Indiana University Athletics
Friday, March 26
East Lansing, Mich.
3:05 PM
Indiana University
at
Michigan State
NOTES: Indiana Baseball Heads to Michigan State this Weekend
3/25/2021 10:35:00 AM | Baseball
SETTING THE SCENE
• The Indiana Hoosiers will head north to face Michigan State in a three-game, Big Ten series in East Lansing starting on Friday at McLane Stadium.
• Indiana has won nine of its last 10 games and currently sits atop the Big Ten standings with a record of 9-2. Indiana's 9-2 start in Big Ten play is the best for the team since starting 11-2 in league action in 2016.
• Jeff Mercer is in his third season at the helm of the Indiana baseball program. He led the Hoosiers to a Big Ten regular season title in 2019, earning him Big Ten Coach of the Year honors.
INSIDE #IUBASE
• The Indiana pitching staff has been electric this season, posting a team ERA of 2.49 with 127 strikeouts in 94 innings pitched. IU has allowed just 26 earned runs on 47 hits and has limited opponents to a batting average of .146.
• The Hoosiers are ranked first in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings (4.50 and WHIP (0.93), fifth in team ERA (2.49) and sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.2).
• INF/OF Drew Ashley has reached base in 36-straight games dating back to the 2019 season. He and freshman INF Paul Toetz have hit safely in all 11 games for Indiana this season.
• Individually, RHP McCade Brown leads the Big Ten in strikeouts (57) and strikeouts per nine innings (17.05, 5th in NCAA). LHP Tommy Sommer leads the conference in hits allowed per nine innings (3.26, 14th in NCAA), while RHP Matt Litwicki has a league-leading three saves.
• Indiana is ranked No. 9 in the nation by Perfect Game and No. 28 in the Collegiate Baseball poll. IU is receiving votes in both the NCBWA and USA Today Coaches polls.
• Since the start of the 2008 season, Indiana leads the Big Ten in wins (438) and conference wins (186). The Hoosiers have made seven NCAA Regionals over that span, the most out of any current Big Ten team.
•RHP McCade Brown was named the D1Baseball/AstroTurf Player of the Week, the Perfect Game/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week, Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after a school-record performance against Penn State on Mar. 13.
• The sophomore hurler matched the Indiana school record with a career-high 16 strikeouts in seven, no-hit innings. He also broke the IU record for most strikeouts in a Big Ten game, eclipsing the previous record of 13.
• LHP Tommy Sommer was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 9. Sommer was outstanding for the Hoosiers this past weekend, helping the team defeat Minnesota, 5-2, on Mar. 5. The Carmel, Ind. native tossed eight shutout innings to earn the win, allowing just two hits, while matching his career-high with 10 strikeouts.
• Indiana OF Grant Richardson was named a First-Team Preseason All-American by both Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball. He was also named Third-Team Preseason All-American by D1Baseball.
• Before the season, Indiana was tabbed to win the Big Ten in 2021 by Perfect Game. OF Grant Richardson was named the Player of the Year and to the Preseason All-Big Ten team. He was joined on the preseason All-Big Ten team by RHP Gabe Bierman and RHP Connor Manous.
• RHP Gabe Bierman, OF Grant Richardson and LHP Tommy Sommer were all named to the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List. IU was picked to finish second in the Big Ten behind Michigan in a preseason poll conducted of the league's coaches.
• After leading the Hoosiers to the 2019 Big Ten regular season championship, 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.
#GoIU
• The Indiana Hoosiers will head north to face Michigan State in a three-game, Big Ten series in East Lansing starting on Friday at McLane Stadium.
• Indiana has won nine of its last 10 games and currently sits atop the Big Ten standings with a record of 9-2. Indiana's 9-2 start in Big Ten play is the best for the team since starting 11-2 in league action in 2016.
• Jeff Mercer is in his third season at the helm of the Indiana baseball program. He led the Hoosiers to a Big Ten regular season title in 2019, earning him Big Ten Coach of the Year honors.
INSIDE #IUBASE
• The Indiana pitching staff has been electric this season, posting a team ERA of 2.49 with 127 strikeouts in 94 innings pitched. IU has allowed just 26 earned runs on 47 hits and has limited opponents to a batting average of .146.
• The Hoosiers are ranked first in the NCAA in hits allowed per nine innings (4.50 and WHIP (0.93), fifth in team ERA (2.49) and sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.2).
• INF/OF Drew Ashley has reached base in 36-straight games dating back to the 2019 season. He and freshman INF Paul Toetz have hit safely in all 11 games for Indiana this season.
• Individually, RHP McCade Brown leads the Big Ten in strikeouts (57) and strikeouts per nine innings (17.05, 5th in NCAA). LHP Tommy Sommer leads the conference in hits allowed per nine innings (3.26, 14th in NCAA), while RHP Matt Litwicki has a league-leading three saves.
• Indiana is ranked No. 9 in the nation by Perfect Game and No. 28 in the Collegiate Baseball poll. IU is receiving votes in both the NCBWA and USA Today Coaches polls.
• Since the start of the 2008 season, Indiana leads the Big Ten in wins (438) and conference wins (186). The Hoosiers have made seven NCAA Regionals over that span, the most out of any current Big Ten team.
•RHP McCade Brown was named the D1Baseball/AstroTurf Player of the Week, the Perfect Game/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week, Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after a school-record performance against Penn State on Mar. 13.
• The sophomore hurler matched the Indiana school record with a career-high 16 strikeouts in seven, no-hit innings. He also broke the IU record for most strikeouts in a Big Ten game, eclipsing the previous record of 13.
• LHP Tommy Sommer was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 9. Sommer was outstanding for the Hoosiers this past weekend, helping the team defeat Minnesota, 5-2, on Mar. 5. The Carmel, Ind. native tossed eight shutout innings to earn the win, allowing just two hits, while matching his career-high with 10 strikeouts.
• Indiana OF Grant Richardson was named a First-Team Preseason All-American by both Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball. He was also named Third-Team Preseason All-American by D1Baseball.
• Before the season, Indiana was tabbed to win the Big Ten in 2021 by Perfect Game. OF Grant Richardson was named the Player of the Year and to the Preseason All-Big Ten team. He was joined on the preseason All-Big Ten team by RHP Gabe Bierman and RHP Connor Manous.
• RHP Gabe Bierman, OF Grant Richardson and LHP Tommy Sommer were all named to the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List. IU was picked to finish second in the Big Ten behind Michigan in a preseason poll conducted of the league's coaches.
• After leading the Hoosiers to the 2019 Big Ten regular season championship, 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.
#GoIU
Players Mentioned
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