Friday, February 21
Mobile, AL
2:00 PM
Indiana University
vs
UT Martin
NOTES: Indiana Ready for South Alabama Invitational
2/20/2020 12:18:00 PM | Baseball
SETTING THE SCENE
• Indiana continues on the road to start the 2020 season with contests against UT Martin on Friday, No. 30 South Alabama on Saturday and Siena on Sunday.
• The Hoosiers started the 2020 campaign in Baton Rouge, earning a win at No. 11 LSU in the final game of the set, 7-2. RHP Braydon Tucker earned the win for Indiana, while OF Grant Richardson had a home run and four RBI to pace the offense.
• Jeff Mercer enters his second season at the helm of the Indiana baseball program after leading the Hoosiers to a Big Ten regular season title in 2019, earning him Big Ten Coach of the Year honors.
LEADING OFF
• Indiana won the program's seventh Big Ten regular season championship in 2019, posting an overall record of 37-23 and a conference mark of 17-7.
• For his efforts, Jeff Mercer was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Mercer became the first Big Ten head coach since 1982 (John Anderson, Minnesota) to win a regular season conference title in his first season as the skipper. He was just the second coach in IU history – in any sport, men's or women's – to win an outright Big Ten championship in his (or her) first year.
• Since the start of the 2008 season, Indiana leads the Big Ten in wins (421) and conference wins (178). The Hoosiers have made seven NCAA Regionals over that span, the most out of any current Big Ten team.
• For the sixth time in seven years, Indiana was selected to the 2019 NCAA Baseball Tournament field. The Hoosiers played in the Louisville Regional, earning a No. 2 seed for the second-consecutive season.
• A school-record 10 Hoosiers were selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, led by outfield Matt Gorski, who was selected in the second round (57th overall). Gorski was the highest-drafted Hoosier since Kyle Schwarber in 2014 (1st round, fourth overall).
SERIES HISTORY
• Friday's game will be the first between Indiana and UT Martin.
• Saturday's contest will be the second between IU and South Alabama, with the Hoosiers winning the previous matchup, 8-4, in 2018.
• Sunday's game with Siena will also be the second for Indiana, with IU winning the previous contest, 10-2, on Mar. 20, 1987.
RICHARDSON NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Sophomore OF Grant Richardson was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Feb, 17, sharing the honor with Bryce Kelley of Michigan State.
• In the Hoosiers' three-game series at No. 11 LSU, Richardson batted 6-for-12 (.500) with five RBI, a double, a triple, a home run, four runs scored and a stolen base.
• In IU's 7-2 victory over the Tigers, the sophomore went 2-for-3 with four RBI, a double, a homer, two runs scored a stolen base.
NEW FACES
• Nine players made their Indiana debuts at No. 11 LSU on Feb. 14.
• True freshmen OF Ethan Vecrumba, RHP Nathan Stahl, RHP David Platt, C Brant Voth and OF Hunter Jessee all made their collegiate debuts.
• INF Grant Macciocchi, INF Jordan Fucci, C Collin Hopkins and INF Cooper Trinkle made their IU debuts.
BIG TEN PRESEASON ACCOLADES
• Junior Cole Barr, junior Elijah Dunham and junior LHP Tommy Sommer were named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List.
• Also, in a preseason poll conducted of the league's coaches, IU was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten behind Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota and Nebraska.
PERFECT GAME PRESEASON HONORS
• Junior Cole Barr and classmate Elijah Dunham were named Preseason All-Big Ten by Perfect Game.
• Barr earned Second-Team All-Big Ten honors in 2019 after sharing the team-lead with 17 homers to go with 51 RBI.
• Dunham was a Third-Team All-Big Ten selection despite missing 17 games. He led the team with a .310 batting average to go with 12 doubles, eight homers and 29 RBI.
IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
• Indiana is receiving votes in the preseason USA Today poll of 31 coaches from across the country.
BEST IN THE BIG TEN
• Since the start of the 2008 season, Indiana leads the Big Ten in total wins (421) and conference wins (178).
• The Hoosiers have made seven NCAA Regionals over that span, the most out of any current Big Ten team.
STRONG SCHEDULE
• Indiana will have a challenging schedule in 2020, featuring 29 home games at Bart Kaufman Field.
• The 2020 schedule for the Hoosiers features 19 games against nine teams who earned berths to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
• The slate also features 23 contests against 12 teams who finished in the top-100 of the NCAA RPI rankings last season.
• Indiana continues on the road to start the 2020 season with contests against UT Martin on Friday, No. 30 South Alabama on Saturday and Siena on Sunday.
• The Hoosiers started the 2020 campaign in Baton Rouge, earning a win at No. 11 LSU in the final game of the set, 7-2. RHP Braydon Tucker earned the win for Indiana, while OF Grant Richardson had a home run and four RBI to pace the offense.
• Jeff Mercer enters his second season at the helm of the Indiana baseball program after leading the Hoosiers to a Big Ten regular season title in 2019, earning him Big Ten Coach of the Year honors.
LEADING OFF
• Indiana won the program's seventh Big Ten regular season championship in 2019, posting an overall record of 37-23 and a conference mark of 17-7.
• For his efforts, Jeff Mercer was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Mercer became the first Big Ten head coach since 1982 (John Anderson, Minnesota) to win a regular season conference title in his first season as the skipper. He was just the second coach in IU history – in any sport, men's or women's – to win an outright Big Ten championship in his (or her) first year.
• Since the start of the 2008 season, Indiana leads the Big Ten in wins (421) and conference wins (178). The Hoosiers have made seven NCAA Regionals over that span, the most out of any current Big Ten team.
• For the sixth time in seven years, Indiana was selected to the 2019 NCAA Baseball Tournament field. The Hoosiers played in the Louisville Regional, earning a No. 2 seed for the second-consecutive season.
• A school-record 10 Hoosiers were selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, led by outfield Matt Gorski, who was selected in the second round (57th overall). Gorski was the highest-drafted Hoosier since Kyle Schwarber in 2014 (1st round, fourth overall).
SERIES HISTORY
• Friday's game will be the first between Indiana and UT Martin.
• Saturday's contest will be the second between IU and South Alabama, with the Hoosiers winning the previous matchup, 8-4, in 2018.
• Sunday's game with Siena will also be the second for Indiana, with IU winning the previous contest, 10-2, on Mar. 20, 1987.
RICHARDSON NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Sophomore OF Grant Richardson was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Feb, 17, sharing the honor with Bryce Kelley of Michigan State.
• In the Hoosiers' three-game series at No. 11 LSU, Richardson batted 6-for-12 (.500) with five RBI, a double, a triple, a home run, four runs scored and a stolen base.
• In IU's 7-2 victory over the Tigers, the sophomore went 2-for-3 with four RBI, a double, a homer, two runs scored a stolen base.
NEW FACES
• Nine players made their Indiana debuts at No. 11 LSU on Feb. 14.
• True freshmen OF Ethan Vecrumba, RHP Nathan Stahl, RHP David Platt, C Brant Voth and OF Hunter Jessee all made their collegiate debuts.
• INF Grant Macciocchi, INF Jordan Fucci, C Collin Hopkins and INF Cooper Trinkle made their IU debuts.
BIG TEN PRESEASON ACCOLADES
• Junior Cole Barr, junior Elijah Dunham and junior LHP Tommy Sommer were named to the Big Ten Preseason Honors List.
• Also, in a preseason poll conducted of the league's coaches, IU was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten behind Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota and Nebraska.
PERFECT GAME PRESEASON HONORS
• Junior Cole Barr and classmate Elijah Dunham were named Preseason All-Big Ten by Perfect Game.
• Barr earned Second-Team All-Big Ten honors in 2019 after sharing the team-lead with 17 homers to go with 51 RBI.
• Dunham was a Third-Team All-Big Ten selection despite missing 17 games. He led the team with a .310 batting average to go with 12 doubles, eight homers and 29 RBI.
IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
• Indiana is receiving votes in the preseason USA Today poll of 31 coaches from across the country.
BEST IN THE BIG TEN
• Since the start of the 2008 season, Indiana leads the Big Ten in total wins (421) and conference wins (178).
• The Hoosiers have made seven NCAA Regionals over that span, the most out of any current Big Ten team.
STRONG SCHEDULE
• Indiana will have a challenging schedule in 2020, featuring 29 home games at Bart Kaufman Field.
• The 2020 schedule for the Hoosiers features 19 games against nine teams who earned berths to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
• The slate also features 23 contests against 12 teams who finished in the top-100 of the NCAA RPI rankings last season.
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