Indiana University Athletics
Indiana vs. Purdue ... Let's Do This
4/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 28, 2011
It's Indiana-Purdue Week on the baseball diamond this week. The Hoosiers (25-16, 6-6 Big Ten) and Boilermakers (27-13, 7-5) get after it with a 4:00 pm first pitch on Friday to start a three-game weekend series.
The significance of this series goes well beyond the in-state rivalry. At the mid-way point of the Big Ten season, eight teams are within one game of the top spot in the log-jammed conference standings. With just six teams making the NCAA-automatic-bid-determing Big Ten Tournament, every game could make or break a season.
Indiana owns a 10-8 lead in the 2010-11 Smithville Crimson and Gold Cup standings and has the chance to clinch the season victory this weekend. If baseball wins the series and both the men's and women's golf teams out-shoot the Boilers at the Big Ten Golf Championships, IU would seal the deal. The Hoosiers own a 3-1-2 advantage in the all-time series.
Head Coach Tracy Smith will send out the same rotation as last week, LHP Blake Monar (Friday), RHP Chad Martin (Saturday) and LHP Joey DeNato (Sunday). Purdue will counter with a trio of right-handers in Matt Morgan, Joe Haase and Brad Schreiber.
Head to IUHoosiers.com for live audio and GameTracker for all three contests.
HOOSIER QUICK HITS
• IU is 11-1 in games which they hit a homerun, 3-0 in multi HR contests
• Alex Dickerson is riding an 11-game hitting streak (more info below)
• No sweeps in this series since 1999
• This marks the Hoosiers' last appearence in Lambert Field as Purdue moves into a new stadium to start the 2013 campaign
DICKERSON'S 11-GAME HITTING STREAK
Alex Dickerson has recorded a hit in 11 consecutive games, the longest stretch for any Hoosier this season. Wes Wilson and Dustin DeMuth each strung together 10-game hitting streaks earlier in the year. In the last 11 contests, Dickerson is hitting at a .385 clip with a homerun and 10 RBI. He's seen his fair share of walks as well, resulting in a .489 on-base percentage.
DEMUTH DOING IT BIG IN THE BIG TEN
Freshman third baseman Dustin DeMuth not only leads his team with 65 hits, but he also paces the entire conference with that total. He enters the weekend ranked in the top-25 nationally for most hits.
YOU'RE NOT FRESHMAN ANYMORE
Joey DeNato and Brian Korte have looked like anything but freshman pitchers since April 1st (the start of Big Ten play). DeNato has made four appearances (two starts) with a 2.38 ERA in 22.2 innings of work. Korte, meanwhile, has started three times spanning 16.2 innings and owns a 2.16 ERA during the month of April. The duo has combined for three wins.
RECORD BOOK WATCH
Jerrud Sabourin became Indiana University's all-time Hit King on Apr. 17 when he recorded the 306th base knock of his career, surpassing the previous record holder Alex Smith (1982-86). Sabourin has started 215 consecutive games for the Cream and Crimson. Sabourin's 312 career hits entering the weekend is the second highest total in all of Division-I baseball among active players.
Alex Dickerson is closing in on an all-time school record of his own, just five hoemeruns shy of setting that all-time mark. Dickerson's 43 longballs are not only third in IU history but also slot him eighth nationally among active players. And remember, the junior has done so in less than three seasons.
