Indiana Baseball Heads Into Big Ten Tournament After Series Win Over Michigan

Indiana baseball did what it needed to do in its final series of the regular season to give itself a fighting chance in this week’s Big Ten Tournament.

However, the Hoosiers probably didn’t do enough to earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid as things stand.

Indiana won two of three from the Wolverines from Thursday to Saturday. Indiana won the first two games 8-7 and 8-1 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Included was the 100th regular season Big Ten victory for Indiana coach Jeff Mercer.

A sweep would have been helpful for the Hoosiers as it would have lifted Indiana above Michigan in the Big Ten standings and likely in the RPI as well. However, Michigan won the series finale, 8-3.

Indiana hit five home runs in the series, including two by standout outfielder Devin Taylor.

The series win at Michigan pulled Indiana (31-23, 16-14) into a tie with the Wolverines for sixth place in the Big Ten. In a year dominated by the Big Ten’s new West Coast members – only Iowa was able to finish above any of the Big Ten’s new programs – Indiana finished tied for second among the teams that comprised the Big Ten in 2024.

Not that any of that does much good for the Hoosiers in the national picture. Indiana is ranked No. 62 in the NCAA RPI released on Sunday. The Hoosiers are 7-17 in Quad 1-2 games with just one Quad 1 win this season.

The victories against Michigan were considered Quad 2 wins, but that could change. Quad 1 road wins are against teams ranked 60th or higher in the RPI. The Wolverines are currently No. 61 in RPI.

The lowest RPI ranking for a team chosen to receive an at-large bid since 2017 is No. 59. That was achieved by TCU in 2019.

That RPI is achievable for the Hoosiers if Indiana can make a run in the Big Ten Tournament, which starts at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha on Tuesday.

It’s a new format for the Big Ten Tournament with a 12-team field. Teams are split into four three-team pools. Indiana is in Pool C with Iowa and Rutgers.

Each team plays the other two in the pool. If records are identical, the highest-seeded team advances. Iowa is seeded third, Indiana sixth and Rutgers 10th within Pool C.

The pool winners advance to a single elimination final four on May 24 with the championship game on May 25.

Indiana was swept in a series at Iowa from April 25-27. The Hoosiers did not play Rutgers in the regular season.

Indiana plays Rutgers at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in Omaha. Indiana will then wait for two days before it plays Iowa in its Pool C finale at 3 p.m. on Friday.

All games in the tournament will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.