Indiana University Athletics
#15 Hoosiers Head to Big Blue Country
5/13/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 13, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It's a border battle Tuesday night in Lexington, Ky., as the #14 Indiana Hoosiers (38-11) take on the Kentucky Wildcats (28-22) under the lights of Cliff Hagan Stadium at 6:30 pm ET. It marks the final nonconference game of the regular season for both institutions.
Fox Sports South is broadcasting the contest with Dick Gabriel calling the play-by-play and 1980 Gold Glove winner Doug Flynn serving as the analyst. Brian Milan handles the on-field reporting.
Indiana gives the ball to freshman southpaw Will Coursen-Carr (2-0, 1.30 ERA) while the Wildcats go with a veteran in Sr., RHP Jerad Grundy (6-5, 5.02 ERA).
Kentucky has leads the all-time series having won 18 of 33 previous meetings, including a 12-inning victory at Sembower Field in 2012.
In addition to the Fox Sports South broadcast, Hoosier fans can follow along via IUHoosiers.com's free live audio broadcast, GameTracker live stats and in-game updates on the team's official Twitter account: @IUBaseballNews.
TRIPLE PLAY QUICK HITS
• Indiana's 38 wins are the most ever over Division-I opponents in school history (previous record was 33)
• Indiana strung together a school-record 18-game winning streak from March 10-April 6
• IU has recorded a +174 run margin through 48 games (+3.6/game), outscoring the competition 337-174
IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT
With a 15-6 conference record entering the final weekend, Hoosier Baseball controls its own destiny for a Big Ten regular season title. It would mark Indiana's first regular season championship since 1949. If IU sweeps Ohio State, the outright crown is sealed (first since 1932). But if Indiana simply takes 2-out-of-3 from OSU, then some help will be needed:
IF INDIANA WINS THE SERIES TWO-GAMES-TO-ONE:
- one or more Minnesota losses vs. Illinois would clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season title
- one or more Minnesota losses AND one or more Nebraska losses vs. Michigan would clinch the outright title
If Indiana were to win just one game at Ohio State, a share of the Big Ten regular season title could still be obtained with one or more losses from BOTH Minnesota and Nebraska.
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 slotted #15 this week by Baseball America and Perfect Game. (complete rankings listed in sidebar). The Hoosiers have ascended as high as 12th during the 2013 campaign.
Dustin DeMuth ON A TEAR
Junior third baseman Dustin DeMuth is riding a nine-game hitting streak and has reached base successfully in 18 consecutive contests, last failing to do so on April 12. In the last nine games he is batting at a .606 clip and has totaled two homeruns, two doubles and seven RBI. Overall in 2013, the LaPorte, Ind., native has placed himself in contention for the B1G batting crown. He ranks second (fifth nationally) with a .417 average, giving chase to Illinois' Justin Parr at .430.
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, sans triples, in the Big Ten. Don't sleep on the pitching, however, as the Hoosier hurlers' 2.52 team earned run average is also tops in the conference. For the "only thing that matters is wins and losses" crowd, don't fret. Indiana's 38-11 record (.776) is also the B1G's best.
HOW THE HOOSIERS STACK UP ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL
Indiana is posting numbers worthy of top-25 NCAA rankings as well. Entering the week, IU staff's 2.52 ERA was the seventh-lowest in the country. In addition, IU was slotted 13th in winning percentage (.776), 17th in slugging percentage (.450), 18th in batting average (.308), 20th in homeruns (40) and 23rd in scoring (6.9 runs/game). Defensively, the Hoosiers had turned 55 double plays, good for the sixth-best twin killings clip in D-I baseball.
Individually, Kyle Schwarber was slotted seventh with a .692 slugging percentage and 11th with 13 homeruns. Meanwhile, Dustin DeMuth's .417 batting clip slotted him fifth nationally. On the mound, Scott Effross owns a 0.94 WHIP, good for 25th.
BIG TEN RPI NUMBERS
The Big Ten Conference has five teams in the RPI top-60 entering the weekend. IU leads the way at #15, followed by: Nebraska (#30), Illinois (#37), Michigan State (#41) and Ohio State (#57).
GOLDEN SPIKES & JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST
Sophomore Kyle Schwarber is one of 60 players to be selected by USA Baseball for the Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list. The Golden Spikes Award is given annually to the country's top amateur baseball players. Schwarber was also one of 48 catchers nation-wide to be selected for the Johnny Bench Award watch list, presented annually to the best collegiate catcher.
LIFE SAVER
Junior pitcher Ryan Halstead closed out an Indiana win last week vs. Northwestern, picking up the 20th save of his career. He is now tied with Chris Squires (2007-10) for the school record of career saves. Halstead is twice tied with Squires for the best single-season mark all-time in IU history, earning nine saves both as a freshman in 2011 and this season.
HOME SWEET HOME
Bart Kaufman Field opened with a bang, as Indiana blew up Miami (OH) 15-runs-to-1 in the facility debut. Indiana is now 16-3 in their new digs, outscoring the competition 122-50.
HOT START HOOSIERS
Indiana has scored in the first inning in 23 of 49 games, owning a 46-16 run margin in the opening frame.
