I'm just a tad bit nervous about this series after the way we played against Ohio State. Illinois has some good hitters, and I would say that we have seen that errors can rip us apart despite our good pitching depth. Not to mention, if we don't score with runners in scoring position, we won't win. We can not rely on the long ball to save us. 3-30 with runners in scoring position, and some of the games were close. 2-14 with runners in scoring position, and we lost 4-3.
As I mentioned in the article, Illinois has beaten some pretty strong teams in our conference. Yet, we are 0-4 against solid competition. It makes me think that Illinois can take some of these games from us.
Still, I do not want to jump the gun. I saw some remarks about how our season may be screwed and that we are hopeless, and I would wait to say that. Baseball is such a mental game where really anything can happen; it's the beauty of the sport in my eyes. We just looked deflated in Columbus, but hopefully, playing back in Indiana and back at Bart Kaufman should help with that.
Coach Mercer also said in the press conference that Tuesday was a good practice, which is a positive outlook on the weekend.
I think I'll be at the game tomorrow and I'm looking forward to winning. Losing happens, but I hate to see Indiana lose. GO IU!
Also, feel free to talk about this upcoming series with me! I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the matchup, some points from my article, etc.