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Game Notes: Hoosiers Host Ball State on Wednesday Evening

snowling

Hall of Famer
Setting the Scene
• Indiana continues a stretch of seven consecutive home games, as it hosts in-state foe Ball State on Wednesday night at 6:05 p.m.
• The Hoosiers will welcome the Iowa Hawkeyes to town beginning on Friday to close out the seven game homestand.
• The Hoosiers have won five consecutive games entering Wednesday night. The winning streak is the longest for the Hoosiers this season.
• Indiana has a 67-20 (.772) record at Bart Kaufman Field since the stadium opened in 2013.
• Since opening Bart Kaufman Field in 2013, the Hoosiers have posted an astounding record of 32-7 record in their own ballpark in Big Ten games.

The Coaches
Chris Lemonis is in his second season as Indiana's head coach, posting an overall record of 52-37 thus far. Lemonis took over an IU program in 2015 that had gone 93-31 the previous two seasons, including its first-ever College World Series appearance in 2013 and the No. 4 overall seed in the 2014 NCAA Baseball Championship. With a new look roster, his program immediately lived up to the expectations, posting a 35-24 overall record and earning a berth into a third-straight NCAA Regional in 2015.
• As an assistant coach, Lemonis' imprint in elevating the Louisville program to new heights was evident. The former Cardinals' recruiting coordinator aided Louisville to three College World Series appearances (2007, 2013, 2014) and a 359-159 (.693) record during the past eight seasons, including back-to-back 50-win seasons in 2013 and 2014.
Rich Maloney, enters his 11th season as head coach at Ball State. Maloney guided the Cardinals to a 33-25 overall record and 14-13 Mid-American Conference mark in 2015 and to the 2015 MAC Tournament Championship game. Maloney led Ball State to a 39-18 overall record, a 22-4 Mid-American Conference mark, the MAC Regular-Season Championship, a MAC West Division crown and the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament in 2014

Notables
• Entering this week, Indiana pitching ranks tied for first in the Big Ten in fewest walks allowed (77), second in team ERA (2.85), third in opponent batting average (.233), third in batters struck out (242), second in fewest earned runs allowed (87), third in fewest runs allowed (118) and fourth in fewest hits allowed (239).
• Indiana's pitching staff entered this week ranked sixth nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (2.5), 8th in strikeout to walk ratio (3.14), 11th in team ERA (2.82), 16th in WHIP (1.15) and 32nd in hits allowed per nine innings (7.8).
• Hoosier pitchers have given up one earned run or less eight times this season, all of which have happened in an 19-game span.
• Over the last 12 games, Indiana's pitching staff has given up 67 hits in its last 80 innings.
• Indiana pitching has posted double-figure strikeouts in 10 games this season.
• The Hoosiers have given up two walks or less in 17 games this season, including nine of the last 14 games.
• Entering this week, IU is ranked third in the Big Ten in triples (8) and fourth in home runs (22).

Player Notes
• Junior Craig Dedelow stands tied for fifth in the conference in triples (2), tied for seventh in doubles (9), and tied for 10th in RBI (24).
• Dedelow has driven in at least one run in five of his last seven games.
• Dedelow's three doubles against Butler on March 23 are tied for a Big Ten season-high. His five RBI against the Bulldogs were a career high.
• Dedelow reached base safely in his first 17 games this season, and dating back to last year, his last 22 games. That streak came to a halt on March 20 against Toledo.
• Dedelow, for the second-straight year, was the overall individual champion of IU's annual Omaha
Challenge, logging 253 total points.
• Senior Brian Wilhite is fourth in the Big Ten in RBI (27) and tied for ninth in home runs (5).
• On March 23 against Butler, Wilhite had a career-high six RBI and two home runs, which included a grand slam. He followed that performance up with another grand slam in a second consecutive game on March 25 at Indiana State.
• For his efforts against Butler and Indiana State, Wilhite earned Big Ten Player of the Week for the week of March 28, marking his first career conference honor.
• Wilhite hit .562 on the week with three home runs, while driving in 10 and scoring seven runs on nine hits.
• Junior second baseman Tony Butler has yet to make an error this season or in his entire career. Butler has started 27 games at his position and has appeared in all 30 games. Butler has a total of 121 chances this season, including 79 assists and 42 putouts. He has helped turn 21 double plays this year as well.
• Butlers's 79 assists rank 12th in the Big Ten while ranking fourth in fielding double plays with 21.
• Butler hit a walk-off home run on March 27 at Bart Kaufman Field, giving the Hoosiers a 5-3 victory over the Indiana State Sycamores.
• Before Butler's walk-off homer, the last extra-inning walk off home run for the Hoosiers dates back to the 2013 NCAA Regional when Chad Clark hit one against Valparaiso in NCAA Regionals.
• Sophomore outfielder Logan Sowers ranks tied for fifth in the Big Ten in home runs with six. Sowers' six long balls have come in just 18 games, as he missed 12 games due to injury. Sowers is averaging one home run per 10.7 at-bats.
• Sowers, entering the week hitting .328, has 21 hits on the season with nine of them coming for extra-bases. He currently has posted a 1.114 OPS.
• In the 10 games this season that Sowers has recorded at least one hit, seven of those games have included a hit that has gone for extra bases.
• Freshman catcher Ryan Fineman is second amongst Indiana hitters with a .316 batting average in 28 games and 24 starts.
• Fineman enthers the week having reached base in 16-straight games while also carrying an 11-game hitting streak, both career highs.
• Junior relief RHP Jake Kelzer has struck out 27 batters in 23 innings while allowing just 17 hits, as opposing batters are hitting just .202 off him.
• Kelzer had a streak of seven appearances where he didn't allow an earned run snapped against Purdue on April 8. The last earned run Kelzer surrendered prior to Purdue was March 5 against Seton Hall.
• For his career in Big Ten games, Kelzer has posted a 3.06 ERA, which ranks eighth in school history.
• Along with Kelzer in the back end of the Indiana bullpen, junior Thomas Belcher has not allowed a run in his last nine appearances. Over those last nine appearances, Belcher has tossed 15.1 innings, surrendering just five hits, walking three and striking out 12.
• Belcher, who has thrown 101.2 career innings in a Hoosier uniform, currently ranks seventh all-time at Indiana with a 2.21 ERA (50 inning minimum).

Go Hoosiers!

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