Baseball Games of the Week (5/3 - 5/6)
#13 Indiana at Nebraska (5/4 6 PM CT, BTN, 5/5 1:05 PM CT, BTN.com, 5/6 noon CT)
The two teams come into the weekend in a dead heat for the conference lead, both with 11-4 Big Ten records.
Indiana - The Hoosiers are on an eight-game winning streak, including weekend sweeps of Michigan and Butler. They've outscored their opponents 61-17 over those eight games. Kyle Schwarber is the team's top hitter in average (.397) and home runs, but Scott Donley leads the squad in hits (62) and RBI (47). Indiana's weekend starters have combined for a 19-2 record in 33 starts. Kyle Hart is still undefeated, while Aaron Slegers is 6-1 with a starter-low 1.85 ERA and Joey DeNato is also 6-1 with a squad-high 55 strikeouts.
Nebraska - While the Huskers are 11-4 in conference, they are coming off of a rough last weekend, one which saw them drop three of four in the TD Ameritrade Classic. They also do come in with a record under .500 (20-23). Nebraska isn't much of a power-hitting team, only having hit nine home runs on the year. Chad Christensen has a team-high 61 hits, with a team-high in triples and home runs, two each. Kash Kalkowski has a squad-leading 30 RBI. Kyle Kubat has made a quick season debut. After missing the first 33 games, last year’s Freshman All-America and Big Ten Third Team member, has gone 3-0 in three starts and carries a 1.50 ERA. Dylan Vogt has seven saves on the year.
Dartmouth at Columbia (5/4 noon ET, 5/4 3:15 PM ET, 5/5 1:30 PM ET (if necessary))
This marks the first title series of the year, as the Ivy League teams face off for the title in a best-of-three series hosted by Columbia. Dartmouth swept the teams' two game series earlier this season.
Columbia - The Lions enter the series losing only five games since the beginning of April. They've gone 15-5 in that stretch. Alex Black leads the team in average (.331), hits (47), home runs (seven) and RBI (28). Jordan Serena has a team-leading 11 doubles and has stolen 26-of-27 bases. Nick Crucet also has 19 steals. David Speer has won six of his nine starts and has a team-low 1.83 ERA. Joey Domino has a perfect 6-0 record in his 11 appearances, seven of which have been starts. He also has a squad-leading 57 punch outs.
Dartmouth - The Big Green one-upped their opponents, dropping only four games since the 1st of April, compiling an 18-4 record. Jeff Keller is the team's top hitter with a .368 average, a whopping 21 doubles, five home runs and 39 RBI. All four are team-highs.
The Big Green has four pitchers that have started a minimum of seven games. Each of them has an ERA of 2.34 or below, led by Michael Johnson. Johnson is 7-0 in eight starts with a 1.33 ERA. Cole Sulser, who has a 5-2 record in eight starts, has thrown complete games in four of his starts and has struck out a team-high 51 opponents.
Wichita State at Missouri State (5/3 6:30 PM CT, 5/4 12:30 PM CT, 5/5 noon CT)
This is a battle of the Missouri Valley's top two teams.
Missouri State - The Bears start their eight-game home stand with this series and have won six of their last eight. Missouri State isn't what one would call an offensive power, as the team is hitting .271 as a whole. Tate Matheny, who happens to be Cardinals manager Mike Matheny's son, leads the squad offensively as a freshman. He leads the squad in average (.360), hits (62), runs (33), home runs (four) and RBI (25). The Bears' top two pitchers have put up impressive stats thus far. Nick Petree has a 7-1 record in 10 starts with a 1.52 ERA and has struck out 80 hitters, while walking only 17. Jonathan Harris has an 8-0 record in nine starts and a 2.21 ERA.
Wichita State - Casey Gillaspie is the team's bopper with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 30 RBI, the first two being team-highs. Cale Elam is the team's top starter, compiling a 5-2 record and 2.22 ERA and 55 strikeouts.
