Iowa Baseball Big Ten Tournament Preview: Indiana Hoosiers

Get ready for some Big Ten baseball after dark at Charles Schwab Field this evening. Due to rain in the forecast on Friday, the Pool C finale between Iowa and Indiana has been moved up to Thursday night completing an ambitious quadruple header at the Big Ten Tournament. Rick Heller’s squad has already clinched a spot in Saturday’s semifinal round against UCLA.

The Hawkeyes, with their win over Rutgers, have a 33-20-1 overall record, including a 21-9 mark in Big Ten play, which earned them one of the critical top four seeds in this tournament. In their opener in Omaha on Wednesday night, Cade Obermueller tossed 7.0 scoreless innings and Iowa held off a late Rutgers rally for a 4-3 win to punch their ticket to the semifinals on Saturday.

In the latest Field of 64 projection by On3’s Jonathan Wagner, the Hawkeyes were listed in the ‘Next Four Out’ portion of the projection after finishing the regular season, winning just one of their last ten. That puts them in a position where they, more than likely, must win the tournament to earn a bid to an NCAA Tournament Regional, while getting to championship Sunday is non-negotiable.

First pitch for Thursday’s game between the Hawkeyes and Hoosiers is scheduled for approximately 9:00pm CT on the Big Ten Network. It will be the 169th all-time meeting between the two programs. Iowa swept the series in Iowa City earlier in the season, outscoring Indiana 25-3 over three games.

Indiana Hoosiers (31-24, 16-14)

Picked 3rd in the D1Baseball preseason poll, Indiana finished the regular season with a 31-23 record, including a 16-14 mark in Big Ten play, which was good for a 6th-place finish in the standings. They played well down the stretch, winning eight of their final ten games, including taking two of three from Michigan to close out the regular season. The Hoosiers fell to Rutgers, 5-2, in their Pool C opener on Tuesday afternoon.

The Indiana offense ranks as one of the top groups in the Big Ten, averaging 8.25 runs and 10.07 hits per game. They rank first in the conference in batting average (.299), first in on-base percentage (.417), first in extra base hits (210) and second in slugging percentage (.531). The Hoosiers have four players inside the top 25 in the Big Ten in batting average, led by Devin Taylor (.367). Over their last ten games, the offense is averaging 7.3 runs per game.

As for their pitching staff, Indiana has a 5.72 ERA, which ranks tenth in the Big Ten. They rank fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (8.8), ninth in the conference in WHIP (1.52), ninth in opponent average (.263) and tenth in walks per nine innings (4.5). Over their last ten games, the pitching staff is allowing 4.5 runs per game.

In games against the RPI Top 100, Indiana has a 6-16 record, with the offense averaging 5.64 runs per game, while the pitching staff has given up 7.14 runs per game. The Hoosiers are 10-3 against common opponents of Iowa. Against those same teams, the Hawkeyes have a 11-4-1 record.

Projected Starting Pitcher

RHP Ben Grable – With this being the Hoosiers final game of the season, expect to see head coach Jeff Mercer empty out his bullpen and use all of their top remaining arms. While not confirmed by Mercer himself, Indiana SID Jared Rigdon told HawkeyeReport that he expects grad senior right-hander Ben Grable to get the start.

He has appeared in 16 games, with 11 starts, posting a 4.56 ERA over 53.1 innings, including 60 strikeouts to 17 walks. Opponents are .251 against him and have found some power, with 19 of his 53 hits allowed (35.8%) going for extra bases. The Hawkeyes saw him well in Iowa City, tallying six runs on six hits over 4.0 innings, but Grable did record eight strikeouts to two walks.

Hoosiers Players to Watch

1. OF Devin Taylor – One of the top players in the entire Big Ten, earning First Team All-Big Ten honors, outfielder Devin Taylor leads a dangerous Indiana offense. In 54 starts, Taylor is slashing .367/.489/.690, with 77 hits, 13 doubles, 17 home runs, 62 RBI’s and 12 stolen bases. He has totaled 24 multi-hit games, but was held to just 2/11, with three strikeouts in the three-game series against the Hawkeyes back in late April. Along with his ability to hit for power, Taylor has elite plate discipline, totaling 51 walks to 30 strikeouts. Over his last ten games, Devin is batting .371, with 13 hits, six extra base hits and 12 RBI’s. He was 2/5, with a home run against Rutgers on Tuesday.

2. OF Korbyn Dickerson – A transfer from Louisville, outfielder Korbyn Dickerson has made a profound impact in Bloomington, earning First Team All-Big Ten. One of two players to appear in all 55 games for Indiana, Dickerson is slashing .318/.381/.640, with 76 hits, 14 doubles, 19 home runs and 77 RBI’s. He has totaled 22 multi-hit games, but was 0/8, with four strikeouts in the three-game series against the Hawkeyes back in late April. Dickerson likes to swing the bat, ranking sixth in the conference in total hits, but he also has a low 9.5% walk+hbp, with over 90.0% of his plate appearances ending with a ball in play or a strikeout. Over his last ten games, Korbyn is batting just .222, with ten hits, five extra base hits and nine strikeouts. He was 0/5 against Rutgers on Tuesday.

3. 3B Will Moore – With a number of midweek regulars expected to take the mound for the Hawkeyes, the key will be throwing strikes to an Indiana lineup that ranks third in the Big Ten in walks drawn. Third baseman Will Moore knows how to get on base, slashing .328/.514/.389, with 43 hits, five doubles and 19 RBI’s. He has tallied 11 multi-hit games, but was just 2/9, with three walks+hbp in the three-game series against the Hawkeyes back in late April. Moore has reached base via walk+hbp in 28.0% of plate appearances, while he also has a low 13.2% strikeout rate. Over is last ten games, Moore is batting .343, with 12 hits and a .521 on-base percentage.

Iowa Hawkeyes (33-20-1, 21-9)

Despite seemingly running out of gas down the stretch of the regular season, Iowa found some extra fuel at the bottom of the tank, starting their tournament stay with a critical 4-3 win over Rutgers. Now, the Hawkeyes are hoping that the win has the same effect as seeing a shot fall in a basketball game and ignites a deep tournament run.

Entering the Wednesday’s game, junior infielder Gable Mitchell leads the team in batting average (.333), hits (73) and doubles (17), including a three-hit game against Rutgers. Redshirt sophomore catcher/designated hitter Reese Moore leads the team in extra base hits (27) and slugging percentage (.567).

Projected Starting Pitcher

To Be Announced – Rick Heller did not announce a starter in his postgame press conference on Wednesday night, but did say that they plan to treat it like a midweek game, using a number of arms to get the job done. I expect to see guys like Ben DeTaeye (4.41 ERA), Jaron Bleeker (5.19 ERA), Tyler Guerin (6.19 ERA) and Bryson Walker (13.03 ERA) for varying length outings.

Final Thought

You don’t see this very often. A conference tournament game that has zero bearing on the rest of the tournament. That’s what we have with this game between the Hawkeyes and Hoosiers. With that being said, Iowa did not finish the regular season on a high note and will want to build on the momentum they created with a win over the Scarlet Knights. It will be interesting to see how both sides play this game out, but Rick Heller has already emphasized that his team is going to play hard and try to win even if they are throwing some midweek arms on the mound.