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Indiana Baseball: Cincinnati Bearcats Preview

By Alec Lasley

ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 16: Major league baseballs sit in a glove as the Seattle Mariners warm up before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 16, 2016 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 16: Major league baseballs sit in a glove as the Seattle Mariners warm up before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 16, 2016 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Indiana baseball returns home for their 2019 home opener as they welcome in the Cincinnati Bearcats on Tuesday.

In what will be a single game matchup, Indiana baseball welcomes Cincinnati for a middle-of-the-week matchup, looking to bounce back from a weekend sweep against Tennessee.

Finishing last year with a 28-28 overall record, they are currently sitting at 1-5 on the season.

Getting their first win in extra innings over the weekend, Cincinnati was pegged to finish second to last in the American Conference.

With not a lot of outstanding individual talent around the diamond, as a group their defense was one of the better defenses’ in the country last season.

As a group, Cincinnati led the nation with 1.27 double plays per game and finished second in the NCAA with 71 double plays in 2018.

Hitting

With no real excitement from the plate, the Bearcats rank 236th in the country when it comes to team batting average (.217), albeit slightly better than the Hoosiers (.168).

Leading Cincinnati is OF Joey Wiermer who is batting .458 on the season with a team high six walks and tied for second on the team with just three strikeouts.

Another player that has shouldered a lot of the responsibility early this season is Jace Mercer (.280) who leads the team with three RBI’s and five runs.  Jeremy Johnson ranks second on the team in batting average (.290), but also ranks third on the team in strikeouts with six.

Overall, their hitting isn’t the strength of their team, and with only three hitters above a .250 batting average, they will be in trouble with Indiana’s pitching staff.

Pitching

A team era of 5.40 so far this season, they have a starting rotation of just three pitchers, with one era lower than 2.50, Garrett Schoenle.

Schoenle (2.00 era), has yet to record a win or loss in his two starts, pitching nine innings and giving up just five total hits and two runs.

Although he is their most effective pitcher, his control is an issue, as he has nine walks to just six strikeouts thus far.

With Cincinnati’s starting pitchers failing to go very deep in each start, their bullpen is very crucial in the outcome of the game.

One name that should see most of the action out of the bullpen is Drake Batcho.

The lefty is just a freshman but has pitched 5.1 innings out of the bullpen, most amongst relievers, with a 1.69 era and seven strikeouts to just one run.

Next. IU Signee Armaan Franklin named City Player of the Year. dark

Prediction

After getting swept by Tennessee over the weekend, I think the Hoosiers bounce back today and get a much needed win.

Indiana will be going with a freshman, getting his first start of the season, in Alex Franklin who pitched great against Memphis. In his only action this season, out of the bullpen, Franklin pitched one inning, striking out two of the three batters he faced.

With a much different level of pitching than against the Volunteers, look for the Hoosiers’ bats to warm up a bit.

GAME INFO

Team Records: Cincinnati 1-5 (0-0) vs Indiana 2-4 (0-0)
First Pitch: 3 pm ET
Where: Bart Kaufman Stadium – Bloomington, IN
Starting Pitcher matchup: UC Drake Batcho (0-0, 1.68 ERA) vs IU Alex Franklin (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

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