Credit to: iuhoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Another successful weekend series kept the Indiana Baseball team (20-16, 5-4 B1G) right in the thick of a tight conference race in the Big Ten this year. The Hoosiers will step back into the non-conference for a midweek tilt with Evansville before heading to Minnesota for a three-game set this weekend.
The bullpen was the story of the weekend against the Nittany Lions, with starting pitchers Ty Bothwell and Connor Foley combining for just six innings pitched combined in their two starts. Graduate student Drew Buhr and sophomore Aydan Decker-Petty each tossed four-plus innings in relief while combining for 14 strikeouts across the two games.
IU’s offense continued to mash this past weekend, tallying 26 runs to the ledger. Over the past 10 games, IU is hitting .321 while averaging 11.4 runs per game. Sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny (.413) is leading the offensive efforts with 19 hits, 19 runs, three home runs and 15 RBI’s in his past 10 contests.
https://static.iuhoosiers.com/custompages/PDF/BB/2024/24-04-15-Evansville_Notes.pdf
In a season with lots of injuries to key arms, the Hoosiers have had to plug pitchers into big situations early in the campaign. It’s paid off over the last few weeks. IU is allowing just 5.5 earned runs per game in the last 10 contests. In that period, the Hoosier staff has 109 strikeouts to just 41 walks.
Tuesday’s game will begin at 6:00 PM and be streamed on BTN+. IU will then head to Minnesota for the first true road series on the campus of the Golden Gophers since 2018. IU played Minnesota twice on opening weekend of the COVID-19 shortened 2021 season but both games were played in the Vikings’ stadium.
Gameday Info
vs. Evansville (Tuesday, April 16th – 5:00 PM)
Live Video: t.ly/_fMBQ
Live Audio: bit.ly/IUAudio
Live Stats: t.ly/DSDfX
Probable Starters
Indiana vs. Evansville
• Tuesday – Ethan Phillips, RHP (IU) vs. Kevin Reed, LHP (UE)
Player and Stat Trends
Closing in on 200
• Josh Pyne (193) is closing on 200 hits through his time in Bloomington. He just needs 12 more to join the club. 23 players in program history, which dates back to the 1890’s, have recorded 200-career hits. Only nine players have ever reached 200 hits in their first three years on campus.
200 of His Own
• Ty Bothwell is also searching for 200 … strikeouts. He is eight away from becoming the 10th member of the 200-strikeout club at IU. He is currently second on the team with 43 punchies, behind only Connor Foley’s 65.
Racking Up Hits
• Tyler Cerny (54) is top-five in the Big Ten hits this year. The only player in program with 100+ hits in a season was Alex Smith (1985). Phillip Glasser was close with 95 in 2023.
Notable
The Benes Connection
• Indiana freshman pitcher Seth Benes has a deep connection to Evansville. Benes’ uncle, Andy, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1988 draft out of the University of Evansville and recorded 155 wins and and 2,000 career strikeouts.
• Seth’s dad, Adam, was a Second Team All-MVC selection in 1995 and earned nine saves for the Purple Aces before being selected by the Cardinals in the 1995 MLB Draft.
Career Day for Joey B
• Entering Sunday’s rubber match hitless on the weekend, redshirt freshman first baseman Joey Brenczewski provided the Hoosiers a career day. He had a grand slam in the second inning as part of a two-home run, seven-RBI day. His seven RBI’s were the most by a freshman in a single game in program history.
• Over his past 10 games, Brenczewski is hitting .343 (12-35) with two home runs, 13 RBI’s and 13 runs scored. He’s taken over the primary first baseman role in the absence of the injured Brock Tibbitts.
Bullpen Steps Up
• With starters Ty Bothwell and Connor Foley not having their typical stuff this past weekend against Penn State, IU needed production from other arms to pull out the series win. Graduate students Drew Buhr and Ty Rybarczyk and sophomore Aydan Decker-Petty each went four runs while allowing fewer than two runs and striking out at least five batters.
• Sophomore Brayden Risedorph was up to 97 on the mound as he secured his first win of the season on Saturday and redshirt freshman Jacob Vogel pumped 94 past Penn State hitters in an inning of relief.
Comeback Victory
• IU was down 8-0 after the top of the second inning on Saturday and looked down for the count in an important Big Ten series. However, the Hoosiers continued to fight. They scored five in the second, two in the seventh and three in the ninth to beat Penn State on Saturday.
• The eight-run deficit overturned in the win was the largest comeback win in 14 years since overturning another eight-run deficit in May of 2010 against Kentucky. Over the final 16 innings of the weekend, IU outscored Penn State 22-4.
Back-to-Back Series Wins
• After dropping the first conference series of the year to current Big Ten leaders Illinois, IU has rattled off consecutive weekend wins against Maryland and Penn State. With Minnesota and Rutgers on the horizon to close out April, IU will need to continue stacking wins in a crowded conference title race.
Scouting the Opponent
Evansville (18-17, 7-5 MVC)
• Coming off a weekend sweep of Illinois State, Evansville rolls into town with all the momentum in the world. Mark Shallenberger (.383) anchors a deep and dangerous offensive lineup. Three different players have eight home runs including former Hoosier Kip Fougerousse.
• Evansville has struggled on the bump and will throw a true freshman (Kevin Reed) to open up Tuesday’s contest. Reed, a native of Martinsville, has an 8.13 earned run average across nine appearances and 31 innings pitched this year.
Inside the Series
Indiana vs. Evansville
• These two teams met once in 2023, a 6-2 IU win, but played four times in the span of two weeks in 2022. They split the season series two years ago. However, IU is 7-3 in the Jeff Mercer era against the Purple Aces.
