A sweep took place this weekend at Bart Kaufman Field as the Hoosiers (26-16, 11-4) downed the Northwestern Wildcats (10-33, 2-16) by slim margins.
IU squeaked past Northwestern in three one-run victories but didn’t take advantage of a Northwestern pitching staff that entered the series with the worst ERA in the conference. IU scored just two runs in game one and four in game two before seven runs in the finale.
“We need the wins right now for conference play and everything we’re trying to do,” IU Coach Chris Lemonis said. “I give a lot of credit to the team in the other dugout. Northwestern, they’re a young team, but they scrapped and played hard the whole way and made us earn everything.”
Offensively IU scuffled as Northwestern pitching held them scoreless for 14 straight innings over the course of the double header Friday.
Sweeping Northwestern was important for IU in regards to its postseason and conference placement.
Stacking up against the rest of the conference, two teams that are considered locks for the NCAA tournament at the point, Michigan and Minnesota, easily handled Northwestern.
Each team swept the Wildcats. The Wolverines put up double digits on the scoreboard every game, while the Golden Gophers had a one-run victory but then proceeded to capture the next two matchups 10-1 and 8-0.
The young Wildcats have an RPI of 254 out of 300 D1 teams. IU currently sits at 120 in the RPI with only 64 teams making the NCAA Tournament.
“We know our résumé is looking a little weak right now for postseason play,” junior outfielder Craig Dedelow said. “We’re pretty much going to have to do a lot of winning in the Big Ten and show that we can beat good teams, so winning against teams like this is a must for us right now.”
With crucial games left against No. 19 Minnesota, Kentucky, No. 9 Louisville and Nebraska, the Hoosiers can only build a stronger résumé. When the Big Ten tournament rolls around, the club could potentially play well enough and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Early losses in the season to teams like Middle Tennessee State and Seton Hall don’t help IU’s chances as those teams have similar RPIs to IU.
The only thing IU can do is play its remaining games.
“We’re competing, and we’re having fun,” junior relief pitcher Jake Kelzer said. “When you compete, it’s fun because that’s what baseball is.”
