Indiana Baseball Hosts Michigan in Final Regular Season Series

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana baseball concludes the regular season by hosting a three-game series against Michigan from Thursday through Saturday at Bart Kaufman Field.

The series is moved up a day from its normal Friday to Sunday schedule due to the upcoming Big Ten Tournament, which runs from May 21-26 in Omaha, Neb. And what happens between the Hoosiers and Wolverines at Bart Kaufman Field will certainly impact Big Ten title race and NCAA Tournament seeding.

Indiana enters its final regular season series with a 28-21-1 overall record and a 13-8 mark in Big Ten play. That puts the Hoosiers in a three-way tie for third place in the conference standings, alongside Purdue and Michigan. Illinois sits atop the Big Ten at 15-6 and plays at Purdue this weekend. Nebraska is in second place at 14-7 heading into its trip to Michigan State.

Coach Jeff Mercer and the Hoosiers also remain in the mix for what would be their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. As of Wednesday, Baseball America projects Indiana as the No. 63 team in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field, good for a No. 3 seed in the Knoxville Regional. However, D1 Baseball has the Hoosiers on the outside looking in and not among the first four teams out, making the upcoming series against Michigan crucial.

The weekend schedule has already been altered due to weather. Friday's game has been canceled, so Indiana and Michigan will play a doubleheader on Thursday and one game on Saturday. Here's the full schedule.

Thursday, May 16 – 1 p.m. ET on BTN-plus

Thursday, May 16 – 5 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network

Saturday, May 18 – 2 p.m. ET on BTN-plus

This weekend represents a matchup between the last two Big Ten schools that have reached the College World Series. Michigan did so in 2019, and Indiana made it all the way to eight-team field in Omaha during the 2013 season. Tracy Smith was Indiana's coach during its run to the College World Series, and he now he returns to Bloomington as Michigan's head coach.

Michigan's offense is powered by sluggers Stephen Hrustich, Mitch Voit and Collin Priest. Hrustich is tied for the Big Ten lead with 15 home runs, and Voit is second among Wolverines with 11 home runs. In over sixty fewer at-bats than Hrustich and Voit, Priest has eight home runs and a 1.013 OPS, which is second-highest on the team.

Mack Timbrook isn't as much of a power threat with three home runs, but he leads Michigan with a .320 batting average. As a team, Michigan is tied for 11th among 13 Big Ten teams with an .825 OPS, and the Wolverines lead the conference with 466 strikeouts.

Kurt Barr was Michigan's Friday starter in a 4-0 loss last week against Purdue, and he allowed three earned runs in 6.2 innings while striking out seven and walking four. He has a 3.54 ERA on the season. Chase Allen threw 3.2 innings and Jacob Denner pitched the final 5.2 innings of Saturday's 7-6 win at Purdue, each allowing two earned runs.

Dylan Vigue started Sunday's 8-6 win at Purdue, giving Michigan six innings and four earned runs. The Wolverines' 6.01 ERA is middle of the pack in the Big Ten, and their 1.70 WHIP is second highest. Michigan's 6.0 strikeouts per nine innings ranks last in the conference.

Indiana's pitching has improved in recent weeks, allowing seven or fewer runs in each of its last 10 games. The Hoosiers are 6-3-1 in that span and allowed just 14 total runs in three games at Nebraska last weekend, though it resulted in a series loss.

Five Hoosiers enter the Michigan series batting .317 or higher, helping the Hoosiers rank second in the Big Ten in runs scored. Nick Mitchell leads everyday players with a .358 batting average, good for eighth in the Big Ten. Devin Taylor has a team-high14 home runs, followed closely by Carter Mathison with 12.

Indiana's Brock Tibbitts missed about a month with a leg injury, but he has six hits in six games since returning. With 12 more hits, he'd become the 25th member of the 200-hit club at Indiana.

The Hoosiers and Wolverines remain alive in the Big Ten title race, but they'll need a sweep this weekend and some help from Purdue and Michigan State.