IU looks to extend winning streak and continue moving up in standings
Indiana swept Minnesota this past weekend in a three-game home series, improving to 18-8. The sweep extended Indiana's winning streak to four games, the longest since the eight-game win streak earlier this season.
Since Indiana won all three games and the two teams ahead of them lost, the Hoosiers moved up to second place. They are currently tied with Michigan as both teams are 1.5 games behind first-place Nebraska.
The sweep over Minnesota is the first for the program since winning both games against the Golden Gophers on May 5, 1962. The Hoosiers outscored Minnesota 39-5, highlighted by the 23-1 victory in the series finale.
The Hoosiers will now play a three-game home series this weekend against Iowa, which will conclude a six-game home stand before traveling on the road to New Jersey.
The Hawkeyes have won six of their last eight games. They won the four-game series against Rutgers, split the two-game series against Maryland and most recently, swept the two-game series against Northwestern. The Hawkeyes won on a three-run walk-off home run in game one of the Northwestern series.
Iowa is currently 1.5 games back from second-place Indiana with an 18-11 record and three games behind Nebraska.
Here is a full breakdown of the Indiana vs. Iowa series.
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Projected Starters:
Indiana right-hand pitchers Gabe Bierman and McCade Brown have the first and second-lowest ERA among starters in the conference, respectively. In contrast, Iowa left-hand pitchers Trenton Wallace and Cam Baumann have the third and fourth lowest ERA. All four pitchers are projected to start this weekend which should make for exciting pitching matchups.
Game 1:
LHP Tommy Sommer (IU): 5-1 / 3.42 ERA / 53 K's / 28 Walks / 47 ⅓ IP
LHP Trenton Wallace (UI): 3-1 / 2.57 ERA / 61 K's / 29 Walks / 42 IP
Game 2:
RHP McCade Brown (IU): 4-2 / 2.41 ERA / 63 K's / 22 Walks / 37 ⅓ IP
RHP Drew Irvine (UI): 2-3 / 4.62 ERA / 37 K's / 24 Walks / 39 IP
Game 3:
RHP Gabe Bierman (IU): 3-2 / 2.21 ERA / 42 K's / 18 Walks / 40 ⅔ IP
LHP Cam Baumann (UI): 4-2 / 2.68 ERA / 33 K's / 12 Walks / 40 ⅓ IP
Players To Watch:
Bolded statistics indicate a player is among the top 15 for that respective statistic in the Big Ten Conference.
Many players have the same number of home runs, so it is the top 15 on the list regardless of any ties.
Indiana:
Batting:
(Colopy has not played enough games to qualify for conference statistics)
#3 Drew Ashley: .330 Avg / 4 HR / .505 SLG% / .449 OB%
#6 Grant Richardson: .323 Avg / 4 HR / .525 SLG% / .427 OB%
#2 Cole Barr: .311 Avg / 4 HR / .544 SLG% / .442 OB%
#10 Morgan Colopy: .309 Avg / 4 HR / .588 SLG% / .329 OB%
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OF Drew Ashley now leads the team in batting average and over the weekend, went 5-12 (.416 avg) with one double, one home run and six runs batted in.
Although C Collin Hopkins is primarily known for his defense, he had a great series at the plate, hitting 6-11 (.545 avg) with five doubles and four RBI's.
OF Morgan Colopy was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after his performance against Minnesota. Colopy went 7-13 (.538 avg) with two doubles, one home run and eight RBI's. He leads the team with a .588 slugging percentage, not factoring in players with three at-bats or fewer.
Pitching:
#37 Gabe Bierman: 3-2 / 2.21 ERA / 42 K's / 18 Walks / 40 ⅔ IP
#51 McCade Brown: 4-2 / 2.41 ERA / 63 K's / 22 Walks / 37 ⅓ IP
#19 Tommy Sommer: 5-1 / 3.42 ERA / 53 K's / 28 Walks / 47 ⅓ IP
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#35 Matt Litwicki: 0-0 / 0.00 ERA / 13 K's / 2 Walks / 8 ⅔ IP
#14 Nathan Stahl: 2-0 / 1.23 ERA / 13 K's / 2 Walks / 14 ⅔ IP
#45 John Modugno: 1-1 / 1.83 ERA / 19 K's / 7 Walks / 19 ⅔ IP
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RHP Gabe Bierman has been stellar in his last three starts for the Hoosiers. He has allowed one earned through 20 ⅔ innings pitched while striking out 22 and only issuing four walks. He also has the lowest ERA in the Big Ten among starters.
RHP Matt Litwicki has only given up two hits and two walks through eight appearances while striking out 13 batters. He also leads the team with four saves on the season.
RHP John Modugno started the second game of the doubleheader on Friday despite being a reliever and had a strong outing. He allowed zero earned runs on three hits, struck out four and walked two through four and two-thirds innings pitched.
Iowa:
Batting:
#5 Zeb Adreon: .323 Avg / 3 HR / .525 SLG% / .407 OB%
#9 Ben Norman: .321 Avg / 9 HR / .670 SLG% / .444 OB%
#20 Izaya Fullard: .300 Avg / 2 HR / .430 SLG% / .402 OB%
#45 Peyton Williams: .287 Avg / 6 HR / .632 SLG% / .438 OB%
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OF Ben Norman has been a solid hitter this season and currently, his batting average, home runs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage are all within the top 15 best in the conference. Over the weekend, he went 5-15 (.300 avg) with three doubles in the first game against Northwestern.
Pitching:
#38 Trenton Wallace: 3-1 / 2.57 ERA / 61 K's / 29 Walks / 42 IP
#35 Cam Baumann: 4-2 / 2.68 ERA / 33 K's / 12 Walks / 40 ⅓ IP
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#19 Ben Probst: 0-0 / 1.35 ERA / 3 K's / 6 Walks / 6 ⅔ IP
#37 Jacob Henderson: 0-0 / 3.00 ERA / 5 K's / 4 Walks / 6 IP
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LHP Trenton Wallace and LHP Cam Baumann have the third and fourth-lowest ERA in the Big Ten Conference, respectively, right behind Bierman and Brown. Wallace also ranks fourth among starters with the most strikeouts.
Game Information:
Who: Iowa (18-11) at Indiana (18-8)
When:
Game 1: Friday, April 30th @ 5:00 pm ET
Game 2: Friday, May 1st @ 2:00 pm ET
Game 3: Sunday, May 2nd @ 12:00 pm ET
Where: Bloomington, Ind.
TV: Big Ten Network+
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