IU Baseball: Matt Lloyd makes Stopper of the Year watch list
By Eric Brown
Indiana Baseball is just days away from returning. In the meantime, Hoosiers reliever Matt Lloyd has made the Stopper of the Year watch list.
We are just days away from the start of the Indiana Hoosiers baseball season. After losing to Kentucky in the second round of the Lexington Region during the NCAA Tournament, they will be looking to bounce back in a big way this season. One of the ways they will be able to bounce back, is the play of closer Matt Lloyd. This season, Lloyd has been named one of the 60 players for the Stopper of the Year Watch list.
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Every team needs a closer, no matter how good your offense is, if nobody on the roster can bring a close to game there is always a chance to lose. For Indiana, they appeared to have found their closer during last season’s remarkable run.
During the 2017 season, Lloyd played the part of the Hoosiers closer, and boy did he play the part very well. In 20 appearances, he threw 32.1 innings, while striking out 20 batters. According to the Indiana Hoosiers website, he finished tied for fourth in the conference in saves (9 and during conference play he was tied for second in saves (6).
Not only does Lloyd close games for Indiana, he also provides a serviceable bat at the plate. He was third in slugging percentage (.674) and total bases (64), tied for third in home runs (7) and doubles (9), tied for eighth in RBI (23), ninth in batting average (.359), tied for 10th in hits (34) and 12th in on base percentage (.419).
Next: IU Football: All-time top five in passing yards
The Hoosiers baseball team will begin their 2018 season on Saturday afternoon against Oklahoma in the Brittain Resorts Baseball at the Beach tournament in South Carolina.