Baseball Central: Miami (Ohio)

Tuesday, February 20

Bloomington, Ind.

4:00 PM

Indiana University

Miami (Ohio)

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2/19/2024 6:30:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes Season Stats

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Fresh off a fantastic opening weekend in the Baseball at the Beach event on the campus of Coastal Carolina, the Indiana Baseball team (2-1) returns home for the first game at Bart Kaufman Field in 2024.

IU will welcome Miami (Ohio) (0-3) for the first mid-week contest of the season at 4:00 PM on Tuesday (Feb. 20) afternoon.

Freshman right-handed pitcher Seth Benes will make his collegiate debut and open on the mound with a collection of arms expected to feature against Miami (Ohio).

Tuesday afternoon's game will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus with Alexander Hynes (PxP), Ian Plaskoff (Color) and Audrey Marr (Sideline) on the call.

The February 20th home opener is the earliest home contest played by the baseball program in Bloomington since hosting Taylor for a doubleheader on February 18th in 2002.

Gameday Info
vs. Miami (Ohio) (Tuesday, February 20th)
Live Video: bit.ly/3OO485B
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: bit.ly/49n83yo

Probable Starters
#23 Indiana vs. Miami (Ohio)
• Seth Benes (0-0, 0.00) vs. TBD

Notable
Weekend Recap
• Indiana was outstanding in the Baseball at the Beach event, winning two games on opening weekend for the first time since 2019. The Hoosiers lost a close contest to No. 12 Duke on Friday afternoon before coming back to beat No. 18 Coastal Carolina (7-2) and George Mason (9-3) on consecutive days.

• IU's win over the Chanticleers was the first ranked victory in the regular season for the Hoosiers since beating No. 10 Louisville at Bart Kaufman Field last April. It also improved IU's all-time record against Coastal Carolina to 4-1.

Back in the Top 25
• The Hoosiers entered D1Baseball's top-25 poll (23) for the first time since May of 2021. Baseball America had Jeff Mercer's group at No. 22. IU will continue to face a challenging schedule in the coming weeks with contests against Baylor (three-game set), Alabama, Dallas Baptist, Arizona and Troy (three-game set).

Sophomore Standouts
• Sophomores Devin Taylor and Tyler Cerny picked up right where they left off last season, tearing the cover off the ball on opening weekend. The duo combined to go 11-27 (.407) at the plate with two runs, one home run and six RBI's.

Starting Pitching Dominates
• Faced with questions after losing ace Luke Sinnard to a season-ending injury in June, IU's starting pitching met the challenge on opening weekend. Sophomores Brayden Risedorph (Friday), Connor Foley (Saturday) and Ethan Phillips (Sunday) combined for 12.1 innings of action and just three runs allowed against quality opposition.

Fresh Faces Shine
• Freshmen Andrew Wiggins, Joey Brenczewski and AJ Shepard all collected their first hits of the weekend while Cal Sefcik and Hayden Carlson made collegiate debuts. Before being injured Sunday, Shepard hit a pair of two-run home runs on the weekend.

Clutch out of the Bullpen
• Sixth-year senior Ty Bothwell and junior pitcher Julian Tonghini both pitched outstanding when called upon in relief. Bothwell threw five innings and allowed just two runs to earn the win against Coastal Carolina while Tonghini worked three scoreless innings to record a save against George Mason.

Bombs Away
• Known for outstanding power in the lineup, IU put together seven home runs on opening weekend including a pair of 400-plus foot blasts from junior Carter Mathison. He and Shepard both hit two while Cerny, Brandon Burckel and Morgan Colopy all got in on the action.

Veteran Group in the Field
• The Hoosiers will field an expected lineup this season filled with five guys who are entering their third season as fulltime starters. Josh Pyne, Brock Tibbitts and Carter Mathison have been everyday starters for IU the last two years while Nick Mitchell (Western Illinois) and Brandon Burckel (Houston) have transferred in having started two seasons at their previous stops.

Impact Freshman Class
• D1 Baseball ranked IU's incoming freshman class No. 20 in the nation with only players that signed and made it to campus considered for the list.

• Among the players mentioned by D1 Baseball included outfielder Andrew Wiggins (Indianapolis, Ind.), infielders Cal Sefcik (Palos Heights, Ill.) and Jasen Oliver (Almont, Mich.) and pitcher Ryan Rushing (Bradenton, Fla.).

Scouting the Opponent
Miami (Ohio) (0-3, 0-0 MAC)
• The Redhawks begin a new era under former Indiana State associate head coach Brian Smiley. He began his tenure in Oxford last weekend, getting swept in a three-game series at top-25 foe South Carolina. Miami kept the game close in the opener (5-1 loss) but was outscored 25-4 in the final two games.

• David Novak leads the offensive attack for Miami. He's hitting .273 (3-11) across the first three games. Luke Ross threw three scoreless innings for the Redhawks over the weekend.

Inside the Series
Indiana vs. Miami (Ohio)
• The Hoosiers lead the all-time series 43-38 which dates all the way back to 1931. IU has won five of the past six meetings including a 13-5 win in 2023.