Pivotal conference battle with Michigan starts at 3 p.m. Friday

A 7-2 victory over Indiana State on Wednesday snapped a nine-game losing streak for the IU baseball team (16-22). But keeping the proverbial monkey off the Hoosiers’ backs will be difficult as No. 23 Michigan comes to Sembower Field for a four-game set beginning Friday.\nThe Wolverines are currently the front-runner in the Big Ten with a 15-1 conference record. The Hoosiers find themselves opposite Michigan in the standings with a 4-12 Big Ten record.\n“I think Michigan is probably more talented man-for-man than us,” said IU coach Tracy Smith. “I mean, shoot, they were a top-whatever team last year and they are having a great year this year. So I just try to have my kids focusing on playing as well as they can. They can still play a good game and not get the win. We just don’t want to come away from the game second-guessing ourselves.”\nDespite the lofty task, Smith is looking forward to battling the Maize and Blue.\n“There is no other team I would rather be playing than Michigan given where we are at the crossroads of guys challenging,” he said. \nThe Hoosiers do have the edge over Michigan in offense, ranking second in batting while UM is fourth. Sophomore catcher Josh Phegley leads the Hoosier offense seemingly every game and is the conference’s highest-ranked hitter.\nIn Wednesday’s contest, the Terre Haute native went 4-for-4 with four RBIs against his hometown team, an effort highlighted by a towering three-run blast in the fifth inning. \nPhegley leads all Big Ten batters in average at .447 and on base percentage at .512. He ranks second in hits and RBIs at 63 and 46 respectively.\nThe catcher said he has no concerns about his offense. \n“It’s going to be a tough series,” he said. “Our offense will be there, and if our defense is solid we will be a tough team to beat.”\nIU’s defense has proven to be the team’s Achilles heel so far this season. Currently ranking last in the conference in fielding percentage and committing the most errors, a lot of blame has gone toward the Hoosiers’ infielders, who each have combined for eight errors or more.\nThe Hoosiers did post an errorless nine innings Wednesday.\n“We have been tinkering with that lineup defensively all year,” Smith said. “It’s one game, so I’m not going to get too excited, but it does play out better. Our problem hadn’t been scoring runs, and the pitching has been good enough. We have just struggled picking up the baseball.”\nThe first pitch of the series is set for 3 p.m. Friday, and the Hoosiers are ready.\n“I fully expect to win some games this weekend, but if we don’t, I want to make sure we played as hard as we could every single game,” Smith said.