Indiana Hosts a Pair of Midweek Games Against Evansville and ISU

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Indiana vs. Evansville / Indiana State | March 28-29 | Bloomington, Ind. | Bart Kaufman Field
Series Schedule Coverage Projected Starters
Indiana vs. Evansville
Tuesday - 6:05 p.m. ET Watch | Listen | Live Stats IU - LHP Tim Herrin (2-2, 5.25)
UE - LHP Alex Weigand (1-2, 10.03))
Indiana vs. Indiana State
Wednesday - 6:05 p.m. ET Watch | Listen | Live Stats IU - TBA
ISU - LHP Ryan Keaffaber (1-1, 4.87)

• Indiana returns to Bart Kaufman Field this Tuesday and Wednesday for a pair of midweek contests with in state foes. The Hoosiers will face Evansville on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m., followed by a Wednesday showdown with Indiana State at 6:05 p.m.

• The Hoosiers have won nine of their last 10 games and are currently riding a four-game win streak. Indiana had a stretch where it won 10 of 11 games last season from April 2 at Rutgers until April 22 at Michigan State.

• Sophomore utility player Matt Lloyd was named one of Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week and earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career after his weekend in the series sweep at Northwestern.

• Lloyd hit .643 on the week with nine hits, four home runs, two doubles, 10 RBI and six runs scored. The Canada-native also made three relief appearances, striking out four while tallying two saves.

• With senior Alex Krupa winning it last week, Indiana has picked up back-to-back Player of the Week honors from the Big Ten for the first time since March 31 and April 8 of 2014 when Dustin DeMuth and Sam Travis were recognized.

• In his last 10 games, sophomore Luke Miller is hitting at a .436 clip (17-for-39) with six doubles, one home run, eight RBI and 11 runs scored.

• Over his last 10 games in which he has started, Krupa is hitting .390 (17-for-39) with three home runs, three doubles, a triple, eight RBI and 10 runs scored. He has posted an OPS of 1.179.

• Indiana enters the week second in the Big Ten in home runs (26) and slugging percentage (.442), third in RBI (127) and total bases (342), tied for third in hits (213) and triples (7), fifth in batting average (.276) and runs (135), and tied for fifth in doubles (37).

• In Indiana's last 10 games (9-1), the Hoosiers are hitting .326 as a team with 79 runs (7.9), 118 hits (11.8), 23 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs and 72 RBI. IU has also posted a slugging percentage of .517 as a team and a .401 on base percentage.

• Since the start of the 2008 season, Indiana leads the Big Ten in wins (323) and conference wins (138). The Hoosiers have made four NCAA Regionals over that span, the most out of any current Big Ten team.

Radio and live stats within:
iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/3/27/baseball-indiana-hosts-a-pair-of-midweek-games-against-evansville-and-indiana-state.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

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IU looks to continue offensive stride in mid-week contests

After the IU swept their first Big Ten series against Northwestern last weekend, they play at Bart Kaufman Field for their next six games, including two mid-week games Tuesday and Wednesday against Evansville and Indiana State, respectively.

Aside from junior Brian Hobbie’s complete game in game two, IU’s starting pitching struggled in the Northwestern series. Sophomore ace Jonathan Stiever allowed eight runs in 2.2 innings Friday, and freshman starter Andrew Saalfrank got one out before being pulled from the game with a 3-2 deficit Sunday.

The Hoosier bats, along with strong mid-relief pitching, were able to pick up the pitching staff though, which they weren’t able to do early in the season. IU put up a total of 29 runs in three games to push its conference record to a Big Ten-best 3-0 and its overall record to 13-8-1.

IU has now won nine of its last 10 after seeing its record fall as low as 4-7-1 before the first home series in Bloomington began March 10.

No Hoosier had a bigger weekend than sophomore infielder and closing pitcher Matt Lloyd. Lloyd hit four total home runs out of the designated hitter position in Friday’s doubleheader with the Wildcats, and earned his second save in game three Sunday.

For the weekend, Lloyd went 9-for-14 with 10 runs batted in and five extra-base hits at the plate. The sophomore transfer also pitched 1.2 innings while allowing three hits and one run.

IU looks to maintain its production at the plate after the biggest offensive weekend of the season, but Evansville and Indiana State can be threats on the mound. Both aces boast earned run averages below three and both starting rotations strike out at least one batter per inning.

Strikeouts can be an issue for the Hoosiers. They sit at seventh in the Big Ten in total whiffs and have seen those numbers jump as high as top-five in the conference earlier in the season. However, IU’s collective batting average has jumped from as low as 10th in the conference to a current fifth place at .278.

IU also ranks second in the Big Ten in home runs with 26 and slugging percentage at .442 as well.

Both home games begin at 6:05 p.m. at Bart Kaufman Field.

Taylor Lehman

http://www.idsnews.com/article/2017/03/iu-looks-to-continue-offensive-stride-in-mid-week-contests

Go Hoosiers!

 

[ptrich]

There should be excellent weather for both games with the temps in the low to mid 60's and very little chance for rain.

IU's current RPI is 34 with an overall SOS at 43. The non-conference SOS stands at 8.

 

[snowling]

Yes ptrich, it is looking good.


Go Hoosiers!