Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Open Up Big Ten Home Schedule with Iowa
3/29/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 29, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Baseball (10-15, 2-1) will open up its Big Ten home schedule this weekend when the Iowa Hawkeyes (9-12, 2-1) visit Bloomington. The two are currently tied atop the conference standings after one weekend of Big Ten action.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Friday, March 30 - 3:05 pm EST
LHP Joey DeNato (4-1, 1.62) vs. LHP Jarred Hippen (2-2, 3.02)
Saturday, March 31 - 1:05 pm EST
LHP Kyle Hart (1-1, 3.19) vs. LHP Matt Dermody (0-3, 5.40)
Sunday, April 1 - 1:05 pm EST
TBD vs. LHP Sasha Kuebel (2-0, 2.15)
The Hoosiers and Hawkeyes have become familiar foes the last several seasons. Indiana has taken eight of the last nine meetings, including winning two of three in Iowa City a year ago. In the series opener last season, then-junior Blake Monar outdueled current Hawkeye ace Jarred Hippen in a 2-1 Hoosier victory. In a 6-0 win in the finale, then-senior Jerrud Sabourin chipped in three hits to become Indiana's all-time hits leader.
Sabourin wasn't the only one to set records that day, however, as Joey DeNato's 11 strikeouts tied him with Eric Arnett (2009) and Brad Edwards (1999) for most Ks in a Big Ten game.
The schools will renew the rivalry this weekend in Bloomington. The series kicks off at 3pm ET on Friday. Saturday and Sunday will both be 1pm ET start times. Visit IUHoosiers.com for live stats and an audio broadcast of the entire series.
LAST WEEK
Indiana's bats came out early against Penn State last weekend, as the Hoosiers pounded out 14 runs on 15 hits to take the series opener. Joey DeNato was lights out again on the mound, striking out 10 across six innings of four-hit ball. IU then rebounded from a 4-3, 10-inning loss in game two to take the finale 2-1. Sam Travis led the charge at the plate, batting 8-for-11 with 3 RBI on the weekend.
Pitching was the key for Iowa in its series victory over Northwestern a week ago. The Hawkeyes and Wildcats each put up six runs on the weekend, but Iowa was able to come away with a couple of wins. In game one, the Hawkeyes were spurred by starter Jarred Hippen, who threw a complete game while allowing only two runs. In the finale, the pitching tandem of Sasha Keubel and Nick Brown allowed just three hits and one run in a 3-1 victory.
TRAVIS FINDS A WAY TO GET ON • BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Sam Travis has reached base in all 25 games this season and is riding a 12-game hitting streak into the weekend. And when his teammates get on base, Travis excels moving them along. With runners aboard, the 40th Round Draft Pick of the Cincinnati Reds is hitting .474 entering the weekend series at Penn State.
His spectacular Big Ten-opening weekend at Penn State earned him Big Ten Playe of the Week recognition. Travis hit .727 and slugged at a .909 clip against the Nittnay Lions. For the week, Travis hit .579 with a homerun, two doubles, six RBI and a .842 slugging percentage.
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT
The Hoosier offense has sputtered at times early this season, but when the bats are hitting they've got some pop. Indiana ranks in the conference's top-three for all extra-base hit categories. Ten triples are tops in the Big Ten while the Hoosiers' 47 doubles and 14 homeruns are both third-best league totals.
FRESHMAN: HERE, THERE, EVERYWHERE
Fifty-three percent of Indiana's starters through 25 games have been freshmen (133 of 250; counting pitchers). The Hoosier youth increases even more when including only position players in the batting order (no pitcher/DH), with 59% of starts coming from freshmen. In fact, there are no senior position players on the IU roster and just two senior pitchers. Indiana's offensive production has been fueled by rookie Hoosiers:
PERCENTAGE OF OVERALL TEAM PRODUCTION COMING FROM FRESHMEN
Homeruns: 71% (10 of 14)
Runs Batted In: 68% (73 of 108)
Doubles: 65% (30 of 46)
Hits: 60% (130 of 217)
Triples: 60% (6 of 10)
Runs Scored: 59% (75 of 128)
