Credit to: iuhoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Big Ten play is officially underway this weekend across the conference with four series including an important battle between the Indiana Baseball team (11-10) and Illinois at Bart Kaufman Field.
In every full season under head coach Jeff Mercer, IU has opened its Big Ten slate at home, winning two of the previous three series. The Hoosiers swept Ohio State last season to continue a run of eight-straight wins at the end of March.
Mercer is 8-5 in his IU career against Illinois with the Hoosiers winning eight of the past 11 games including three of four in the 2023 season. The two teams have met every year in a completed season since 2017.
https://static.iuhoosiers.com/custompages/PDF/BB/2024/24-03-21-Illinois_Notes.pdf
The Big Ten expects to be wide open this season in the 24-game race to a conference title. Nebraska (9) has the highest RPI in the conference but Iowa, Rutgers, Maryland and IU all expect to factor into the regular season battle this year.
All three games will be broadcasted on BTN+ this season. Saturday’s game will be free admission due to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. First pitch Friday is slated for 6:00 PM.
Gameday Info
Illinois (Friday, March 22nd)
Live Video: t.ly/_fMBQ
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
Illinois (Saturday, March 23rd)
Live Video: t.ly/_fMBQ
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
Illinois (Sunday, March 24th)
Live Video: t.ly/_fMBQ
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
Probable Starters
Indiana vs. Illinois
• Friday – Ethan Phillips (IU) (3-0, 5.29 ERA) vs. Jack Crowder (ILL) (0-1, 5.88 ERA)
• Saturday – Connor Foley (IU) (1-1, 4.63 ERA) vs. Cooper Omans (ILL) (2-0, 1.45 ERA)
• Sunday – TBD (IU) vs. TBD (ILL)
Player and Stat Trends
Closing in on 200
• Josh Pyne (177) and Brock Tibbitts (174) 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 second on the team with 23 punchies this season behind only Connor Foley’s 35.
Ironman Brock
• Brock Tibbitts is on a run of 140-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 (33), Tyler Cerny (32) and Brock Tibbitts (30) are all top-10 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
The Time to get it Going
• After a strong February and start to the season, Indiana has faced an up-and-down month of March filled with a trio of run-rule defeats. Through the first 19 days of the month, IU had already played 13 contests including a stretch of eight games in nine days.
• Heading into this weekend, IU had two full days of practice to get ready for Big Ten play and has a nice stretch of run with only one of its next nine games on the road (at Butler). The Hoosiers won’t see any hotel rooms or flights until the beginning of April.
• IU used a big stretch heading into April in 2023, winning its final eight games in the month of March, before heading into the heart of conference play. The next nine contests (three vs. Illinois, one vs. MTSU, four vs. Butler and one vs. Indiana State) will be massive in the season outlook.
Buzz Cuts and Big Bats
• Junior third baseman Josh Pyne decided the team needed a change of pace after Friday’s loss to Belmont. He, along with redshirt junior catcher Jake Stadler, led the charge in the buzz-cut trend, shaving down their heads in the locker room. Nearly three-fourths of the team followed suit.
• The Hoosiers have had 10+ hits in each of the three games since, putting up a combined 37 runs in those three contests. The top five batters in IU’s order have been on a tear in that stretch and will look to continue that into Big Ten play.
Phillips Does the Job
• Sophomore Ethan Phillips was called in to help manage the pitching on Saturday afternoon in a close game. IU took the lead in the bottom of the seventh to reward him the win. Pitching coach Dustin Glant looked to him to open Sunday’s game and he turned in three innings of one-run baseball on a staff day.
• He was the first IU pitcher since Cal Krueger (who won three-in-a-row) in 2018 to be the winning pitcher in consecutive games played. On the season, Phillips has turned in seven appearances and a team-best six starts with a 3-0 record and a 5.29 ERA.
Big Game Ty
• Perhaps no one on IU’s pitching staff has been more reliable than sixth-year senior Ty Bothwell. He’s 2-0 with a 5.16 ERA across 22.2 innings pitched this year. He gave IU a chance to win games against Troy and Belmont but the Hoosier offense couldn’t muster much of anything in the opening contests of those series.
Big Ten Play Gets Underway
• IU opens Big Ten play at home this weekend with Illinois. The Hoosiers swept Ohio State at home last year to open conference play and will look to tack on some more wins this weekend. IU went 2-1 against Illinois in Champaign last year. It is 7-3 against Illinois in the last 10 regular season meetings.
| Year | Opponent | Result |
| 2023 | vs. Ohio State | 3-0 |
| 2022 | vs. Northwestern | 1-2 |
| 2021 | vs. Rutgers/Minnesota (neut.) | 3-1 |
| 2019 | vs. Iowa | 3-0 |
Scouting the Opponent
Illinois (8-11, 0-0)
• One of two permanent opponents (Purdue) on IU’s schedule under the current Big Ten format, Illinois makes the trip to Bloomington for the first time since 2022. The two programs have played the last two years at the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha with IU winning both games.
• Camden Janik anchors the Illinois lineup as the only hitter above .300 on the season. He also has four home runs and 13 RBIs to pair with 10 walks. Drake Westcott leads the way with five home runs while Coltin Quagliano has driven in 18 runs on the season.
• Jack Crowder gets the ball on Friday night. He has worked a team-high 26.0 innings on the season and holds a 0-1 record with a 5.88 ERA. Cooper Omans (2-0, 1.45) has been solid as both a starter and reliever and will get the nod on Saturday.
Inside the Series
Indiana vs. Illinois
• Separated by just a few hours, these programs are no stranger to one another. Jeff Mercer is 9-5 in his tenure in Bloomington against the Fighting Illini. Illinois leads the all-time series 122-89-1 but IU has won eight of the past 11 matchups.
• McCade Brown and Braydon Tucker combined for a no-hitter against Illinois in 2021, the team’s first in over 37 years. That came the night after Collin Hopkins hit a dramatic walk-off home run.
• The Hoosiers hit seven home runs in a series victory in Champaign last season. IU put up 16 runs in the weekend finale.
