Indiana Hosts Conference Foe Nebraska Beginning on Friday (BTN)

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Indiana (14-9-1, 3-0 Big Ten) vs. Nebraska (13-10, 0-0 Big Ten)
March 31-April 2 | Bloomington, Ind. | Bart Kaufman Field
Series Schedule Coverage Projected Starters
Indiana vs. Nebraska
Friday - 7 p.m. ET Watch | Listen | Live Stats IU - RHP Jonathan Stiever (1-1, 6.46)
UN - RHP Jake Hohensee (2-2, 2.08)
Indiana vs. Nebraska
Saturday - 2:05 p.m. Watch | Listen | Live Stats IU - RHP Brian Hobbie (2-1, 4.50)
UN - RHP Derek Burkamper (1-2, 3.32)
Indiana vs. Nebraska
Saturday - 12 p.m. ET Watch | Listen | Live Stats IU - TBA
UN - LHP Jake Meyers (4-1, 2.01

• Indiana continues a six-game home stand with a three-game Big Ten series featuring the Hoosiers and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. This will be Nebraska's first ever trip to Bart Kaufman Field.

• Since the start of the 2008 season, Indiana leads the Big Ten in wins (324) and conference wins (138). The Hoosiers have made four NCAA Regionals over that span, the most out of any current Big Ten team.

• Since Bart Kaufman Field opened up in 2013, the Hoosiers have lost just two weekend series, both coming in 2015 against Michigan and Michigan State. Overall, the Hoosiers have won 14 of 16 Big Ten series played in their yard.

• The Hoosiers have won 10 of their last 12 games. During that stretch, Indiana is hitting .308 as a team. Sophomore Luke Miller has led the way during IU's 12-game stretch, batting at a .426 clip with six doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and 13 runs scored.

• Sophomore utility player Matt Lloyd was named the National Player of the Week by Perfect Game, National Hitter of the Week by NCBWA, and one of Collegiate Baseball's National Players of the Week, while also earning B1G Player of the Week after last weekend's 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 the week prior to Lloyd, 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.

• Indiana is tied for first in the Big Ten in home runs (T-20th nationally, 28), second in slugging percentage (57th, .437), third in RBI (135), fourth in runs (144), hits (226), triples (7) and total bases (365), tied for fourth in doubles (41) and sixth in batting average (.270).

• The Hoosiers pitching staff is allowing 2.82 walks per nine innings, good for second in the Big Ten and 18th in the country.

• Miller leads IU with a .341 batting average (T-13th in B1G), has hit in nine-straight games and reached base in 15-straight.

• Senior Craig Dedelow (6, T-4th) and Lloyd (5, T-7th) are both in the top 10 in the conference in home runs. Dedelow is also tied for sixth in the league with 51 total bases.

Radio, video and live stats within:
iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/3/30/baseball-indiana-hosts-conference-foe-nebraska-beginning-on-friday.aspx

Go Hoosiers!

 

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Huskers look to build on strong pitching starts

Husker view:
http://journalstar.com/sports/huske...cle_906dae25-11b1-575b-adbf-4f025b998acd.html

Go Hoosiers!

 

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Chris Lemonis wants better starting pitching against Nebraska
by Taylor Lehman

After the Hoosiers lost 7-3 to the Indiana State Sycamores on Wednesday night, IU Coach Chris Lemonis made a point to call on his starting rotation.

IU’s starting pitchers in its last five games have pitched 18 innings and allowed a total of 19 runs, which forced the Hoosiers to rely on their batters to score runs. The bats have been reliable, as IU has gone 4-1 in the last five games.

But Wednesday, the bats failed to come through after freshmen pitchers Andrew Saalfrank and Cameron Beauchamp allowed five runs in the first two innings. The Hoosiers only scored three runs and lost in dominating fashion to the 
Sycamores.

Lemonis said IU has been “pitching scared,” as the Hoosiers have scraped by with eight wins but a run differential of just 70-60 in the last 10 games. The coach said the starting pitchers need to improve quickly before the three-game series against a 13-10 Nebraska.

“It’s a new day,” Lemonis said about game one Friday. “Last night didn’t affect today, and tonight shouldn’t affect Friday. Hopefully we get a great start from Jonathan Stiever and play a really solid game.”

Before the season, 
sophomore starting pitcher Jonathan Stiever was announced as the Friday starter for the Hoosiers, and the young pitcher started strong by pitching 11.2 innings and allowing just 10 hits and three earned runs in his first two starts.

After his second start though, the ace woke up with soreness in his arm, and Lemonis and the coaching staff shut him down for three 
series.

Stiever pitched one perfect inning to start IU’s second mid-week matchup against Cincinnati on March 22. Then, in his first Friday start since Feb. 24, Stiever was ousted after 2.2 innings against Northwestern. The sophomore allowed eight runs on nine hits and struck out just one batter.

Now Stiever anchors a rotation that features junior pitcher Brian Hobbie and a third pitcher to be determined, as IU welcomes in a Nebraska team that lost to Oregon State twice in Surprise, Arizona, at the beginning of the season. The Hoosiers also lost to the Beavers twice in Surprise, Arizona, and while IU had won eight of its last 10 games, so had Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers are coming off of a blowout victory against the Kansas State Wildcats that featured hits from nine different Huskers.

The Nebraska lineup is beginning to click, as three Huskers batters — sophomore infielder Angelo Altavilla, freshman outfielder Mojo Hagge and junior outfielder Scott Schreiber — have all pushed their averages above .300.

IU ended its 2016 regular season with a series sweep at the hands of Nebraska, three losses that dropped IU to the No. 3 seed for the Big Ten Tournament at the end of the season. Senior outfielder Craig Dedelow, who hit his sixth home run Wednesday against Indiana State, said the Hoosiers will have a chip on their shoulders going into the home series versus the Cornhuskers.

“We’re really excited, especially bringing in a really good opponent that is Nebraska,” Dedelow said. “We’ve kind of got a chip on our shoulders from last year, knocking us out of the Big Ten Championship outright. It’ll be nice to play well against these guys.”

http://www.idsnews.com/article/2017/03/chris-lemonis-wants-better-starting-pitching-against-nebraska

Go Hoosiers!