IU to face Rutgers and Nebraska in three-team pod
Indiana took the series vs. Iowa this last weekend and ascended to first place in the Big Ten Conference. The starting pitching and defense were shaky at times, but the Hoosiers came out on top with an offensive surge and won games two and three by a score of 12-6 and 12-8, respectively.
IU and Michigan were tied in second place and 1.5 games behind Nebraska going into the weekend. However, Rutgers swept Nebraska on the road and Michigan split its series with Illinois, allowing Indiana to climb into first. Indiana now holds a 0.5 game lead over second-place Michigan and Nebraska.
The Hoosiers are set to play a two-game series, each with Rutgers and Nebraska this upcoming weekend in a three-team pod in New Jersey.
Indiana is ranked No. 24 in the country by D1Baseball, No. 23 by Baseball America and No. 17 by Perfect Game.
Rutgers is currently on a five-game winning streak and recently swept No. 22 Nebraska on the road, the former best team in the conference.
Nebraska is currently on a three-game losing streak due to the sweep but won seven of nine games before the Rutgers series. The Cornhuskers were previously a ranked team but were knocked out after this past weekend of play.
Here is a full breakdown of the Indiana vs. Rutgers and Indiana vs. Nebraska series.
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Projected Starters:
Rutgers Series:
Game 1:
LHP Tommy Sommer (IU): 5-2 / 3.51 ERA / 56 K's / 32 Walks / 51 ⅓ IP
LHP Harry Rutkowski (RU): 2-2 / 4.04 ERA / 51 K's / 24 Walks / 55 ⅔ IP
Game 2:
RHP McCade Brown (IU): 4-2 / 3.38 ERA / 66 K's / 27 Walks / 40 IP
LHP Ben Wereski (RU): 5-2 / 3.29 ERA / 40 K's / 8 Walks / 52 IP
Nebraska Series:
Game 1:
TBA (IU):
LHP Cade Povich (NU): 4-1 / 3.16 ERA / 54 K's / 15 Walks / 51 ⅓ IP
Game 2:
RHP Gabe Bierman (IU): 4-2 / 2.51 ERA / 51 K's / 20 Walks / 46 ⅔ IP
TBA (NU):
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 ties.
Indiana:
Batting:
#2 Cole Barr: .340 Avg / 6 HR / .630 SLG% / .465 OB%
#6 Grant Richardson: .336 Avg / 4 HR / .540 SLG% / .427 OB%
#3 Drew Ashley: .318 Avg / 4 HR / .482 SLG% / .436 OB%
#5 Paul Toetz: .307 Avg / 1 HR / 14 2B / .456 SLG% / .383 OB%
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IU infielder Cole Barr was named the Big Ten Player of the Week following his performance against Iowa in the three-game series this last weekend. Barr went 6-10 (.600 avg) with one triple, two home runs and 5 RBI's. He currently leads the team with a .340 batting average, .630 slugging percentage and .465 on-base percentage. Barr also leads the team with six home runs.
IU infielder Paul Toetz batted 7-14 (.500 avg) over the weekend with four doubles. He leads the Big Ten in doubles with 14 and ranks fourth in the country in doubles per game with 0.48
Catcher Collin Hopkins has been red hot at the plate recently. He batted 12-21 (.571 avg) in his last six games with nine doubles and six RBI's.
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Pitching:
#37 Gabe Bierman: 4-2 / 2.51 ERA / 51 K's / 20 Walks / 46 ⅔ IP
#51 McCade Brown: 4-2 / 3.38 ERA / 66 K's / 27 Walks / 40 IP
#19 Tommy Sommer: 5-2 / 3.51 ERA / 56 K's / 32 Walks / 51 ⅓ IP
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#45 John Modugno: 2-1 / 2.05 ERA / 21 K's / 9 Walks / 22 IP
#41 Ty Bothwell: 1-1 / 3.16 ERA / 33 K's / 13 Walks / 25 ⅔ IP
#18 Braden Scott: 1-0 / 3.27 ERA / 17 K's / 6 Walks / 11 IP
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RHP Gabe Bierman has a 2.51 ERA which ranks the best among starters in the Big Ten Conference. Bierman has only allowed four earned runs in his last 26 ⅔ IP with 31 strikeouts and six walks.
LHP Ty Bothwell had a great outing coming out of the bullpen in the Iowa series. He relieved Brown in the second game and pitched four scoreless innings, only allowing two hits and two walks while striking out five.
Reliever Braden Scott also pitched well in the Iowa series. He hurled 2 ⅔ no-hit innings, only allowing one walk while striking out four.
Rutgers:
Batting:
#8 Mike Nyisztor: .358 Avg / 1 HR / .444 SLG% / .485 OB%
#22 Richie Schiekofer: .302 Avg / .353 SLG% / .357 OB%
#26 Ryan Lasko: .282 Avg / 9 HR / .592 SLG% / .375 OB%
#28 Chris Brito: .280 Avg / 9 HR / .559 SLG% / .388 OB%
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Mike Nyisztor currently has the fourth-best batting average in the conference and had a great series at the plate against Nebraska. He batted 5-11 (.454 avg) with one home run and four RBI's.
Richie Schiekofer also had a good series at the plate and went 7-12 (.583 avg) with two doubles and three RBI's.
Ryan Lasko and Chris Brito each have nine home runs this season. They also both have high slugging percentages within the top 15 best in the conference.
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Pitching:
#44 Ben Wereski: 5-2 / 3.29 ERA / 40 K's / 8 Walks / 52 IP
#31 Brent Teller: 3-2 / 3.35 ERA / 37 K's / 16 Walks / 43 IP
#41 Harry Rutkowski: 2-2 / 4.04 ERA / 51 K's / 24 Walks / 55 ⅔ IP
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#33 Nate McLain: 0-1 / 1.93 ERA / 17 K's / 4 Walks / 18 ⅔ IP
#13 Kyle Muller: 2-2 / 2.20 ERA / 16 K's / 4 Walks / 16 ⅓ IP
#18 Dale Stanavich: 1-0 / 3.31 ERA / 21 K's / 7 Walks / 16 ⅓ IP
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Starting pitchers Ben Wereski and Brent Teller have the eighth and ninth-lowest ERA's in the conference among starters, respectively. Wereski also has impressively walked only eight batters through 52 innings pitched and Teller has walked 16 through 43 innings. Harry Rutkowski is tied with Gabe Bierman in 11th place for the highest number of strikeouts this season.
Nebraska:
Batting:
#2 Jaxon Hallmark: .344 Avg / 4 HR / .475 SLG% / .413 OB%
#25 Luke Roskam: .321 Avg / 5 HR / .524 SLG% / .458 OB%
#4 Max Anderson: .317 Avg / 5 HR / .500 SLG% / .390 OB%
#5 Joe Acker: .297 Avg / 5 HR / .523 SLG% / .426 OB%
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Jaxon Hallmark has the seventh-highest batting average in the conference.
Luke Roskam has a solid .321 batting average this season and leads the team with the highest slugging and on-base percentages. His .458 on-base percentage is tied for the sixth-best in the conference, right behind Cole Barr.
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Pitching:
#33 Cade Povich: 4-1 / 3.16 ERA / 54 K's / 15 Walks / 51 ⅓ IP
#13 Chance Hroch: 3-1 / 4.59 ERA / 39 K's / 9 Walks / 49 IP
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#40 Caleb Feekin: 0-0 / 1.08 ERA / 8 K's / 4 Walks / 8 ⅓ IP
#28 Koty Frank: 1-0 / 3.18 ERA / 13 K's / 5 Walks / 17 IP
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LHP Cade Povich has a 3.16 ERA which is the fourth-lowest among starters in the conference. He also has 54 strikeouts, which is tied for the ninth highest.
Game Information:
Who: Indiana (20-9) at Rutgers (17-13) | Indiana (20-9) vs. Nebraska (20-10)
When:
Rutgers:
Game 1: Friday, May 7th @ 2 p.m. ET
Game 2: Saturday, May 8th @ 11 a.m. ET
Nebraska:
Game 1: Saturday, May 8th @ 3 p.m. ET
Game 2: Sunday, May 9th @ 11 a.m. ET
Where: Piscataway, N.J.
TV: BTN+
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