Hoosiers look to extend win streak in 1st conference home stand

On the back of a modest three-game win streak, the IU baseball team will gear up for a four-game home stand this weekend – \ntheir first of the Big Ten season – \nagainst Illinois. The Hoosiers (13-9) come into the series on the heels of a 5-2 home victory over Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday that featured strong pitching and defense. \nPresently, IU and Illinois are both playing some of the best baseball in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers – currently ranked second in the Big Ten in hitting and third in the Big Ten in pitching – \nare 10-3 in their last 13 games, while the Illini are 11-2 over a similar stretch. \nThe two teams are tied in team batting with an average of .322.\nHowever, there is a good chance not all will go according to plan this weekend for the Hoosiers. Due to predicted heavy rains Thursday and Friday, the Hoosiers and Illini will be forced to push their Friday-Sunday series to Monday. The first game will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, then a doubleheader Sunday and a final game Monday will round out \nthe series.\nIn their last time out, the Hoosiers defeated the visiting RedHawks despite painting just four hits onto the scoreboard and stranding 10 runners. Pitching and defense picked up the slack for the Hoosiers, and IU cruised to a relatively painless home win.\nSenior infielder David Trager, who recorded two hits on the day, said winning those kinds of games – \nwhere, for example, one facet of the Hoosiers’ overall performance struggles – \nwill be important for the team’s confidence.\n“Those are the type of game we’re going to have to win to do some damage in the Big Ten this year,” Trager said after \nWednesday’s win.\nTrager also said overall success helps feed the team’s confidence in other areas of their game. He attributed part of the Hoosiers’ solid defensive performance to the team’s faith in the pitching staff.\n“If you know that your pitcher’s out there doing their thing, you know, in their zone, then it gives hitters a lot more confidence,” Trager said. “It just lets us relax; there’s not as much pressure on us to get our job done.”\nIllinois arrives in Bloomington packing a serious offensive punch, but finding itself settled into the middle of the pack in conference pitching. The Illini sport a 14-7 overall record and a 3-1 conference record after taking their Big Ten season-opening series against Michigan State last weekend.