Examining The Series:
The IU Hoosiers are on a hot streak, folks. They have won 4 out of their last 5 games and just completed a series win over Abilene Christian this past weekend. Check out Campbell Manahan’s recap of that wonderful series here for more details on the Hoosiers’ strong performances.
Looking to build off of the series win, the Hoosiers now travel to Muncie, Indiana, to take on the Ball State Cardinals in the second leg of their home-and-home series this season. Last time these two teams met, just two weeks ago, the Hoosiers won 6-4. Now, let’s see where both teams have landed in the country-wide rankings since then.
Indiana: The Hoosiers currently rank 102nd in the country by RPI ranking, but have risen to 87th in the country by way of ELO rankings, which is a more analytical ranking system. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and have a strength of schedule ranking of 59th in the country.
Ball State: The Cardinals currently rank 188th in the country by RPI ranking and have fallen to 207th in the country by way of ELO rankings. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games and have a strength of schedule ranking of 200th in the country.
Indiana Stats and Figures:
12: The top 12 teams in the Big Ten qualify for the Big Ten Tournament. Currently, the Hoosiers sit at 13th in the Big Ten, just outside of the cutoff. If the Hoosiers continue to play the way they’re playing right now, they should be able to slot into the Big Ten Tournament. It seems unlikely that an NCAA Tournament berth will occur this season, so qualifying and playing well in the Big Ten Tournament serves as a realistic and important goal for this program at this point in the season.
9th: Due to this Hoosier Hot Streak, Indiana now ranks 9th in the Big Ten in team-wide OPS. For the vast majority of the season, the Hoosiers have been near the bottom of the rankings by this metric, but have caught fire of late and are simply tearing the cover off the ball in recent games. They are led by a trio of sophomores, all of whom have an OPS above 1.000. They are (in order of OPS) Caleb Koskie, Hogan Denny, and Jake Hanley. For the Hoosiers to make that run for Big Ten Tournament qualification, they will need this trio to continue playing at the exceptional level they’ve found thus far this season.
Prediction and Next Series:
The Hoosiers have won 4 out of 5 and the Cardinals have lost 4 out of 5. I am predicting an easy one for Indiana on Tuesday night. I know that is a dangerous thing to say, but I do feel confident in this team as they ride this strong wave of momentum. Give me the Hoosiers by a score of 7-3.
After traveling to Muncie, the Hoosiers will then make their way back to Bloomington to host the Iowa Hawkeyes for a three-game weekend series. Be on the lookout for a preview and recap of that series later this 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