Indiana University Athletics
Top-20 Match-Up Wednesday in Bloomington
3/26/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 26, 2013
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| No. 10 Louisville (19-3) at No. 19 Indiana (18-3) |
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| Date/Time | Wednesday, March 27, 2013 | 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Stadium | Bart Kaufman Field |
| Location | Bloomington, Ind. |
| Watch LIVE! | Hoosiers All-Access  |
| Live Stats | Gametracker  |
| Additional Information | Complete Game Notes  |
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Bart Kaufman Field will be the venue for a top-20 college baseball showdown Wednesday (March 27) afternoon pitting #19 Indiana (18-3, 3-0 Big Ten) vs. #10 Louisville (19-4, 1-2 Big East). First pitch is set for 4:05 pm. It marks the first ever IU baseball game featuring a pair of nationally-ranked teams matching up in Bloomington.
A pair of freshmen will take the mound as LHP Will Coursen-Carr (1-0, 0.64) faces RHP Kyle Funkhouser (2-0, 0.00) in the pitching match-up.
Assistant A.D. for Broadcast Services, Jeremy Gray, will be on the airwaves for those unable to attend. Tune into his live audio broadcast on IUHoosiers.com. Additional coverage of the contest can be found through GameTracker live stats and on the team's official Twitte account (@IUBaseballNews).
TRIPLE PLAY QUICK HITS
• Indiana has won 11 straight games and 16 of the last 17 games
• IU owns a +98 run margin through 21 games, outscoring the competition 158-60
• The Hoosiers 18-3 start is the best in school history against Division-I opponents
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The Cardinals, ranked as high as #4 this season, are off to their second best 23-game record in school history with an overall mark of 19-4. Louisville's pitching staff ranks sixth nationally with a 2.07 staff ERA and 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings. Team speed is another strength of the Cards, stealing 70 bases and averaging over three swiped bags a game (third most in the country). Both IU and UL have had success scoring early, each posting first inning run margin advantages of +19 (22-3 for IU, 24-5 for UL). The all-time series between the two institutions is all-square at 10 wins apiece.
NATIONALLY RANKED HOOSIERS
Baseball America tabbed the Hoosiers as the 24th-best team in the country on March 11, marking the first time in school history Indiana has been nationally ranked. IU is up to #19 in this week's Baseball America and Perfect Game polls. The Hoosiers are slotted in all five of the major college baseball polls.
BIG TEN'S ELITE, STATISTICALLY SPEAKING AND RECORD WISE
The Hoosier lineup is potent and deep, leading to Indiana sitting atop of every major offensive statistical offensive category in the Big Ten, sans triples. Don't sleep on the pitching, however, as the Hoosier hurlers' 2.105 team earned run average is also a conference-best. For the "only thing that matters is wins and losses" crowd, don't fret. Indiana's 18-3 record (.857) is also the B1G's best.
STICKING WITH THE STATISTICS SPEAK
Indiana is posting numbers worthy of top-20 NCAA rankings as well. The staff's 2.05 ERA is the fourth-lowest in the country. In addition, IU is slotted ninth in winning percentage (.857), 12th in batting average (.315) and 17th in runs (7.5) and doubles (2.29) per game. Defensively, the Hoosiers are turning 1.29 double plays per game, good for the seventh-best twin killings clip in D-I baseball.
Individually, Kyle Schwarber's .425 average is 15th nationally, Scott Donley's 1.29 RBI/game rank 17th and Justin Cureton's 1.19 runs/game are 22nd.
HOME SWEET HOME
Bart Kaufman Field opened with a bang, as Indiana blew up Miami (OH) 15-runs-to-1 in the facility debut. The Hoosiers continued to excel in their new digs over the weekend, sweeping Penn State to improve to 4-0 at home. IU has outscored the oppposition, 37-7, in four games played at Bart Kaufman Field.
HOT START HOOSIERS
Indiana has scored in the first inning in 12 of 21 games this season, owning a 22-3 run margin in the opening frame.
