Saturday, March 4
Birmingham, Ala.
3 p.m.
Indiana University
at
Samford
Baseball Continues Road Trip at Samford
3/2/2017 6:09:00 PM | Baseball
| Indiana at Samford | March 3-5 | Birmingham, Ala. | Joe Lee Griffin Field | ||
| Series Schedule | Coverage | Projected Starters |
| Indiana vs. Samford Friday - 5 p.m. ET |
Watch | Listen | Live Stats | IU - LHP Tim Herrin (1-1, 4.00 ERA) SU - RHP Jesse McCord (0-1, 9.35 ERA) |
| Indiana vs. Samford Saturday - 3 p.m. ET |
Watch | Listen | Live Stats | IU - RHP Brian Hobbie (0-1, 6.52 ERA) SU - RHP Mikhail Cazenav (1-1, 4.35 ERA) |
| Indiana vs. Samford Sunday - 2 p.m. ET |
Watch | Listen | Live Stats | IU - TBA SU - RHP Stephen Jones (0-1, 9.39 ERA) |
| Social: Twitter | Instagram // Notes: Indiana | ||
LEADING OFF
• Indiana continues a 12-game road trip to open the 2017 season with a three-game series against Samford this weekend at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
• IU is coming off a 6-1 setback against Cincinnati on Wednesday and a three-game split this past weekend with the Florida Atlantic Owls (1-1-1). The 6-6, 11 inning tie with FAU was Indiana's first tie since February 25, 2001 at Winthrop.
• The Hoosiers hit six home runs at Florida Atlantic last weekend, including two from senior Craig Dedelow and sophomore Luke Miller. The last time IU had six home runs in a three game series was April 15-17, 2016 against Iowa.
• Indiana has hit nine home runs through its first eight games, good for first in the Big Ten. The last time the Hoosiers hit at least nine through the first eight contests was the 2002 season, when IU also hit nine through its first eight.
• Sophomore catcher Ryan Fineman leads the Hoosiers through seven games with a .333 batting average and nine hits. He is tied for the team lead with Laren Eustace and Jeremy Houston in multi-hit games with three.
• Junior Laren Eustace has posted a .433 on base percentage through the first two weekends, good for first on the team, while stealing four bases, which ranks tied for fifth in the Big Ten. He tied his career-high with two stolen bases in IU's season opener against No. 7 Oregon State.
• Freshman catcher and designated hitter Jake Matheny was named the Big Ten Baseball Freshman of the Week on opening. Matheny, who hit two home runs, doubled, and drove in five runs, was the first Freshman of the Week for Indiana since Logan Sowers on May 18, 2015. Matheny is fourth on the team with a .280 batting average.
• Also joining Matheny on the list of impact freshmen is shortstop Jeremy Houston, who has three extra-base hits (2 triples, double) and has driven in three runs.
• Through the first two weekends, Indiana's pitching staff posted a 3.21 team ERA (1st in B1G) and a .257 opponent batting average (3rd).
• Since the start of the 2008 season, Indiana leads the Big Ten in wins (313) and conference wins (135). The Hoosiers have made four NCAA Regionals over that span, the most out of any current Big Ten team.
HEAD COACH CHRIS LEMONIS
• Chris Lemonis is in his third season as Indiana's head coach, posting an overall record of 70-52-1 thus far. Lemonis took over an IU program in 2015 that had gone 93-31 the previous two seasons, including its first-ever College World Series appearance in 2013 and the No. 4 overall seed in the 2014 NCAA Baseball Championship. With a new look roster, his program immediately lived up to the expectations, posting a 35-24 overall record and earning a berth into a third-straight NCAA Regional in 2015.
• Lemonis' squad posted a school record fielding percentage of .975 in 2016 while finishing thrid in the Big Ten standings. Through his first two seasons as head coach at Indiana, the Hoosiers own two of the top three fielding percentages in program history.
• As an assistant coach, Lemonis' imprint in elevating the Louisville program to new heights was evident. The former Cardinals' recruiting coordinator aided Louisville to three College World Series appearances (2007, 2013, 2014) and a 359-159 (.693) record during the past eight seasons, including back-to-back 50-win seasons in 2013 and 2014.
HURLING HOOSIERS
• A big part of Indiana's success in recent years has been its pitching staff, with eight pitchers over the last two seasons going on to play professionally with MLB organizations.
• Under the tutelage of Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach Kyle Bunn, the Hoosiers in 2016 ranked second in the country in walks allowed per nine innings (2.31), fifth in WHIP (1.15) and 11th in team ERA (3.09). Indiana led the Big Ten in walks per nine innings, WHIP, strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.17), was second in team ERA and second in hits allowed per nine innings (8.02).
• Through eight games, Indiana is first in the Big Ten in ERA (3.21, 49th nationally), WHIP (1.34), third in opposing batting average (.257), fourth in fewest walks allowed (7), and sixth in fewest hits allowed (69).
• Bunn has been known nationally for developing his pitchers as 54 of them have gone on to play professional baseball. During his 15-year stint as an assistant at Ole Miss (2002-07), Clemson (2008-09), Alabama (2010), East Tennessee State (2012-14) and Indiana (2015-present), a total of nine of his pitchers have reached the Major Leagues. Bunn's staffs have poured out three first round draft picks and 22 top five round draft picks.
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