Indiana University Athletics
Tuesday, March 26
Bloomington, Ind.
6:00 PM
Indiana University
vs
Middle Tennessee State
Baseball Central: Middle Tennessee State
3/25/2024 7:00:00 PM | Baseball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana Baseball team (12-12, 1-2) will step back out of conference this week, beginning with a midweek contest against Middle Tennessee State on Tuesday (March 26th) afternoon at Bart Kaufman Field.
Heading into the final week of March, the Hoosiers will look to close the month on a high note with five games this week. A weekend four-game slate with Butler will be the final out-of-conference series of the season.
Sixth-year senior pitcher Ty Rybarczyk will take the mound in hopes of turning in a similar start as his outing last Tuesday at Indiana State (2 IP, 0 R). The bullpen will be busy with five games on the schedule but most, if-not-all, arms will be available.
The Hoosier offense will look to continue stacking quality at-bats and begin to drive in runs in bulk this year. Middle Tennessee is allowing opposing batters to hit .316 this year. Butler is letting teams hit .333 this season.
Gameday Info
Middle Tennessee State (Tuesday, March 26th)
Live Video: t.ly/_fMBQ
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
Probable Starters
Indiana vs. Middle Tennessee State
• Tuesday – Ty Rybarczyk (IU) (0-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. TBD (MTSU)
Player and Stat Trends
Closing in on 200
• Josh Pyne (178) and Brock Tibbitts (176) are neck-in-neck as they try to become the next members of the 200-hit club at IU. They would be the first pair of teammates from the same recruiting class to reach the plateau since Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis (2012-14). 23 players in program history, which dates back to the 1890's, have recorded 200-career hits.
200 of His Own
• Ty Bothwell is also searching for 200 … strikeouts. He is 28 away from becoming the 10th member of the 200-strikeout club at IU. He is currently tied for second on the team (Risedorph) with 23 punchies this season behind only Connor Foley's 45.
Ironman Brock
• Brock Tibbitts is on a run of 143-straight starts without missing a contest. He is searching to become the third player since 2008 to have a stretch of at least 150-consecutive starts. Jerrud Sabourin made a 220-straight starts from 2008-11 while Craig Dedelow had 175-consecutive starts (2015-17).
Racking Up Hits
• Devin Taylor (34), Tyler Cerny (35) and Brock Tibbitts (32) are all top-15 in the Big Ten in hits this season and could be chasing special numbers in Bloomington this season. Only once at IU has a pair of teammates (Alex Dickerson and Jerrud Sabourin, 2010) each had 92+ hits respectively in the same campaign. Only one player ever (Alex Smith, 1985) has had 100+ hits in a season.
Notable
Stepping Out of Conference
• Under the Big Ten's current scheduling format, each team in the conference plays eight Big Ten series across a nine-weekend timeframe. IU's slotted non-conference series in that stretch comes this weekend against Butler. The two teams will play four games with one at Butler and three at IU.
• IU swept Ohio in its non-conference gap weekend in 2023 and played Evansville in 2022. After the series against Butler, IU will head back into Big Ten play for the final seven weekends of the year. During the midweek, IU will play Middle Tennessee for the first time since 2017.
Mitchell Takes His Bases
• Nick Mitchell, a transfer from Western Illinois, has been phenomenal for IU since returning from a hand injury in the Baylor series. He's got 24 hits in18 games with 24 runs in that period. He's hitting .353 (24-68) while reaching with 18 additional walks.
• The junior has seven multi-hit and seven multi-run games and matched a career high with four RBI's against Illinois (March 24). Heading into the Middle Tennessee contest, Mitchell is riding an eight-game hitting streak.
Cerny Swinging a Big Bat
• Despite going hitless in the first three games last week, sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny responded with a massive three-hit, two-run day in the weekend finale against Illinois. He's got hits in eight of his last 11 games.
• He shares the team lead in multi-hit games (11) and has sole possession of the team lead in base hits (35) this season. He's scored 21 times and has 24 RBI's and nine doubles this year.
Foley Shoves Against Illinois
• Sophomore right-hander Connor Foley turned in the best performance of his young career against Illinois to pick up the team's first Big Ten win of the year.
• He provided seven scoreless innings with a career-high 10 strikeouts, scattering just two hits in the outing. Foley turned up the intensity after junior Josh Pyne provided him a two-run lead in the third inning.
Waiting for Breakout Game
• Since the Baylor series ended, IU is just 6-11 in its last 17 games. There have been few games where the program was firing on all cylinders (offense, defense and pitching). This week might provide one the final chances to kick start an at-large push. Five games (four at home) provided a big offensive and pitching opportunity before returning to Big Ten play at Maryland.
Scouting the Opponent
Middle Tennessee State (10-12, 2-4 CUSA)
• Led by Briggs Rutter and his .446 batting average (37-83), Middle Tennessee boasts a very strong offense. The Blue Raiders hit a collective .315 on the season and have mashed 25 home runs. Seven starters have 24 or more hits including Rutter (37) and Gabe Jennings (37) who share the team lead.
• The Hoosiers and Blue Raiders have each played Alabama and Miami (Ohio) this season. Middle Tennessee lost a mid-week to Alabama but lose a three-game set against Miami (Ohio). IU split its two contests against the same opponents.
Inside the Series
Indiana vs. Middle Tennessee State
• The two teams have split the all-time series 4-4. They played a three-game set in back-to-back years in 2016 (Murfreesboro) and 2017 (Bloomington). IU won the three-game series in 2017 with Middle Tennessee winning two of three in 2016.
Heading into the final week of March, the Hoosiers will look to close the month on a high note with five games this week. A weekend four-game slate with Butler will be the final out-of-conference series of the season.
Sixth-year senior pitcher Ty Rybarczyk will take the mound in hopes of turning in a similar start as his outing last Tuesday at Indiana State (2 IP, 0 R). The bullpen will be busy with five games on the schedule but most, if-not-all, arms will be available.
The Hoosier offense will look to continue stacking quality at-bats and begin to drive in runs in bulk this year. Middle Tennessee is allowing opposing batters to hit .316 this year. Butler is letting teams hit .333 this season.
Gameday Info
Middle Tennessee State (Tuesday, March 26th)
Live Video: t.ly/_fMBQ
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
Probable Starters
Indiana vs. Middle Tennessee State
• Tuesday – Ty Rybarczyk (IU) (0-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. TBD (MTSU)
Player and Stat Trends
Closing in on 200
• Josh Pyne (178) and Brock Tibbitts (176) are neck-in-neck as they try to become the next members of the 200-hit club at IU. They would be the first pair of teammates from the same recruiting class to reach the plateau since Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis (2012-14). 23 players in program history, which dates back to the 1890's, have recorded 200-career hits.
200 of His Own
• Ty Bothwell is also searching for 200 … strikeouts. He is 28 away from becoming the 10th member of the 200-strikeout club at IU. He is currently tied for second on the team (Risedorph) with 23 punchies this season behind only Connor Foley's 45.
Ironman Brock
• Brock Tibbitts is on a run of 143-straight starts without missing a contest. He is searching to become the third player since 2008 to have a stretch of at least 150-consecutive starts. Jerrud Sabourin made a 220-straight starts from 2008-11 while Craig Dedelow had 175-consecutive starts (2015-17).
Racking Up Hits
• Devin Taylor (34), Tyler Cerny (35) and Brock Tibbitts (32) are all top-15 in the Big Ten in hits this season and could be chasing special numbers in Bloomington this season. Only once at IU has a pair of teammates (Alex Dickerson and Jerrud Sabourin, 2010) each had 92+ hits respectively in the same campaign. Only one player ever (Alex Smith, 1985) has had 100+ hits in a season.
Notable
Stepping Out of Conference
• Under the Big Ten's current scheduling format, each team in the conference plays eight Big Ten series across a nine-weekend timeframe. IU's slotted non-conference series in that stretch comes this weekend against Butler. The two teams will play four games with one at Butler and three at IU.
• IU swept Ohio in its non-conference gap weekend in 2023 and played Evansville in 2022. After the series against Butler, IU will head back into Big Ten play for the final seven weekends of the year. During the midweek, IU will play Middle Tennessee for the first time since 2017.
Mitchell Takes His Bases
• Nick Mitchell, a transfer from Western Illinois, has been phenomenal for IU since returning from a hand injury in the Baylor series. He's got 24 hits in18 games with 24 runs in that period. He's hitting .353 (24-68) while reaching with 18 additional walks.
• The junior has seven multi-hit and seven multi-run games and matched a career high with four RBI's against Illinois (March 24). Heading into the Middle Tennessee contest, Mitchell is riding an eight-game hitting streak.
Cerny Swinging a Big Bat
• Despite going hitless in the first three games last week, sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny responded with a massive three-hit, two-run day in the weekend finale against Illinois. He's got hits in eight of his last 11 games.
• He shares the team lead in multi-hit games (11) and has sole possession of the team lead in base hits (35) this season. He's scored 21 times and has 24 RBI's and nine doubles this year.
Foley Shoves Against Illinois
• Sophomore right-hander Connor Foley turned in the best performance of his young career against Illinois to pick up the team's first Big Ten win of the year.
• He provided seven scoreless innings with a career-high 10 strikeouts, scattering just two hits in the outing. Foley turned up the intensity after junior Josh Pyne provided him a two-run lead in the third inning.
Waiting for Breakout Game
• Since the Baylor series ended, IU is just 6-11 in its last 17 games. There have been few games where the program was firing on all cylinders (offense, defense and pitching). This week might provide one the final chances to kick start an at-large push. Five games (four at home) provided a big offensive and pitching opportunity before returning to Big Ten play at Maryland.
Scouting the Opponent
Middle Tennessee State (10-12, 2-4 CUSA)
• Led by Briggs Rutter and his .446 batting average (37-83), Middle Tennessee boasts a very strong offense. The Blue Raiders hit a collective .315 on the season and have mashed 25 home runs. Seven starters have 24 or more hits including Rutter (37) and Gabe Jennings (37) who share the team lead.
• The Hoosiers and Blue Raiders have each played Alabama and Miami (Ohio) this season. Middle Tennessee lost a mid-week to Alabama but lose a three-game set against Miami (Ohio). IU split its two contests against the same opponents.
Inside the Series
Indiana vs. Middle Tennessee State
• The two teams have split the all-time series 4-4. They played a three-game set in back-to-back years in 2016 (Murfreesboro) and 2017 (Bloomington). IU won the three-game series in 2017 with Middle Tennessee winning two of three in 2016.
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballBig Ten Tournament Press Conference - vs. Rutgers
Wednesday, May 21
NCAA Postgame Press Conference - Southern Miss - 2
Sunday, June 02
NCAA Postgame Press Conference - Tennessee
Sunday, June 02
NCAA Postgame Press Conference - Southern Miss
Friday, May 31