Setting the Scene
•Indiana returns home this weekend for a four-game set with the Toledo Rockets, including a doubleheader on Saturday.
• The Hoosiers are 3-0 all-time against the Rockets. In the last meeting on March 1, 2014, Indiana earned an 8-3 victory over Toledo.
• Indiana has already played in five extra-inning contests through the first 14 games of this season. The Hoosiers picked up their first extra-inning victory at Evansville on Tuesday, earning a 7-6 victory over the Purple Aces in 10 innings.
The Coaches
• Chris Lemonis is in his second season as Indiana's head coach, posting an overall record of 41-32 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.
• Cory Mee enters his 13th season as the head baseball coach at the University of Toledo. The Rockets have qualified for the MAC Tournament a school-record five-consecutive seasons and six times overall under Mee. UT has also finished in the top two in the division on three occasions in the last five seasons.
Notables
• Entering this weekend, Indiana pitching ranks first in the Big Ten in fewest walks allowed (29), third in team ERA (2.67), third in fewest earned runs allowed (36), third in fewest runs allowed (51), fifth in opposing batting average (.251), fifth in fewest hits allowed (116) and sixth in batters struck out (109),
• Indiana's pitching staff entered this past weekend ranked ninth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.72), ninth in walks allowed per nine innings (2.4), 35th in team ERA, 49th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.9), 86th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.3),
• Indiana's starting pitching has been strong through the first four weekends of action. In 12 combined starts from LHP Kyle Hart, RHP Evan Bell and LHP Caleb Baragar, the trio has posted a 1.89 ERA, allowing just 57 hits over 71.1 innings of work, striking out 58 batters while walking only 12. Teams are hitting a combined .218 off Hart, Bell and Baragar so far.
• Indiana will be playing nine of its next 10 games in the friendly confines of Bart Kaufman Field, which enters its fourth season of baseball since opening during the 2013 campaign. Indiana has a 58-17 (.778) record at "The Bart".
• Since opening Bart Kaufman Field in 2013, the Hoosiers are a combined 19-2 in March home games in the new ballpark. Indiana's loss to Western Carolina on March 12 was its first loss in its home ballpark in the month of March since 23rd day in 2014, a 4-3 loss to Michigan.
• The 2016 roster features a total of 19 returnees and 14 newcomers. Of the 14 newcomers, four are transfers and 10 are freshmen.
• The Hoosiers' 2016 schedule includes 27 home games, five NCAA Tournament teams from 2015, and a 2015 College World Series participant.
• Senior left-handed pitcher Kyle Hart, junior right-handed pitcher Jake Kelzer and senior infielder Brian Wilhitehave been named team captains for the upcoming 2016 season.
• Indiana's 2016 opening day roster features 10 players that have either been part of a national championship or College World Series squad.
• A total of seven players that were part of the 2013 Hoosier squad that made the College World Series are part of the 2016 roster. RHP Evan Bell, INF Brian Wilhite, LHP Kyle Hart, LHP Sully Stadler, LHP Will Coursen-Carr, RHPKent Williams, and RHP Thomas Belcher all were on the 2013 roster.
• Infielder Tony Butler, a transfer from Madison College, spent his freshman season in 2014 as a member of the Virginia Cavaliers baseball program.
• During his 2014 stint in Charlottesville, Butler and the Cavaliers earned a berth into the College World Series, reaching the National Championship series, eventually falling to Vanderbilt.
• Junior RHP Luke Stephenson is another transfer who joins the Hoosiers in 2016. Stephenson spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons with Vanderbilt.
• Stephenson was a member of the 2014 Commodore club that went on to with the College World Series.
• Junior OF Alex Krupa comes from Iowa Western Community College, where his squad went on to win the 2014 JuCo World Series. Krupa was named MVP of the World Series.
• Following his sophomore year at Iowa Western, Krupa was drafted in the 35th round by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2015 MLB Draft.
• In addition, head coach Chris Lemonis has been a part of three College World Series teams when he was an assistant coach at Louisville (2007, 2013 and 2014).
• Assistant coach Kyle Cheesebrough has made two College World Series appearances as well as an assistant coach (2013 and 2014 at Louisville).
"HART"BEAT OF THE ROTATION
• Indiana's Friday night starter, LHP Kyle Hart will be making his 49th career start on the mound in his Hoosier career on Friday.
• Hart's 48 career starts rank second on the nation's active career leaders list, trailing Florida State's Mike Compton by two. In addition, Hart ranks sixth nationally on the active career list in wins (24), ninth in innings pitched (266.0) and 20th in strikeouts (184),
• Dating back to last season, in his last seven starts, Hart has thrown 44.2 innings, allowing 36 hits, four earned runs while striking out 37 batters and walking just four. He has allowed just eight extra-base hits in those starts, five of them doubles and three triples.
• Entering the weekend, the Ohio native has 24 career wins, which ranks alone for fourth all-time in school history. Hart trails Craig Williams (1987-90) by two wins for third all-time in the IU record books.
• In addition, his 266.0 career innings currently rank eighth all-time at Indiana while the 183 career strikeouts puts him just 12 away from cracking the school's top 10 list.
• Hart ranks tied for third in IU history with 12 career wins in Big Ten games, while his 3.11 ERA in conference action ranks eighth and his 83 strikeouts rank 10th.
• The senior captain tossed a complete game, six-strikeout effort in a 3-2 victory over Western Carolina on March 11, marking his second career complete game.
• Hart was named the Big Ten's Co-Pitcher of the Week for his outing against Illinois State on March 4. He allowed three hits and no runs over six innings in a 14-1 victory over the Redbirds to improve to 2-1 on the year. The senior captain struck out a career-high 10 batters while walking none.
• In the season opener at Middle Tennessee, Hart put together a five-inning start where he struck out seven, walked one, and allowed just one hit in the early stages. Hart retired the final 15 batters he faced.
• Hart had a streak of 30.0 innings without allowing an earned run snapped on March 26 at Cal State Fullerton (2/26). Entering that start, the last time Hart had surrendered an earned run was May 9, 2015 in the first inning against Long Beach State in Bloomington.
RINGING THE BELL
• Indiana's Saturday starter is senior RHP Evan Bell. Bell has made 10 career starts, indluding four this season.
• In his outing against Seton Hall on March 5, Bell went six innings, allowing seven hits, one earned run and struck out two in the no-decision.
• Bell had a strong start at Cal State Fullerton, as he went a career-high seven innings in his start, striking out six while allowing just two hits. Bell closed his final 4.1 innings of work allowing no hits and just two baserunners.
• Bell, who set career-highs with 21 appearances and 49.2 innings pitched in 2015, had an impressive outing vs. Notre Dame at Victory Field on April 21, retiring 12-straight batters with five strikeouts.
• He threw a then career-high 6.1 innings vs. Michigan on April 4, also notching a career-best eight strikeouts while limiting U-M to one run on four hits.
BEARING DOWN ON SUNDAYS
• Senior LHP Caleb Baragar has served as IU's Sunday starter through the first four weekends of the season. He has made 16 career starts in a Hoosier uniform, while his 12 starts in 2015 tied for the team lead.
• In his last two combined starts, Baragar has allowed seven hits in 13 innings, striking out 12 and walking two while holding his opponents scoreless to dip his ERA down to 1.50.
• During his last 16.2 innings of work, Baragar has not surrendered an earned run.
• Baragar put together a strong starting performance against Butler on March 6, going seven innings where he allowed just three hits and matched his career-high in strikeouts with with eight while walking two.
• The senior allowed five hits and two earned runs in 5.2 innings of work at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 28. The southpaw struck out a career-high eight batters while allowing two walks.
DOING THE GOOD DEED
• Junior Craig Dedelow has reached base safely in 19-straight games, a career-long, including the first 14 games to open the 2016 season.
• The junior outfielder went 4-for-5 with three RBI and four runs scored, while also stealing a base in the season opener at Middle Tennessee. His four hits and four runs scored are both career-highs.
• Dedelow, for the second-straight year, was the overall individual champion of IU's annual Omaha Challenge, logging 253 total points.
FINE FRESHMEN
• Appearing in all 14 games this season and starting 10, freshman Ryan Fineman leads the team with a .342 batting average.
• Fineman went 8-for-12, with two runs scored and one RBI, hitting at a .667 clip on Indiana's four-game road trip in Port Charlotte, Fla. March 3-6.
• The freshman had a career-high four hits in a 14-1 victory over Illinois State on March 4 while also going 2-for-2 as a pinch hitter against Seton Hall (March 5) and posting a 2-for-4 effort against Butler (March 6),
• Joining Fineman atop Indiana's list of top hitters is freshman Luke Miller. Miller is second on the squad behind Fineman with a .327 batting average.
• Miller is currently riding a 10-game reached base streak.
SIX-EIGHT JAKE
• Indiana's depth in the bullpen is anchored by its closer, 6-8 right hander Jake Kelzer. In four appearances out of the bullpen this year, Kelzer has allowed 12 hits in 15.0 innings of work, striking out 17 and walking four while posting an ERA of 0.60.
• In the 14-inning contest at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 27, he allowed three hits in five innings of relief, striking out five, walking one and not allowing an earned run.
• Kelzer is on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Watch List, an award recognizing the nation's top relief pitcher. A total of 70 players are on the watch list.
Go Hoosiers!
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2016/3/1...ts-toledo-for-a-four-game-weekend-series.aspx
Revised Start Times (EDT):
Friday @ 4:35p
Saturday @ 1:05p
Sunday @ noon (doubleheader)
GBR!
•Indiana returns home this weekend for a four-game set with the Toledo Rockets, including a doubleheader on Saturday.
• The Hoosiers are 3-0 all-time against the Rockets. In the last meeting on March 1, 2014, Indiana earned an 8-3 victory over Toledo.
• Indiana has already played in five extra-inning contests through the first 14 games of this season. The Hoosiers picked up their first extra-inning victory at Evansville on Tuesday, earning a 7-6 victory over the Purple Aces in 10 innings.
The Coaches
• Chris Lemonis is in his second season as Indiana's head coach, posting an overall record of 41-32 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.
• Cory Mee enters his 13th season as the head baseball coach at the University of Toledo. The Rockets have qualified for the MAC Tournament a school-record five-consecutive seasons and six times overall under Mee. UT has also finished in the top two in the division on three occasions in the last five seasons.
Notables
• Entering this weekend, Indiana pitching ranks first in the Big Ten in fewest walks allowed (29), third in team ERA (2.67), third in fewest earned runs allowed (36), third in fewest runs allowed (51), fifth in opposing batting average (.251), fifth in fewest hits allowed (116) and sixth in batters struck out (109),
• Indiana's pitching staff entered this past weekend ranked ninth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.72), ninth in walks allowed per nine innings (2.4), 35th in team ERA, 49th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.9), 86th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.3),
• Indiana's starting pitching has been strong through the first four weekends of action. In 12 combined starts from LHP Kyle Hart, RHP Evan Bell and LHP Caleb Baragar, the trio has posted a 1.89 ERA, allowing just 57 hits over 71.1 innings of work, striking out 58 batters while walking only 12. Teams are hitting a combined .218 off Hart, Bell and Baragar so far.
• Indiana will be playing nine of its next 10 games in the friendly confines of Bart Kaufman Field, which enters its fourth season of baseball since opening during the 2013 campaign. Indiana has a 58-17 (.778) record at "The Bart".
• Since opening Bart Kaufman Field in 2013, the Hoosiers are a combined 19-2 in March home games in the new ballpark. Indiana's loss to Western Carolina on March 12 was its first loss in its home ballpark in the month of March since 23rd day in 2014, a 4-3 loss to Michigan.
• The 2016 roster features a total of 19 returnees and 14 newcomers. Of the 14 newcomers, four are transfers and 10 are freshmen.
• The Hoosiers' 2016 schedule includes 27 home games, five NCAA Tournament teams from 2015, and a 2015 College World Series participant.
• Senior left-handed pitcher Kyle Hart, junior right-handed pitcher Jake Kelzer and senior infielder Brian Wilhitehave been named team captains for the upcoming 2016 season.
• Indiana's 2016 opening day roster features 10 players that have either been part of a national championship or College World Series squad.
• A total of seven players that were part of the 2013 Hoosier squad that made the College World Series are part of the 2016 roster. RHP Evan Bell, INF Brian Wilhite, LHP Kyle Hart, LHP Sully Stadler, LHP Will Coursen-Carr, RHPKent Williams, and RHP Thomas Belcher all were on the 2013 roster.
• Infielder Tony Butler, a transfer from Madison College, spent his freshman season in 2014 as a member of the Virginia Cavaliers baseball program.
• During his 2014 stint in Charlottesville, Butler and the Cavaliers earned a berth into the College World Series, reaching the National Championship series, eventually falling to Vanderbilt.
• Junior RHP Luke Stephenson is another transfer who joins the Hoosiers in 2016. Stephenson spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons with Vanderbilt.
• Stephenson was a member of the 2014 Commodore club that went on to with the College World Series.
• Junior OF Alex Krupa comes from Iowa Western Community College, where his squad went on to win the 2014 JuCo World Series. Krupa was named MVP of the World Series.
• Following his sophomore year at Iowa Western, Krupa was drafted in the 35th round by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2015 MLB Draft.
• In addition, head coach Chris Lemonis has been a part of three College World Series teams when he was an assistant coach at Louisville (2007, 2013 and 2014).
• Assistant coach Kyle Cheesebrough has made two College World Series appearances as well as an assistant coach (2013 and 2014 at Louisville).
"HART"BEAT OF THE ROTATION
• Indiana's Friday night starter, LHP Kyle Hart will be making his 49th career start on the mound in his Hoosier career on Friday.
• Hart's 48 career starts rank second on the nation's active career leaders list, trailing Florida State's Mike Compton by two. In addition, Hart ranks sixth nationally on the active career list in wins (24), ninth in innings pitched (266.0) and 20th in strikeouts (184),
• Dating back to last season, in his last seven starts, Hart has thrown 44.2 innings, allowing 36 hits, four earned runs while striking out 37 batters and walking just four. He has allowed just eight extra-base hits in those starts, five of them doubles and three triples.
• Entering the weekend, the Ohio native has 24 career wins, which ranks alone for fourth all-time in school history. Hart trails Craig Williams (1987-90) by two wins for third all-time in the IU record books.
• In addition, his 266.0 career innings currently rank eighth all-time at Indiana while the 183 career strikeouts puts him just 12 away from cracking the school's top 10 list.
• Hart ranks tied for third in IU history with 12 career wins in Big Ten games, while his 3.11 ERA in conference action ranks eighth and his 83 strikeouts rank 10th.
• The senior captain tossed a complete game, six-strikeout effort in a 3-2 victory over Western Carolina on March 11, marking his second career complete game.
• Hart was named the Big Ten's Co-Pitcher of the Week for his outing against Illinois State on March 4. He allowed three hits and no runs over six innings in a 14-1 victory over the Redbirds to improve to 2-1 on the year. The senior captain struck out a career-high 10 batters while walking none.
• In the season opener at Middle Tennessee, Hart put together a five-inning start where he struck out seven, walked one, and allowed just one hit in the early stages. Hart retired the final 15 batters he faced.
• Hart had a streak of 30.0 innings without allowing an earned run snapped on March 26 at Cal State Fullerton (2/26). Entering that start, the last time Hart had surrendered an earned run was May 9, 2015 in the first inning against Long Beach State in Bloomington.
RINGING THE BELL
• Indiana's Saturday starter is senior RHP Evan Bell. Bell has made 10 career starts, indluding four this season.
• In his outing against Seton Hall on March 5, Bell went six innings, allowing seven hits, one earned run and struck out two in the no-decision.
• Bell had a strong start at Cal State Fullerton, as he went a career-high seven innings in his start, striking out six while allowing just two hits. Bell closed his final 4.1 innings of work allowing no hits and just two baserunners.
• Bell, who set career-highs with 21 appearances and 49.2 innings pitched in 2015, had an impressive outing vs. Notre Dame at Victory Field on April 21, retiring 12-straight batters with five strikeouts.
• He threw a then career-high 6.1 innings vs. Michigan on April 4, also notching a career-best eight strikeouts while limiting U-M to one run on four hits.
BEARING DOWN ON SUNDAYS
• Senior LHP Caleb Baragar has served as IU's Sunday starter through the first four weekends of the season. He has made 16 career starts in a Hoosier uniform, while his 12 starts in 2015 tied for the team lead.
• In his last two combined starts, Baragar has allowed seven hits in 13 innings, striking out 12 and walking two while holding his opponents scoreless to dip his ERA down to 1.50.
• During his last 16.2 innings of work, Baragar has not surrendered an earned run.
• Baragar put together a strong starting performance against Butler on March 6, going seven innings where he allowed just three hits and matched his career-high in strikeouts with with eight while walking two.
• The senior allowed five hits and two earned runs in 5.2 innings of work at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 28. The southpaw struck out a career-high eight batters while allowing two walks.
DOING THE GOOD DEED
• Junior Craig Dedelow has reached base safely in 19-straight games, a career-long, including the first 14 games to open the 2016 season.
• The junior outfielder went 4-for-5 with three RBI and four runs scored, while also stealing a base in the season opener at Middle Tennessee. His four hits and four runs scored are both career-highs.
• Dedelow, for the second-straight year, was the overall individual champion of IU's annual Omaha Challenge, logging 253 total points.
FINE FRESHMEN
• Appearing in all 14 games this season and starting 10, freshman Ryan Fineman leads the team with a .342 batting average.
• Fineman went 8-for-12, with two runs scored and one RBI, hitting at a .667 clip on Indiana's four-game road trip in Port Charlotte, Fla. March 3-6.
• The freshman had a career-high four hits in a 14-1 victory over Illinois State on March 4 while also going 2-for-2 as a pinch hitter against Seton Hall (March 5) and posting a 2-for-4 effort against Butler (March 6),
• Joining Fineman atop Indiana's list of top hitters is freshman Luke Miller. Miller is second on the squad behind Fineman with a .327 batting average.
• Miller is currently riding a 10-game reached base streak.
SIX-EIGHT JAKE
• Indiana's depth in the bullpen is anchored by its closer, 6-8 right hander Jake Kelzer. In four appearances out of the bullpen this year, Kelzer has allowed 12 hits in 15.0 innings of work, striking out 17 and walking four while posting an ERA of 0.60.
• In the 14-inning contest at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 27, he allowed three hits in five innings of relief, striking out five, walking one and not allowing an earned run.
• Kelzer is on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Watch List, an award recognizing the nation's top relief pitcher. A total of 70 players are on the watch list.
Go Hoosiers!
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2016/3/1...ts-toledo-for-a-four-game-weekend-series.aspx
Revised Start Times (EDT):
Friday @ 4:35p
Saturday @ 1:05p
Sunday @ noon (doubleheader)
GBR!
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