Examining The Series:
The Indiana Hoosiers started off strong against the Maryland Terrapins, winning game one in dominant fashion, but ultimately dropped the next two games and the series as a whole. You can read more about that series here as Hoosier Huddle contributor Campbell Manahan did a fantastic job in covering the series in detail. After traveling to College Park, Maryland, the Hoosiers now fly back to the state of Indiana to take on the Indiana State Sycamores in Terre Haute, Indiana. Game info is as follows:
Indiana @ Indiana State: Tuesday, April 14 @ 6:30 PM ET on ESPN+
Looking at both teams’ rankings as it stands, we see the following:
Indiana: The Hoosiers continue to slowly fall down the rankings ladder, now ranking 107th in the country in RPI and 114th in the country by ELO, which is a more analytical ranking system.
Indiana State: The Sycamores are coming off a strong series win against Illinois State and now rank 157th in the country by way of RPI and 173rd in the country by ELO rankings.
Indiana Stats and Figures:
15th: The Hoosiers now rank 15th overall in the Big Ten out of 17 total teams. Their record is 14-21 overall and they have faced the 48th overall strongest schedule in the country. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and have a road record of 5-14. Major things need to change for the Hoosiers to turn this season around.
29th: Indiana’s pitching over the past few years has generally been a conversation held in a more negative light, however, the staff has been solid this season. They are led by Tony Neubeck, who ranks 29th in the Big Ten in overall ERA and has been the Hoosiers’ best pitcher all season.
Prediction and Next Series:
Every game is a must win at this point, but it also feels as though Indiana is now playing for growth and development into future years. I’ll say Indiana beats Indiana State by a score of 6-5.
After traveling to Terre Haute, Indiana, the Hoosiers then travel back to Bloomington the next day for another one-game series against Evansville before taking on Abilene Christian over the weekend. Be on the lookout for a preview and recap of those series throughout the week!
Stay locked in with Hoosier Huddle for recaps of IU baseball games and series, along with previews examining each one ahead of time. Go Hoosiers!
All ranking metrics courtesy of warrennolan.com. All other metrics courtesy of baseball-reference.com