Indiana Baseball Gets Swept By Nebraska: What's Been the Problem?

Last week, the Indiana baseball team finally looked like it turned the corner after taking two of three from Minnesota, but unfortunately for IU's sake, it didn't last. The Hoosiers lost to in-state rival Indiana State on Tuesday in a non-conference matchup before getting swept by No. 24 Nebraska over the weekend.

Following Sunday's loss to the Cornhuskers, Indiana is 10-17 overall, 3-9 in Big Ten play, and has lost a season-high five straight games.

And similar to the beginning of the year, IU continues to struggle in a few key areas.

The Results

Game 1: Nebraska 6, Indiana 5
Game 2: Nebraska 12, Indiana 7
Game 3: Nebraska 12, Indiana 4

Indiana's defense is still a problem

Indiana's defense has been a problem all season, and it showed once again this weekend against Nebraska. IU committed six errors against Nebraska, including three errors in Friday's series opener.

Those three errors led to three unearned runs for Nebraska, and it was essentially the difference in the game.

IU has now committed 29 errors in 27 games, and anytime you have more errors than games played, you're just not going to have a lot of success.

Indiana's pitching still has room to grow

Indiana's pitching has had its ups and downs this year, but this week wasn't a good week for the Hoosiers arms. IU's poor defensive play certainly didn't help, but still, Nebraska's bats really took it to Indiana.

Indiana allowed 30 total runs to Nebraska this weekend, and last weekend, IU allowed 22 runs to Minnesota. That's not going to get it done, especially against the Big Ten. The bullpen has certainly been better as of late, but IU's starting staff is still too inconsistent.

Not one of Indiana's starters made it out of the fourth inning, and all three starters allowed at least five runs. The stressed bulpen couldn't hold up.

Indiana continues to struggle early

Despite taking two of three from Minnesota last weekend, the Hoosiers faced multiple early deficits, and that trend continued this weekend. Unfortunately, Indiana wasn't able to rally back this week like they did last week.

Consistently trailing early is not a recipe for success, and until IU does better in the early innings, expect the losses to keep on coming.

Next Up

Indiana's next game is on Tuesday against in-state rival Evansville. First pitch is at 7 p.m. (ET) and is available via ESPN+.