2018 IU Baseball Schedule

[ccgeneral 38,084]

Should be out soon, but here's a few that I caught so far. Looks like we open the season on 2/16 @ Myrtle Beach with a 4 game series.

2/16 Oklahoma
2/17 Kansas State
2/18 South Alabama
2/19 Coastal Carolina
3/7 Cincinnati
3/27 @ Indiana State
3/29-3/31 Butler
4/11 Indiana State
4/20-4/22 @ Ohio State
5/8 Kentucky

[ccgeneral 38,084]

A few more games.

@Rick_Sports10: ISU baseball in 2018 plays home and home with IU. Hoosiers visit Terre Haute March 27th, Sycamores go to Bloomington April 11th

[ccgeneral 38,084]

Schedule out. Season starts on 2/16 and home opener is on 3/7.

13 games against 2017 NCAA Tournament teams
18 games against teams that finished in the 2017 Top 75 RPI
Big Ten home series against Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois and Maryland
Big Ten road series at Iowa, Ohio State, Minnesota and Nebraska

@a_mat24: Average 2017 RPI of #iubase opponents w/ Pacific/WIU/NIU: 112, Average RPI w/o those teams: 95

 

[ccgeneral 38,084]

I'll just put this here. D1 Baseball Fall Report.

https://d1baseball.com/fall-report/fall-report-indiana-2/

It isn’t easy to regularly make the NCAA tournament out of the Big Ten. The 13-team conference has become dramatically more competitive from top to bottom over the course of the last decade, and the Big Ten race has become an annual battle royale. Ten different Big Ten programs have made at least one regional since 2012, and new coaches helped transform Northwestern and Purdue from doormats to contenders in 2017, when both finished .500 or better in league play.

Against that backdrop, Indiana has emerged as the Big Ten’s most consistent winner, leading the conference with four regional appearances in the last five years, and five postseason trips since 2009. After Tracy Smith led the Hoosiers to the College World Series and then a national seed in back-to-back seasons in 2013-14, Chris Lemonis has been able to maintain a high standard in Bloomington, leading IU to regionals in two of his first three seasons at the helm, sandwiched around a third-place finish in the standings that did not lead to a regional in 2016. Heading into his fourth season, Lemonis says this year’s club is “probably our most talented group since we’ve been at Indiana as coaches,” and it’s loaded with experience, too. Plenty of holdovers remain from Indiana teams that played well but suffered gut-punch losses in regional openers in 2015 and 2017.

“We’ve got guys who’ve played in regionals and they’re hungry, they want more,” Lemonis said.

The Hoosiers never expected they’d get back sluggers Logan Sowers and Matt Lloyd plus third baseman Luke Miller, who was drafted as an eligible sophomore last year. Sowers (.291/.356/.536, 13 HR, 19 2B) and Lloyd (.301/.393/.554, 11 HR, 16 2B) both went undrafted despite putting up good numbers. Miller (.272/.331/.464, 10 HR) gives Indiana a third returnee who hit double-digit homers last year, giving this lineup a powerful veteran core.

[btownqb 8,253]

Anybody have any guesses what the 8 in the field will look like?

Does Gorski move to OF?.. I will be attending more games this year.

Sent from my SM-G950U using BtownBanners mobile app

[ccgeneral 38,084]

Previews starting to come out. College Baseball Daily has us finishing 2nd behind Maryland. Sowers and Milto all B1G preseason team. Miller, Lloyd, Stiever and Krueger honorable mention.

http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2018/01/08/2018-cbd-season-preview-and-predictions-big-ten/

It was a good 2017 season for the Big Ten in the sense that they sent five teams to the NCAA Tournament. However, none of them hosted a regional and none of them moved on to the super regionals. I think they have a chance to get five teams in again, but Maryland and Indiana have a shot to really make some noise in the postseason.

Indiana (2017 Record: 34-24-2, 14-9-1)

The Hoosiers won 32 regular season games last year, but went 1-2 in the Big Ten Baseball Tournament as well as the Lexington Regional.

Lineup:

Head Coach Chris Lemonis said they have 7-of-9 starters in the field coming back in 2018. That group will be led by third baseman Luke Miller who hit .272 last year with 52 runs scored, 15 doubles, 10 home runs and 42 RBI. Matt Lloyd hit .301 with 11 home runs and 46 RBI, while Logan Sowers hit .291 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI.

Pitching:

Indiana is pretty set on the pitching staff as coach Lemonis said they return their entire rotation as well as their bullpen. Jonathan Stiever had a 4.31 ERA in 77.1 innings pitched with 57 strikeouts. Pauly Milto had a 3.92 ERA in 78 innings pitched with 65 strikeouts, while Tim Herrin posted a 3.91 ERA in 53 innings with 38 strikeouts. Matt Lloyd was solid out of the bullpen with a 2.23 ERA in 32.1 innings pitched with 20 strikeouts. Cal Krueger had a 2.82 ERA in 60.2 innings with 37 strikeouts.

2018 Outlook:

“We have almost our whole team back from a team who was a 2-seed last year,” said Head Coach Chris Lemonis. “We have to solidify our bullpen. We have a talented, mature team but we need to be more consistent than last year.”

[Aaron 4,147]

Everything in that preview seems reasonable. Only thing it did not mention is the coaching change at Maryland. It seemed puzzling at the time but the fact that Maryland returns a full cupboard of players makes it even weirder since their old coach went to a Va Tech team that is historically and currently way inferior. 

[Aaron 4,147]

I am looking at our schedule for this year and we scheduled extremely tough again so we should be in contention for an at large NCAA bid easily if we can beat some of the better teams on our non conf schedule and take care of business in Big Ten. We are massively helped by the fact that the Big Ten the last few years in baseball has gone from being the MAC to being the A10 in basketball terms in terms of league quality so you actually can get an at large bid with a good season which we are set up for.

Interestingly, the first couple weeks and the last couple weeks of the season contain the meat of our schedule with very good Oklahoma, Coastal Carolina, South Alabama and San Diego near the beginning of the season and than our best Big Ten opponents in last 3 weeks of season with trips to Minny and Nebraska and Maryland at home to close which could decide conference championship. Also have Louisville and Kentucky at end who are always best 2 teams we face each year. In between we play every D1 Baseball team in Indiana save for Evansville, IPFW and Valpo (IUPUI doesn't play baseball) with a home and home with Ball St, Indiana St and Purdue (yes for first time ever besides our home Big Ten series we have a non conf game against them in West Lafayette) as well as our annual Victory Field game against ND and a home series with Butler. We also have a weekday game against a sneaky good Wright State team who is always in top 100 and has dominated Horizon League for years as well as Cincinnati who is always a regular we play. Lastly we also play Rutgers in an early tournament outside Big Ten play but do not face them in conference.

[ccgeneral 38,084]

Pretty decent SOS preview. We may need 40 wins according to this.

http://iubase.com/2018-iubase-strength-of-schedule-preview-carl/

[Aaron 4,147]

1 hour ago, ccgeneral said:

Pretty decent SOS preview. We may need 40 wins according to this.

http://iubase.com/2018-iubase-strength-of-schedule-preview-carl/

Its a well done article but it also assumes we lose to the best teams we play more often than not hence why he says we need 40 wins in his scenario. It has us losing 3 out of 4 first weekend but lets say we get a split against these excellent teams that's a huge bump. It also has us losing series at Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa who are all solid. If we win even two of those series that bumps your RPI significantly. He also has us losing at ISU which has always been an Achilles heal but winning there would be a bit of a bump. He also says the middle 10 game home stand against bad RPI teams are a must. One of those teams Wright St, usually wins their league and is in Top 100 and Cincy floats near there as well. It would be great to sweep the 10 games but beating Wright St and Cincy help a little more than he thinks (he's right the other 3 teams in that stretch are dreadful and can only hurt us). My point is in his scenario where he has us struggling against the good teams we probably need 40 wins but if we pull off a few of the wins against the better teams he has us losing like we did last year we could easily get in with 35 again.  

[ccgeneral 38,084]

4 hours ago, Aaron said:

Its a well done article but it also assumes we lose to the best teams we play more often than not hence why he says we need 40 wins in his scenario. It has us losing 3 out of 4 first weekend but lets say we get a split against these excellent teams that's a huge bump. It also has us losing series at Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa who are all solid. If we win even two of those series that bumps your RPI significantly. He also has us losing at ISU which has always been an Achilles heal but winning there would be a bit of a bump. He also says the middle 10 game home stand against bad RPI teams are a must. One of those teams Wright St, usually wins their league and is in Top 100 and Cincy floats near there as well. It would be great to sweep the 10 games but beating Wright St and Cincy help a little more than he thinks (he's right the other 3 teams in that stretch are dreadful and can only hurt us). My point is in his scenario where he has us struggling against the good teams we probably need 40 wins but if we pull off a few of the wins against the better teams he has us losing like we did last year we could easily get in with 35 again.  

Last years schedule had some more meat on the plate. 

2017

19 games against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams
17 games against teams that finished in the 2016 Top 50 RPI
28 games against teams that finished in the 2016 Top 75 RPI

2018

13 games against 2017 NCAA Tournament teams
  6 games against teams that finished in the 2017 Top 50 RPI 
18 games against teams that finished in the 2017 Top 75 RPI

[btownqb 8,253]

6 minutes ago, ccgeneral said:

Last years schedule had some more meat on the plate. 

2017

19 games against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams
17 games against teams that finished in the 2016 Top 50 RPI
28 games against teams that finished in the 2016 Top 75 RPI

2018

13 games against 2017 NCAA Tournament teams
  6 games against teams that finished in the 2017 Top 50 RPI 
18 games against teams that finished in the 2017 Top 75 RPI

We were also in as a 2 seed, so considered a top 32 team. I'm not worried at all. 

[ccgeneral 38,084]

@Joe_On_Sports: Today on the countdown, with 34 days to go until opening day, we discussed the veteran squad that @IndianaBase returns in 2018: https://collegebaseballcentral.com/

Heading into 2018, the Indiana Hoosiers look the part of a team that could walk away with the Big Ten title, and certainly, Chris Lemonis and his staff have had skill and luck along the way.

The skill is on display in bringing in players who become multi-year contributors, many of whom were productive right away. The Hoosiers just graduated a player in Craig Dedelow last year who fits that bill. He played a role all four years, getting better all along the way, culminating in a senior season that saw him put up huge numbers from a power standpoint.

And as far as players who jumped right in to help out in 2017, freshmen Matt Gorski, Jeremy Houston, Cal Krueger, Andrew Saalfrank, and Cameron Beauchamp all held regular roles for an Indiana team that ended the season in a regional.

The coaches have also shown an ability to help players make a jump in their development, as pitchers like Tim Herrin and Pauly Milto saw increases in production from 2016 to 2017.

Heading into 2018, they did also get some of that aforementioned luck. Logan Sowers, Luke Miller, and Matt Lloyd were all players you could have easily foreseen being drafted high enough to see them sign and move on to pro baseball. Instead, Lloyd and Sowers went undrafted and Miller went in the 31st round and decided to return to Bloomington. Perhaps the program anticipated getting some subset of those players back, but it’s doubtful they expected them all back.

Now, thanks to that combination of skill and luck, the Hoosiers will go into 2018 absolutely loaded with experience.

On offense, Sowers (.291/.356/.536, 19 2B, 13 HR), Miller (.272/.331/.464, 15 2B, 10 HR), and Lloyd (.301/.393/.554, 16 2B, 11 HR) will be joined by Gorski (.288/.348/.400), catcher Ryan Fineman (.239, 7 2B), and shortstop Jeremy Houston (.232, 8 SB), who got off to a hot start in 2017 before slowing down late in the season and succumbing to an injury that cost him time. IU will also get back Scotty Bradley, who missed virtually all of 2017 with injury but hit .257 as a freshman in 2016. That’s to say nothing of Laren Eustace, a four-year role player who has gotten on base at a .363 clip in his career.

On the mound, it’s the same story, with the team returning Jonathan Stiever (4-4, 4.31 ERA), Milto (6-3, 3.92 ERA), Herrin (3-3, 3.91 ERA), Krueger (5-2, 2.82 ERA), Saalfrank (2-1, 5.58 ERA), Lloyd (2.23 ERA, 9 SV), Kade Kryzsko (3.91 ERA, 25.1 IP), Beauchamp (4.64 ERA, 21.1 IP), B.J. Sabol (4.69 ERA, 40.1 IP), and Brian Hobbie, who had an inflated 6.61 ERA in 2017 but still ate 65.1 innings in 14 appearances, 12 of which were starts. Put another way, Indiana returns everybody on the pitching staff.

[btownqb 8,253]

On 1/13/2018 at 1:17 PM, ccgeneral said:

@Joe_On_Sports: Today on the countdown, with 34 days to go until opening day, we discussed the veteran squad that @IndianaBase returns in 2018: https://collegebaseballcentral.com/

Heading into 2018, the Indiana Hoosiers look the part of a team that could walk away with the Big Ten title, and certainly, Chris Lemonis and his staff have had skill and luck along the way.

The skill is on display in bringing in players who become multi-year contributors, many of whom were productive right away. The Hoosiers just graduated a player in Craig Dedelow last year who fits that bill. He played a role all four years, getting better all along the way, culminating in a senior season that saw him put up huge numbers from a power standpoint.

And as far as players who jumped right in to help out in 2017, freshmen Matt Gorski, Jeremy Houston, Cal Krueger, Andrew Saalfrank, and Cameron Beauchamp all held regular roles for an Indiana team that ended the season in a regional.

The coaches have also shown an ability to help players make a jump in their development, as pitchers like Tim Herrin and Pauly Milto saw increases in production from 2016 to 2017.

Heading into 2018, they did also get some of that aforementioned luck. Logan Sowers, Luke Miller, and Matt Lloyd were all players you could have easily foreseen being drafted high enough to see them sign and move on to pro baseball. Instead, Lloyd and Sowers went undrafted and Miller went in the 31st round and decided to return to Bloomington. Perhaps the program anticipated getting some subset of those players back, but it’s doubtful they expected them all back.

Now, thanks to that combination of skill and luck, the Hoosiers will go into 2018 absolutely loaded with experience.

On offense, Sowers (.291/.356/.536, 19 2B, 13 HR), Miller (.272/.331/.464, 15 2B, 10 HR), and Lloyd (.301/.393/.554, 16 2B, 11 HR) will be joined by Gorski (.288/.348/.400), catcher Ryan Fineman (.239, 7 2B), and shortstop Jeremy Houston (.232, 8 SB), who got off to a hot start in 2017 before slowing down late in the season and succumbing to an injury that cost him time. IU will also get back Scotty Bradley, who missed virtually all of 2017 with injury but hit .257 as a freshman in 2016. That’s to say nothing of Laren Eustace, a four-year role player who has gotten on base at a .363 clip in his career.

On the mound, it’s the same story, with the team returning Jonathan Stiever (4-4, 4.31 ERA), Milto (6-3, 3.92 ERA), Herrin (3-3, 3.91 ERA), Krueger (5-2, 2.82 ERA), Saalfrank (2-1, 5.58 ERA), Lloyd (2.23 ERA, 9 SV), Kade Kryzsko (3.91 ERA, 25.1 IP), Beauchamp (4.64 ERA, 21.1 IP), B.J. Sabol (4.69 ERA, 40.1 IP), and Brian Hobbie, who had an inflated 6.61 ERA in 2017 but still ate 65.1 innings in 14 appearances, 12 of which were starts. Put another way, Indiana returns everybody on the pitching staff.

Saw an article from perfect game.. they thought Gorski would move to left and Kaletha would start in center and lead off with Lloyd full time starting at 2nd. 

So, who starts at first? Bradley? Cross? A FR? 

Also.. who comes in at second for Lloyd when he closes? Cole Barr? Balgaard?

Kaletha

Gorski

Lloyd 

Miller

Rowers

Bradley DH

Fineman

Cross 1B

Houston 

To start the season out looks fairly reasonable unless one of the FR win the job at 1B or DH. 

Aaron do you have an opinion here?

[btownqb 8,253]

I'm so ready for this season!!!

[btownqb 8,253]

On 1/11/2018 at 11:54 AM, Aaron said:

Its a well done article but it also assumes we lose to the best teams we play more often than not hence why he says we need 40 wins in his scenario. It has us losing 3 out of 4 first weekend but lets say we get a split against these excellent teams that's a huge bump. It also has us losing series at Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa who are all solid. If we win even two of those series that bumps your RPI significantly. He also has us losing at ISU which has always been an Achilles heal but winning there would be a bit of a bump. He also says the middle 10 game home stand against bad RPI teams are a must. One of those teams Wright St, usually wins their league and is in Top 100 and Cincy floats near there as well. It would be great to sweep the 10 games but beating Wright St and Cincy help a little more than he thinks (he's right the other 3 teams in that stretch are dreadful and can only hurt us). My point is in his scenario where he has us struggling against the good teams we probably need 40 wins but if we pull off a few of the wins against the better teams he has us losing like we did last year we could easily get in with 35 again.  

Aaron check out my post and see what you think with the starting lineup. I love having Houston in the 9 hole. 

[ccgeneral 38,084]

A list of newcomers finally... Our roster hasn't updated yet. Whoever handles that stuff for us is terrible.

https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=14815

Top newcomers: OF Logan Kaletha, OF/DH Elijah Dunham, SS Cole Barr, SS Justin Walker, LHP Nick Eaton, LHP Tommy Sommer, RHP Connor Manous, 2B Cade Bunnell, C Wyatt Cross

[btownqb 8,253]

4 minutes ago, ccgeneral said:

A list of newcomers finally... Our roster hasn't updated yet. Whoever handles that stuff for us is terrible.

https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=14815

Top newcomers: OF Logan Kaletha, OF/DH Elijah Dunham, SS Cole Barr, SS Justin Walker, LHP Nick Eaton, LHP Tommy Sommer, RHP Connor Manous, 2B Cade Bunnell, C Wyatt Cross

To be fair.. we have more players than the 40 allowed on a roster right now? Right?.. the IU roster lists Grant Sloan but this article doesn't?

[btownqb 8,253]

1 minute ago, ccgeneral said:

They should be. They all graduated last year. 

How can you put a roster up until you know who will be on it? Makes no sense. 

[Aaron 4,147]

4 hours ago, btownqb said:

Aaron check out my post and see what you think with the starting lineup. I love having Houston in the 9 hole. 

Looks good to me. I have not thought that much about the lineup yet in terms of who will play where. I have only thought as far as I expect Lloyd, Miller, Gorski, Fineman, Sowers and Houston to be in lineup and have huge years. I expect Milto, Stiever and Krueger to anchor the weekend rotation and Saalfrank to finally give us a reliable 4th starter for the weekdays assuming he continues to come on like he did last year at end. 

Who replaces the departed players and who plays what position in the lineup is not something I've looked at extensively yet. I will say I hope we find a closer and allow Lloyd to be a full time offensive player which is where his future lies in my mind. The bullpen is the one question but hopefully its improved. I'm very confident we've got the best lineup and starting rotation in Big Ten