The thought of mentioning IU and first place in the Big Ten in the same sentence in early April was illogical.
IU had just dropped two of three games against Rutgers to start conference play and was sitting at an even .500 mark on the year.
Fast-forward a month from that series. The Hoosiers have lost three games since playing the Scarlet Knights, sit a half game out of first place and travel north to Minneapolis, Minnesota, this weekend for a three game series against the first place Golden Gophers.
“We haven’t talked a whole lot about it, they know what’s on the line,” IU Coach Chris Lemonis said. “They understand they need to go out there and take care of business.”
The second best pitching staff in the Big Ten will face off against the most powerful offense in the conference. Riding two-way junior Matt Fiedler and junior catcher Austin Athmann, Minnesota is in prime position to end a five-year NCAA tournament absence.
Not only does Fiedler lead the league in batting average at a scorching .406 clip, but he also dazzles a 7-2 record on the mound with a 3.36 ERA as the Gophers’ Friday night starter. He’s played in every game this season, serving as the designated hitter during the games where he doesn’t take the hill.
Athmann, on the other hand, hasn’t only been a solid backstop defensively, but also a force at the dish. The Minnesota native is second in the league to his counterpart Fiedler in batting average and is at the top of the leader board in slugging percentage (.742) and home runs (11).
The obvious task at hand for the Hoosier staff will be to shut down the junior duo of Fiedler and Athmann. The rotation will still be challenged throughout the entire lineup however with five other Gophers with at least 100 at-bats hitting over .300 on the season as Minnesota hits .333 as a club.
Senior starting pitcher Kyle Hart will attempt to capture win No. 10 on the season when he takes the hill against Fiedler on Friday. Hart has won four straight decisions and has only allowed three earned runs over his past three starts including one complete game.
Senior starting pitchers Caleb Baragar and Evan Bell will round out the rotation in the series. Baragar still owns an ERA under 2.00 this season but that could be in jeopardy after Saturday as he’s struggled to go deep into ball games lately. He’s only pitched seven innings just once in his last four starts.
However, Bell has been trending upward after a frustrating start to his senior campaign. IU dropped the first seven games Bell started, but has since won three of the last four games when he takes the mound as he still looks for his first winning decision.
“We’re winning when he’s pitching right now which is all that matters,” Lemonis said. “But I’d like to see him get that first win.”
Lemonis said he knows that the race for first is tight and it’s still anyone’s conference for now. With the top six teams separated by 2.5 games in the standings, there’s zero room for error during the final stretch of the season.
“Our league is so tight, you could be in sixth place quick,” Lemonis said. “It’s more of just going out there and playing a good game and we’ve talked all week about preparing to play well.”
