As Indiana Baseball Hosts Purdue, Can Postseason Hopes Be Salvaged?

The story of Indiana’s baseball season is one of inconsistency.

The Hoosiers have not been able to put success together. The season started with four straight losses and Indiana has been chasing its tail ever since.

A six-win streak in March – one that could have put Indiana on a path to its third straight NCAA Tournament berth – was followed by five losses in seven games. That’s just one example of the up and down nature of the Hoosiers, who are appropriately .500 in Big Ten play as a result of their roller coaster season.

Opportunity is running out for Indiana to make a postseason run, but opportunity beckons with the visit of its archrival starting on Friday.

Purdue visits Bart Kaufman Stadium for a three-game set. Friday’s game begins at 6 p.m., Saturday’s game is at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s series finale is at 4 p.m.

Indiana (27-21, 12-12) has spent the last four games playing outside of the Big Ten and the last eight games away from Bloomington. The Hoosiers have a four-game win streak with a single victory over Evansville and a series sweep at Abilene Christian.

Indiana has to build on that win streak to keep alive a long-shot bid at contending for the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers are ranked No.73 in the RPI – too low for inclusion as an at-large team. The Hoosiers are also 1-4 in Quad 1 games and 5-16 in Quad 1-2 games.

Still, there is hope. If Indiana can successfully navigate the Purdue series, there are games left at Cincinnati and a three-game set at Michigan that could boost the Hoosiers resume. There is little room for error, but a solid stretch run could help Indiana – especially when the Bearcats and Wolverines are considered to be bubble teams.

The alternative for the Hoosiers isn’t pleasant. If Indiana falters against Purdue and Michigan, it runs the risk of missing the Big Ten Tournament which it has qualified for in 12 straight seasons. The top 12 teams make the Big Ten Tournament field. The Hoosiers, tied for seventh place with Illinois and Rutgers, currently have a two-game gap to 12th place.

Indiana’s offensive prowess is not in question. The Hoosiers rank second (to Iowa) in Big Ten batting average at .300 and are second (to Oregon) in home runs with 81. Korbyn Dickerson leads the Big Ten with 71 RBI – 10 ahead of second place Mulivai Leu of UCLA. Devin Taylor is fourth in the Big Ten in batting average at .371.

Indiana’s pitching has not been as strong. The Hoosiers are 13th in the Big Ten with a 6.02 ERA.

Purdue (29-19, 9-15) will be in desperation mode to get into the top 12. The Boilermakers are currently in 14th place, but a series victory could vault them into the Big Ten Tournament field.

The Boilermakers have had better pitching than Indiana (5.36 ERA). Purdue isn’t far behind Indiana in batting with a team batting average of .294. Purdue’s standout player is Logan Sutter, who is batting .389 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI.

There is also history on the line for the Hoosiers. Two wins in the series would give Indiana 2,500 all-time wins.

Among the seniors to be honored this weekend are pitcher Ryan Kraft, pitcher Grant Holderfield and third baseman Josh Pyne.