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Indiana Baseball Opens 122nd Season at Middle Tennessee
Friday Links: Watch // Listen // Live Stats
Saturday Links: Watch // Listen // Live Stats
Sunday Links: Watch // Listen // Live Stats
Setting the Scene
• Indiana opens its 122nd season of baseball with a three-game series at Middle Tennessee beginning on Friday, Feb. 19.
• The Hoosiers have won their last three season openers (4-2 over Stanford in 2015; 1-0 over Texas Tech in 2014; 2-0 over Louisville in 2013). In 2015, Indiana opened the season with a three-game set against Stanford, taking two of three from the Cardinal.
•This weekend will be Indiana's third, fourth and fifth meeting with the Blue Raiders. The series is tied up 1-1 as Middle Tennessee took the first game, 9-8 on Feb. 26, 2000, followed by a 17-6 Hoosier victory the following day.
•Indiana's last appearance in the state of Tennessee is quite recent. The Hoosiers participated in the 2015 Nashville Regional hosted by Vanderbilt, May 29-31.
•The last time Indiana played a team from Conference USA was on April 16, 2014. IU earned a 10-inning, 1-0 victory over the WKU Hilltoppers.
•For the first time ever, Indiana is coming off a third-straight NCAA Postseason appearance.
The Coaches
• Chris Lemonis is in his second season as Indiana's head coach. 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.
• In 2013, he was named the ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year
• For Middle Tennessee, Jim McGuire enters his fourth season at the helm of the Blue Raider program after serving as an assistant and associate head coach for 20 years at Middle Tennessee. He was promoted to the head coaching position on Aug. 9, 2012.
• McGuire has posted a 91-82 overall record in his first three seasons at Middle Tennessee. He also produced a 220-116 mark as Head Coach at Rend Lake (Ill.) Junior College for an overall record of 311-198.
Notables
• Indiana was selected by the Big Ten coaches to finish third in 2016. Conference coaches voted on the top six teams.
• Senior LHP Kyle Hart, junior RHP Jake Kelzer and junior OF Craig Dedelow have been selected as Big Ten Preseason "Players to Watch."
• Junior RHP Jake Kelzer has been named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Watch List. The award recognizes the nation's top relief pitcher. A total of 70 players are on the preseason watch list.
• 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 will include 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 Wilhite have been named team captains for the upcoming 2016 season.
• Indiana won nine of its final 10 regular-season games in 2015 and won 12 of its last 16 overall. In that span, IU owned nine RPI Top 50 wins.
• The Hoosiers went 12-5 vs. ranked opponents in 2015, including five Top 15 wins. IU went 6-3 vs. RPI Top 25 teams, 16-9 vs. RPI Top 50 teams and 18-12 vs. RPI Top 75 teams.
Weekend Rotation
• Senior LHP Kyle Hart will start the season opener for the Hoosiers, making his 45th career start on the mound in his Indiana career.
• Hart led Indiana with a 1.21 earned run average and 5-0 record in 2015, appearing in 10 games while starting eight.
• Entering his senior season, the Ohio native has 21 career wins, which ranks eighth all-time at Indiana, as he trails Bob Scafa (1991-94) by one win for seventh.
• 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.
• Making the start on the hill on Saturday will be senior RHP Evan Bell. Bell will be making his sixth career start on Saturday, including three starts in 2015.
• 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 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.
• Senior LHP Caleb Baragar will get the ball on Sunday, making his 13th career start in a Hoosier uniform. His 12 starts in 2015 tied for the team lead.
• One of five IU pitchers with 50 strikeouts, Baragar fanned four or more batters on seven occasions, including three of his last five performances.
• Baragar spent his first two seasons at Jackson Community College.
IU Roster Features Championship Background
• 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, RHP Kent 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).
Go Hoosiers!
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2016/2/18/BB_0218161422.aspx
Friday Links: Watch // Listen // Live Stats
Saturday Links: Watch // Listen // Live Stats
Sunday Links: Watch // Listen // Live Stats
Setting the Scene
• Indiana opens its 122nd season of baseball with a three-game series at Middle Tennessee beginning on Friday, Feb. 19.
• The Hoosiers have won their last three season openers (4-2 over Stanford in 2015; 1-0 over Texas Tech in 2014; 2-0 over Louisville in 2013). In 2015, Indiana opened the season with a three-game set against Stanford, taking two of three from the Cardinal.
•This weekend will be Indiana's third, fourth and fifth meeting with the Blue Raiders. The series is tied up 1-1 as Middle Tennessee took the first game, 9-8 on Feb. 26, 2000, followed by a 17-6 Hoosier victory the following day.
•Indiana's last appearance in the state of Tennessee is quite recent. The Hoosiers participated in the 2015 Nashville Regional hosted by Vanderbilt, May 29-31.
•The last time Indiana played a team from Conference USA was on April 16, 2014. IU earned a 10-inning, 1-0 victory over the WKU Hilltoppers.
•For the first time ever, Indiana is coming off a third-straight NCAA Postseason appearance.
The Coaches
• Chris Lemonis is in his second season as Indiana's head coach. 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.
• In 2013, he was named the ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year
• For Middle Tennessee, Jim McGuire enters his fourth season at the helm of the Blue Raider program after serving as an assistant and associate head coach for 20 years at Middle Tennessee. He was promoted to the head coaching position on Aug. 9, 2012.
• McGuire has posted a 91-82 overall record in his first three seasons at Middle Tennessee. He also produced a 220-116 mark as Head Coach at Rend Lake (Ill.) Junior College for an overall record of 311-198.
Notables
• Indiana was selected by the Big Ten coaches to finish third in 2016. Conference coaches voted on the top six teams.
• Senior LHP Kyle Hart, junior RHP Jake Kelzer and junior OF Craig Dedelow have been selected as Big Ten Preseason "Players to Watch."
• Junior RHP Jake Kelzer has been named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Watch List. The award recognizes the nation's top relief pitcher. A total of 70 players are on the preseason watch list.
• 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 will include 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 Wilhite have been named team captains for the upcoming 2016 season.
• Indiana won nine of its final 10 regular-season games in 2015 and won 12 of its last 16 overall. In that span, IU owned nine RPI Top 50 wins.
• The Hoosiers went 12-5 vs. ranked opponents in 2015, including five Top 15 wins. IU went 6-3 vs. RPI Top 25 teams, 16-9 vs. RPI Top 50 teams and 18-12 vs. RPI Top 75 teams.
Weekend Rotation
• Senior LHP Kyle Hart will start the season opener for the Hoosiers, making his 45th career start on the mound in his Indiana career.
• Hart led Indiana with a 1.21 earned run average and 5-0 record in 2015, appearing in 10 games while starting eight.
• Entering his senior season, the Ohio native has 21 career wins, which ranks eighth all-time at Indiana, as he trails Bob Scafa (1991-94) by one win for seventh.
• 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.
• Making the start on the hill on Saturday will be senior RHP Evan Bell. Bell will be making his sixth career start on Saturday, including three starts in 2015.
• 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 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.
• Senior LHP Caleb Baragar will get the ball on Sunday, making his 13th career start in a Hoosier uniform. His 12 starts in 2015 tied for the team lead.
• One of five IU pitchers with 50 strikeouts, Baragar fanned four or more batters on seven occasions, including three of his last five performances.
• Baragar spent his first two seasons at Jackson Community College.
IU Roster Features Championship Background
• 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, RHP Kent 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).
Go Hoosiers!
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2016/2/18/BB_0218161422.aspx
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