important players as they contribute in a multitude of ways.
Hitting
Minnesota is a decent hitting club; in team batting average they rank eighth in the Big Ten at a .260 mark. They also put up an average of five runs per game.
The Golden Gophers only have one bat who hits above .300 though, junior Eli Wilson, who hits for a .307 average. Wilson also has hit for 17 RBIs and two home runs to go along with 14 walks taken.
Meyer and junior Jordan Kozicky make up Minnesota’s next best bats. Meyer hits for a .283 batting average and is a traditional contact hitter. 25 of his 30 base hits have been singles with the other five being four doubles and one home run. Meyer has 12 RBIs on the year too.
Kozicky is the best power bat for Minnesota. The junior leads the team in home runs (7) and RBIs (36) and has a .264 batting average. Kozicky is tied for fourth in the Big Ten for most RBIs in the conference.
Pitching
Minnesota’s pitching as a team is similar to their hitting as they rank eighth in the conference in ERA (4.46). Based on the last few weekend series, the starters include Meyer on Friday, senior Jake Stevenson on Saturday, and Sunday’s is sophomore Joshua Culliver.
Meyer stands out among the group and as one of the Big Ten’s best arms. Meyer’s ERA stands at 1.93, which ranks fourth in the Big Ten. Meyer has pitched more than anyone on the Golden Gophers with 56 innings thrown and has struck out 60 batters with only 15 batters walked.
Stevenson has struggled throughout the season to a 1-2 record and 5.72 ERA. The senior has only thrown 28.1 innings in 12 appearances and has 32 strikeouts and 20 walks on the year.
Culliver has produced similar results to Stevenson. He has a 2-3 record and a barely better ERA of 5.52. He has thrown 34 strikeouts and walked 18 in 45.2 innings pitched. Batters against Culliver hit for a .310 batting average as well.
(04/23/19 1:41am)
Indiana baseball will face a familiar foe on Tuesday as the Hoosiers will play Ball State for the second time this season. The Hoosiers won easily by a score of 14-3 in the previous matchup last week.
This time around Indiana won’t be hosting its in-state opponent. The teams will be playing at a neutral site of Victory Field in Indianapolis.
Since the schools last played they both won a conference series on the road over the weekend. Indiana took two of three at Michigan State to improve their record to 27-13. Ball State won two games over the weekend at Miami of Ohio as the Cardinals’ record now stands at 25-14.
Now, let’s take an inside look at what Ball State will bring to the table.
(04/22/19 1:19am)
Indiana baseball won two of three games on the road at Michigan State this weekend as the Hoosiers have yet to lose a Big Ten series this season.
After easily beating Michigan State on Friday 13-4, Saturday’s game was moved to Sunday due to inclement weather and made for a double-header.
In game two, Indiana had their nine-game winning streak snapped by a 5-3 loss but rebounded to win the series in game three as they crushed the Spartans 11-2.
Following the series, Indiana’s record now stands at 27-13 overall and holds a 9-3 record within conference play. The Hoosiers are now first in the Big Ten with Nebraska, Michigan, and Iowa behind them to make up the top four.