IU looks to snap five-game losing streak this weekend against Illinois
Indiana was swept by Ohio State this past weekend in four games, extending its losing streak to five games. Indiana lost each game by a score of 3-2, 6-0, 5-2 and 4-3, respectively.
In the first game, Tommy Sommer struggled with command and allowed five walks through five innings. While only one of the five batters who Sommer walked came around to score, two of the five hits he allowed were extra-base hits, and eventually, those runners came around to score. The bats also struggled to plate any runs. Barr hit a solo home run, but Indiana was 3-30 in team hitting and 1-6 with runners in scoring position. The only other run Indiana scored was an RBI double by Jordan Fucci.
In the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday, errors proved costly. Three of the six runs Ohio State scored were unearned as the Indiana infield combined for four errors. Like the first game, the bats also struggled immensely. Ohio State starting pitcher Seth Lonsway had a great outing and Indiana was 2-23 overall in team hitting and struck out 17 times.
The second game of the doubleheader and third game of the series was close until Ohio State pulled away in the seventh inning. Again, errors proved costly as in the seventh, Ohio State 1B Conner Pohl hit a ground ball that could have been an inning-ending double play, but it went under the legs of Macciocchi and into the outfield to score two runs. Also, Indiana was 0-8 with runners in scoring position and the only two runs came from solo home runs by Macciocchi and Barr.
In the series finale, Indiana put up a good fight but lost in the ninth inning when Ohio State hit a walk-off to win 4-3. Starting pitcher Gabe Bierman pitched well. He allowed zero earned runs, three hits, struck out five and walked two through seven innings. However, John Modungo struggled in relief and allowed three earned runs, one of which was the winning run for Ohio State in the bottom of the ninth. For this game, Indiana's bats picked up as they were 7-31 overall (.226 avg) but struggled with situational hitting once again. The Hoosiers were 2-14 with runners in scoring position.
Throughout the weekend, Indiana was 18-117 (.153 avg) for overall hitting and 3-30 (.100 avg) with runners in scoring position. There were also eight errors which contributed to five of the 18 runs Ohio State scored being unearned. The combination of errors plus a lack of successful situational hitting made the difference against Ohio State.
Heading into the weekend, Indiana was first in the conference, but due to the sweep, dropped to fourth. The Hoosiers are now two games behind first-place Nebraska, 1.5 games back from second-place Michigan and 0.5 games back from third-place Ohio State.
__________________________________________________________________________________
This upcoming weekend, Indiana will play a three-game home series in Bloomington, Ind, against Illinois. The three-game series is a short home stand before Indiana hits the road again to face Northwestern.
Illinois has an 8-10 record and currently ranks 10th in the Big Ten Conference. In its last six games, Illinois won two, dropping both series to Northwestern and Nebraska. However, Illinois was able to win one game against Nebraska, who is currently first in the Big Ten.
Although Illinois has an 8-10 record, that does not tell the whole story. Illinois has a rating percentage index score of 144, close to Indiana's 111. RPI is used to rank sports teams based on wins, losses and strength of schedule. While Illinois's RPI is slightly lower, it is important to keep in mind that the Illini are 3-6 against Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan combined, three teams with pretty good RPI. On the other hand, Indiana is 0-4 against Ohio State; the only team they have played that has a strong RPI.
If Indiana wants to do well this weekend, they undoubtedly will have to improve upon the defense and the situational hitting as the pitching was less of an issue. Of course, the team does not lose the ability to field well and score runners once they are in scoring position; it just has to be executed. Something to note is the Hoosiers had the best practice of the season on Tuesday, according to head coach Jeff Mercer. This is a positive outlook heading into the weekend.
Projected Starters:
Game 1:
LHP Tommy Sommer (IU): 3-1 / 2.45 ERA / 32 K's / 18 Walks / 29 ⅓ IP
LHP Nathan Lavender (UIUC): 3-0 / 1.13 ERA / 27 K's / 2 Walks / 16 IP
Game 2:
RHP McCade Brown (IU): 3-2 / 2.57 ERA / 49 K's / 12 Walks / 28 IP
RHP Riley Gowens (UIUC): 1-1 / 5.87 ERA / 18 K's / 8 Walks / 15 ⅓
Game 3:
RHP Gabe Bierman (IU): 1-2 / 3.00 ERA / 25 K's / 16 Walks / 27 IP
RHP Andrew Hoffmann (UIUC): 0-0 / 3.68 ERA / 27 K's / 5 Walks / 22 IP
Players To Watch:
Bolded statistics indicate the player is within the top 15 for that stat in the conference.
Indiana:
One player offensively to watch out for is INF Cole Barr. Over the weekend, Barr was 4-16 (.250 avg) and hit two home runs. Barr's batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage are all within the top 15 best in the Big Ten Conference.
OF Morgan Colopy had a good series and went 4-9 (.444 avg).
RHP Gabe Bierman had a great outing in the fourth game of the series and pitched a quality start.
0 ER / 3 Hits / 5 K's / 2 Walks / 7 IP
Batting:
#2 Cole Barr: .361 Avg / 2 HR / .487 OB% / .607 SLG%
#3 Drew Ashley: .343 Avg / 2 HR / .450 OB% / .493 SLG%
#6 Grant Richardson: .319 Avg / 3 HR / .413 OB% / .536 SLG% / 5-5 SB-ATT
Pitching:
#19 Tommy Sommer: 3-1 / 2.45 ERA / 32 K's / 18 Walks / 29 ⅓ IP
#51 McCade Brown: 3-2 / 2.57 ERA / 49 K's / 12 Walks / 28 IP
#37 Gabe Bierman: 1-2 / 3.00 ERA / 25 K's / 16 Walks / 27 IP
----------
#35 Matt Litwicki: 0-0 / 0.00 ERA / 8 K's / 2 Walks / 5 ⅔ IP
#27 Reese Sharp: 0-0 / 0.00 ERA / 6 K's / 2 Walks / 4 IP
#14 Nathan Stahl: 1-0 / 1.00 ERA / 9 K's / 2 Walks / 9 IP
Illinois:
Over the weekend, INF Branden Comia extended his on-base streak to 36 games dating back to last season. Comia, in his previous ten games, has hit 24-41 (.585 avg) with six doubles and two home runs. Currently, he has the second-highest batting average in the Big Ten.
Justin Janas saw his 15 game on-base streak snapped in the final game of the weekend but still is batting .377 on the year. His .377 average is the seventh-best in the conference.
Senior INF Jackson Raper is tied for fourth place with five others in the Big Ten for the most home runs hit this season. Raper currently has six home runs and an impressive .672 SLG%, the ninth-best in the conference.
Batting:
#23 Branden Comia: .403 Avg / 2 HR / .512 OB% / .582 SLG%
#17 Justin Janas: .377 Avg / .470 OB% / .396 SLG%
#15 Taylor Jackson: .320 Avg / .420 OB% / .373 SLG% / 4-5 SB-ATT
#14 Jackson Raper: .313 Avg / 6 HR / .421 OB% / .672 SLG%
Pitching:
#35 Andrew Hoffmann: 0-0 / 3.68 ERA / 27 K's / 5 Walks / 22 IP
------
#25 Nathan Lavender: 3-0 / 1.13 ERA / 27 K's / 2 Walks / 16 IP
Game Information:
Who: Illinois (8-10) at Indiana (11-7)
When:
Game 1: Friday, April 9th @ 5:00 pm ET
Game 2: Saturday, April 10th @ 2:00 pm ET
Game 3: Sunday, April 11th @ 1:00 pm ET
Where: Bloomington, Ind.
TV: Big Ten Network+
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.