Indiana baseball's bounce back in conference play could be the boost they need

After a very rough start to the season when they began the season ranked in the Top 25, Indiana baseball is getting back on track and eyeing the postseason.
Indiana's Tyler Cerny (8) throws the ball during a NCAA Baseball Tournament Knoxville Regional game at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Sunday, June 2, 2024 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Indiana's Tyler Cerny (8) throws the ball during a NCAA Baseball Tournament Knoxville Regional game at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Sunday, June 2, 2024 in Knoxville, Tenn. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Indiana baseball team was feeling really good about themselves before the season started. The Hoosiers were ranking in the Top 25 with some pre-season All-American picks and were poised to have a solid year. However, the start of the season turned out to be extremely rough on the Hoosiers.

Indiana started the season 3-5, losing their first four games of the season, a time when the Hoosiers were feeling their best. As the season went on and Indiana began conference play, they lost their first series against Penn State, winning one of the three games.

However, things began to change when Indiana was winning all of their non-conference games between Big Ten series. The Hoosiers swept Ohio State and recently swept the series against Michigan State when their bats came alive. In two of the three games, Indiana scored 14 or more runs, making both wins run-rule wins against the Spartans.

Indiana followed up that series with a 7-5 win over Ball State to move them to 19-14 on the season overall and 9-6 in conference play. With a 9-6 record, Indiana sits fifth in the conference behind UCLA, Iowa, Oregon, and Washington.

The Hoosiers seem to have found a bit of groove, especially offensively. The pitching rotation could still use some work, but they certainly don't want to be playing their best baseball right now. Indiana still has 22 games to play this season, so there is still time for the Hoosiers to make up a lot of ground, especially in the pitching department.

Indiana's offense is feeling their current run in Big Ten baseball

Jake Hanley and Devin Taylor are both leading the team in batting average right now, both batting .382 with 50 hits. Taylor, however, is leading Hanely with 10 home runs on the season. Korbyn Dickerson is leaving the team overall in home runs this season with 15 and has a .370 average at the plate. While Tyler Cerny has been a guy who normally does better at the plate, he seems to be a magnet this season with a program-record 39 hit-by-pitches.

Indiana is set to take on Illinois this weekend in their next Big Ten matchup. The Hoosiers will play a standard three-game series against the Fighting Illini traveling to Champaign, Illinois. The games are on Friday, April 11, at 7:00 p.m. EST, Saturday, April 12, at 4:00 p.m. EST, and Sunday, April 13, at 2:00 p.m. EST. All games can be watched on the B1G+ app.

Schedule

Schedule