Hoosier State of Mind
Fansided

Indiana Baseball: Series win, impressive weekend puts Hoosiers back in top 25

By Alec Lasley

OMAHA, NE - JUNE 26: A general view of a baseball on the field during batting practice before game one of the College World Series Championship Series between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Oregon State Beavers on June 26, 2018 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - JUNE 26: A general view of a baseball on the field during batting practice before game one of the College World Series Championship Series between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Oregon State Beavers on June 26, 2018 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

With one week left in the regular season, the Indiana baseball program is positioning themselves to win the Big Ten regular season title.

After a tough week leading up to their series against Michigan, the Indiana baseball program needed some magic in order to keep pace with the Wolverines atop the Big Ten standings.

Trading off at the top of the conference standings for the last few weeks, the Hoosiers handed Michigan their first Big Ten series loss of the season and drew closer to winning the Big Ten season title.

Though Indiana still trails the Wolverines, their performance this weekend gives confidence to the team and fans that a deep postseason run could be in store for the Hoosiers.

Winning two of three games, it took an 11-inning marathon for the Wolverines to finally get a win in the series, the last game of the weekend.

Getting another solid start from Pauly Milto in their series opener, going six innings, the offense finally provided Milto with some run support with six early runs. Taking the opener 10-4, there was never a moment when it looked like Indiana would give up the lead.

Trending. Breakout Weekend Leads To Indiana Offer For DJ Steward. light

In game two, Tanner Gordon had a quality start, and home runs by Cole Barr, Matt Lloyd and Elijah Dunham put separation between the two teams in the middle innings. A shaky performance by the bullpen kept the game close, eventually holding off Michigan 10-8.

In the final game of the weekend, it was a constant back-and-forth game that had multiple ties and lead changes. Eventually the Wolverines outlasted the Hoosiers in 11 innings by one run, 6-5.

Indiana’s performance keeps them within striking distance heading into the last weekend and also brings them back into the top 25 in the D1 Baseball rankings at No. 25.

Sitting at 33-18 (14-7) on the season, their last series of the Big Ten season comes this weekend when they play host to Rutgers, ranked just 176th in the country in RPI. On the other hand, Michigan will face Nebraska, a much tougher opponent, ranked 38th.

Trailing the Wolverines by just 1.5 games, in order to win a share of the Big Ten regular season, they need to either sweep Rutgers and get help with Michigan losing at least two of three in their final series, or win two of three against Rutgers and still have the possibility of a share if Michigan gets swept.

Illinois, Minnesota and Nebraska all remain in contention to clinch a share of the title, sitting 2.5 games behind Michigan.

Below is a look at their remaining schedule:

Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. vs. Louisville (ESPNU)
Thursday, 6:05 p.m. vs. Rutgers
Friday, 6:05 p.m. vs Rutgers (BTN)
Saturday, 12:05 p.m. vs. Rutgers (BTN)

Home/Indiana Baseball