Indiana Baseball's Devin Taylor Wins Big Ten Award After Huge Series at Illinois
As Indiana won its sixth consecutive series at Illinois, freshman right fielder Devin Taylor raked all weekend long.
On Monday, Taylor was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the third time, tied for second-most in program history behind Logan Sowers in 2015.
Taylor went 9-for-18 at the plate with three home runs, 10 RBI and eight runs scored across three games in Champaign and one at home against Ball State. Seven of his nine hits went for extra bases, leading to a 1.778 OPS for the week.
Indiana freshman right fielder Devin Taylor is ready to swing during a game at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington, Ind.
Indiana Athletics
After his massive week, Taylor leads Indiana with eight home runs, a .376 batting average, a .500 on-base percentage and a .763 slugging percentage. He extended his on-base streak to 25 games, including 16 hits in the last 11 games and a five-game hit streak.
Taylor's bat was hot as soon as he took the field on Friday, launching a home run over the center field fence in the top of the first inning.
Illinois eventually took a three-run lead, but Taylor responded with his second home run of the day, this one to the opposite field to give Indiana a one-run lead in the seventh inning. Taylor's heroics weren't enough to power Indiana to a win in the series opener, though, as Illinois claimed a 7-5 win on Friday.
With inclement weather in the forecast for Sunday, the Hoosiers and Illini concluded the series with a doubleheader on Saturday, and Taylor continued to smoke the ball. He quickly gave Indiana the lead with an RBI triple in the first inning, and the Hoosiers led by two runs after the first frame thanks to a single from sophomore first baseman Brock Tibbitts to score Taylor.
Indiana starting pitcher Luke Sinnard allowed four runs in the first three innings, but Ryan Kraft tossed six shutout innings to secure the Hoosiers' 6-4 win in game two.
With the series on the line, Indiana left no doubt to game three's result. And again, it was Taylor setting the tone. In the third inning, Taylor blasted his third home run of the series, this one an opposite-field grand slam.
He sent a single through the right side and scored three batters later, moving the line in a seven-run fifth inning that blew the game open.
For some added insurance, Taylor ripped a double to left field in the ninth inning and scored on a Carter Mathison single, which capped off his award-winning weekend. The Hoosiers drove home with a 16-3 win in game three, marking their fifth win in the last six games. Across 93 at-bats in 28 games as a freshman, Taylor has 35 hits, 30 runs scored, 30 RBI, 23 strikeouts and 20 walks.
Coach Jeff Mercer's Hoosiers now stand at 25-11 overall and 9-3 in Big Ten play, good for first place in the conference. Indiana has a pair of mid-week games – at home against Louisville on Tuesday and at Cincinnati on Wednesday – before returning home for a weekend series against the Ohio Bobcats, beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. ET.