Thursday, May 16
Bloomington, Ind.
1:00 PM
Indiana University
vs
Michigan
Baseball Central: Michigan
5/15/2024 4:00:00 PM | Baseball
NOTE: Weather is likely to interrupt this series. We plan to have an updated weekend schedule, if needed, by the AM. The starting rotation for Indiana is based on what was used last weekend. A change in the schedule could affect it.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The final weekend of the regular season will pit the last two Big Teams to make it to the College World Series against each other as Michigan (2019) visits Indiana (2013) with much to be decided in the conference standings.
Led by former IU coach Tracy Smith (2006-14), the Wolverines visit Bloomington for the first time since 2015 with both teams tied for third with Purdue in the Big Ten standings at 13-8. Each team remains alive in the regular season title race but will need a sweep and some help from Purdue and Michigan State.
Depending on weather, the Hoosiers and Wolverines are scheduled to play games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Big Ten moves the final weekend of the season up a day due to the Big Ten Tournament starting next Tuesday. Thursday's game was picked up by the Big Ten Network and is scheduled for 5:00 PM.
IU will honor its senior class this weekend which includes Morgan Colopy, Drew Buhr, Carter Mathison, Ty Rybarczyk, Sam Murrison, Jack Moffitt and Seti Manase. Ty Bothwell, who went through senior day last year, will pitch his final game at Bart Kaufman Field. It could also be the final home series for potential draft picks in Brock Tibbitts, Nick Mitchell and Connor Foley.
Gameday Info
vs. Michigan (Thursday, May 16th – 5:00 PM)
Live Video: bit.ly/44wik9K
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
vs. Michigan (Friday, May 17th – 6:00 PM)
Live Video: t.ly/_fMBQ
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
vs. Michigan (Saturday, May 18th – 2:00 PM)
Live Video: t.ly/_fMBQ
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
Probable Starters
Indiana vs. Michigan
• Thursday – Ty Bothwell, LHP (IU) vs. TBD (UM)
• Friday – Connor Foley, RHP (IU) vs. TBD (UM)
• Saturday – TBD (IU) vs. TBD (UM)
Player and Stat Trends
Tibbitts Chases 200
• Brock Tibbitts made his return to the lineup after missing a month with a lower-leg injury. He had four hits in the weekend series win over Purdue including the hit that kickstarted an amazing ninth-inning rally. He had two more in the series at Nebraska. Tibbitts now has 188 for his career and is 12 away from becoming the 25th member of the 200-hit club at Indiana.
Notable
Final Week of Regular Season
• A three-month long regular season ends this weekend. IU has just three games remaining with a visit from Michigan this weekend. The Hoosiers will finish with 53 regular season games after weather forced cancelations of home games against Ball State and Cincinnati and a road contest at Louisville.
Pitching Continues to Improve
• Pitching coach Dustin Glant has done an outstanding job getting his staff ready for the stretch run. Despite not having the likes of Luke Sinnard, Ben Grable and Matthew Bohnert, the Hoosiers have found a group of reliable arms for the postseason.
• IU hasn't allowed more than seven runs in a game in its last 10 contests. The Hoosiers are 6-3-1 in that stretch. Over the weekend in a tough environment at Nebraska, IU conceded just 14 runs. The Huskers never scored more than five in a game but managed to win the series.
One Win From Omaha
• Barring getting swept at home against Michigan, Indiana will make its 11th-consecutive Big Ten Tournament appearance. The Hoosiers will continue to have the longest active streak in the conference. IU has played in every contested tournament (2020, 2021 not contested) since 2012. IU needs just one win against Michigan to clinch a spot but will want a good showing this weekend to secure a higher seed.
Sophomores Shining
• Sophomores Devin Taylor and Tyler Cerny have formed a formidable duo offensively for the Hoosiers this season. The pair has started in all but one game (Devin Taylor - personal issue) this year and have combined for 140 hits (70 each) in 2024.
• Both players became starters early in 2024 and have never left the lineup since. They've combined for 23 home runs and 94 RBIs this year while also scoring over 50+ runs each for the team. Cerny is draft-eligible in 2024 but could potentially come back to form a lethal duo with Taylor in 2024.
Get to 30 Wins
• The Indiana program has reached 30-or-more regular seasons in 10 of the past 11 completed campaigns. Only in 2022, while playing lots of freshmen, did the Hoosiers fail to reach to the 30-win mark in the regular season.
• The Hoosiers have 28 wins heading into this week and need just two to reach the 30-win threshold for the third time under head coach Jeff Mercer. If IU sweeps Michigan, it will be the third time under Mercer has led this program to 16+ Big Ten wins in a regular season (excludes the 44-game Big Ten only 2021 slate).
Familiar Faces Return
• Michigan comes to town this weekend led by former IU head coach Tracy Smith. Smith racked up 287 wins in nine years as IU's head coach. He led the Hoosiers to Omaha for the 2013 College World Series and won back-to-back Big Ten regular season titles. On staff for the Wolverines is former big leaguer Josh Phegley, who played for IU from 2007-09.
Scouting the Opponent
Michigan (29-24, 13-8 B1G)
• Under head coach Tracy Smith, Michigan has positioned itself for a spot in the Big Ten Tournament next week. The stats don't jump off the page, with the Wolverines batting just .265, but Stephen Hrustich and Mitch Voit have combined to hit 26 home runs this year and form a potent duo in the middle of the order.
• Kurt Barr has been Michigan's best starter at 5-3 with a 3.54 earned run average. Voit, Chase Allen and Dylan Vigue all have 10 starts this season as well. Jacob Denner (4.09 ERA) has thrown 72.2 innings with 25 appearances.
• Both teams are 13-8 in conference play. Michigan has won six series but hasn't swept any conference teams this year. Its only Big Ten series loss was at Michigan State. The Wolverines play just one of the league's three best teams (at Indiana).
Inside the Series
Michigan at Indiana
• These two teams have played 214 times, dating all the way back to 1896. Along with Purdue and Illinois, it's one of the most commonly played series in program history. Michigan leads the all-time matchup 135-79.
• Michigan hasn't played a series in Bloomington since 2015, the first year of the Chris Lemonis era in Bloomington. The last four series have all been played in Ann Arbor. The last matchup came in the Big Ten Tournament last year in Omaha.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The final weekend of the regular season will pit the last two Big Teams to make it to the College World Series against each other as Michigan (2019) visits Indiana (2013) with much to be decided in the conference standings.
Led by former IU coach Tracy Smith (2006-14), the Wolverines visit Bloomington for the first time since 2015 with both teams tied for third with Purdue in the Big Ten standings at 13-8. Each team remains alive in the regular season title race but will need a sweep and some help from Purdue and Michigan State.
Depending on weather, the Hoosiers and Wolverines are scheduled to play games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Big Ten moves the final weekend of the season up a day due to the Big Ten Tournament starting next Tuesday. Thursday's game was picked up by the Big Ten Network and is scheduled for 5:00 PM.
IU will honor its senior class this weekend which includes Morgan Colopy, Drew Buhr, Carter Mathison, Ty Rybarczyk, Sam Murrison, Jack Moffitt and Seti Manase. Ty Bothwell, who went through senior day last year, will pitch his final game at Bart Kaufman Field. It could also be the final home series for potential draft picks in Brock Tibbitts, Nick Mitchell and Connor Foley.
Gameday Info
vs. Michigan (Thursday, May 16th – 5:00 PM)
Live Video: bit.ly/44wik9K
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
vs. Michigan (Friday, May 17th – 6:00 PM)
Live Video: t.ly/_fMBQ
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
vs. Michigan (Saturday, May 18th – 2:00 PM)
Live Video: t.ly/_fMBQ
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
Probable Starters
Indiana vs. Michigan
• Thursday – Ty Bothwell, LHP (IU) vs. TBD (UM)
• Friday – Connor Foley, RHP (IU) vs. TBD (UM)
• Saturday – TBD (IU) vs. TBD (UM)
Player and Stat Trends
Tibbitts Chases 200
• Brock Tibbitts made his return to the lineup after missing a month with a lower-leg injury. He had four hits in the weekend series win over Purdue including the hit that kickstarted an amazing ninth-inning rally. He had two more in the series at Nebraska. Tibbitts now has 188 for his career and is 12 away from becoming the 25th member of the 200-hit club at Indiana.
Notable
Final Week of Regular Season
• A three-month long regular season ends this weekend. IU has just three games remaining with a visit from Michigan this weekend. The Hoosiers will finish with 53 regular season games after weather forced cancelations of home games against Ball State and Cincinnati and a road contest at Louisville.
Pitching Continues to Improve
• Pitching coach Dustin Glant has done an outstanding job getting his staff ready for the stretch run. Despite not having the likes of Luke Sinnard, Ben Grable and Matthew Bohnert, the Hoosiers have found a group of reliable arms for the postseason.
• IU hasn't allowed more than seven runs in a game in its last 10 contests. The Hoosiers are 6-3-1 in that stretch. Over the weekend in a tough environment at Nebraska, IU conceded just 14 runs. The Huskers never scored more than five in a game but managed to win the series.
One Win From Omaha
• Barring getting swept at home against Michigan, Indiana will make its 11th-consecutive Big Ten Tournament appearance. The Hoosiers will continue to have the longest active streak in the conference. IU has played in every contested tournament (2020, 2021 not contested) since 2012. IU needs just one win against Michigan to clinch a spot but will want a good showing this weekend to secure a higher seed.
Sophomores Shining
• Sophomores Devin Taylor and Tyler Cerny have formed a formidable duo offensively for the Hoosiers this season. The pair has started in all but one game (Devin Taylor - personal issue) this year and have combined for 140 hits (70 each) in 2024.
• Both players became starters early in 2024 and have never left the lineup since. They've combined for 23 home runs and 94 RBIs this year while also scoring over 50+ runs each for the team. Cerny is draft-eligible in 2024 but could potentially come back to form a lethal duo with Taylor in 2024.
Get to 30 Wins
• The Indiana program has reached 30-or-more regular seasons in 10 of the past 11 completed campaigns. Only in 2022, while playing lots of freshmen, did the Hoosiers fail to reach to the 30-win mark in the regular season.
• The Hoosiers have 28 wins heading into this week and need just two to reach the 30-win threshold for the third time under head coach Jeff Mercer. If IU sweeps Michigan, it will be the third time under Mercer has led this program to 16+ Big Ten wins in a regular season (excludes the 44-game Big Ten only 2021 slate).
Familiar Faces Return
• Michigan comes to town this weekend led by former IU head coach Tracy Smith. Smith racked up 287 wins in nine years as IU's head coach. He led the Hoosiers to Omaha for the 2013 College World Series and won back-to-back Big Ten regular season titles. On staff for the Wolverines is former big leaguer Josh Phegley, who played for IU from 2007-09.
Scouting the Opponent
Michigan (29-24, 13-8 B1G)
• Under head coach Tracy Smith, Michigan has positioned itself for a spot in the Big Ten Tournament next week. The stats don't jump off the page, with the Wolverines batting just .265, but Stephen Hrustich and Mitch Voit have combined to hit 26 home runs this year and form a potent duo in the middle of the order.
• Kurt Barr has been Michigan's best starter at 5-3 with a 3.54 earned run average. Voit, Chase Allen and Dylan Vigue all have 10 starts this season as well. Jacob Denner (4.09 ERA) has thrown 72.2 innings with 25 appearances.
• Both teams are 13-8 in conference play. Michigan has won six series but hasn't swept any conference teams this year. Its only Big Ten series loss was at Michigan State. The Wolverines play just one of the league's three best teams (at Indiana).
Inside the Series
Michigan at Indiana
• These two teams have played 214 times, dating all the way back to 1896. Along with Purdue and Illinois, it's one of the most commonly played series in program history. Michigan leads the all-time matchup 135-79.
• Michigan hasn't played a series in Bloomington since 2015, the first year of the Chris Lemonis era in Bloomington. The last four series have all been played in Ann Arbor. The last matchup came in the Big Ten Tournament last year in Omaha.
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ 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