After IU swept its first Big Ten series against Northwestern last weekend, the Hoosiers play at Bart Kaufman Field for their next six games, including two mid-week games Tuesday and Wednesday against Evansville and Indiana State, respectively.
Aside from junior Brian Hobbie’s complete game in game two, IU’s starting pitching struggled in the Northwestern series. Sophomore ace Jonathan Stiever allowed eight runs in 2.2 innings Friday, and freshman starter Andrew Saalfrank got one out before being pulled from the game with a 3-2 deficit Sunday.
The Hoosier bats, along with strong mid-relief pitching, were able to pick up the pitching staff though, which they weren’t able to do early in the season. IU put up a total of 29 runs in three games to push its conference record to a Big Ten-best 3-0 and its overall record to 13-8-1.
IU has now won nine of its last 10 after seeing its record fall as low as 4-7-1 before the first home series in Bloomington began March 10.
No Hoosier had a bigger weekend than sophomore infielder and closing pitcher Matt Lloyd. Lloyd hit four total home runs out of the designated hitter position in Friday’s doubleheader with the Wildcats, and earned his second save in game three Sunday.
For the weekend, Lloyd went 9-for-14 with 10 runs batted in and five extra-base hits at the plate. The sophomore transfer also pitched 1.2 innings while allowing three hits and one run.
IU looks to maintain its production at the plate after the biggest offensive weekend of the season, but Evansville and Indiana State can be threats on the mound. Both aces boast earned run averages below three and both starting rotations strike out at least one batter per inning.
Strikeouts can be an issue for the Hoosiers. They sit at seventh in the Big Ten in total whiffs and have seen those numbers jump as high as top-five in the conference earlier in the season. However, IU’s collective batting average has jumped from as low as 10th in the conference to a current fifth place at .278.
IU also ranks second in the Big Ten in home runs with 26 and slugging percentage at .442 as well.
Both home games begin at 6:05 p.m. at Bart Kaufman Field.
Taylor Lehman
