Indiana Baseball Gunning for Third Sweep in a Row

After a very rough start to a baseball season, where the Hoosiers started out ranked #2 in the country before completely falling out of the polls, they seem to have put it all together. Now with their win streak up to 7 straight, including three game sweeps of two conference foes, the Hoosiers host Morehead State this weekend.

As many of you are aware, the Hoosiers started the season a very ugly 2-5. Since then though the Hoosiers have gone 17-5. Even more importantly, they've won ten of their last twelve. Indiana hopes to continue riding that hot streak through the weekend as they follow up a win over Indiana State with a series against the Eagles of Morehead State. This is a series that Indiana should be eyeing for another sweep, as Morehead has seen their share of struggles this season as well.

Coming into the weekend at 16-16, Morehead's strength of schedule hasn't been necessarily grueling. Outside of their one game this Tuesday at Kentucky, the Eagles have yet to play a ranked team. More so, they've been not just losing their games, but they're getting pounded in their losses. In their 16 losses the opposition has put up an average of 9.5 runs. In their wins, the opponent is still driving in nearly 6 runs per game. That's a lot of hitting that the opposition has been doing against the Eagles.

So, with a susceptible pitching staff, one would think that the Hoosiers will be looking to display some fireworks. Especially the back half of the lineup. 1-5 the Hoosiers have guys that rake, but everyone after that has shown long bouts of struggle at the plate. The last two weeks have seen an improvement in back half of the lineup hitting but it could still be better. Livening up those sticks is going to be key for the Hoosiers to not only win the conference (which should be expected) but to get themselves back into the College World Series to make some noise.

On the pitching side of things, Indiana will continue to try and get their workhorses up to full speed over this weekend. Guys like sophomore Wil Coursen-Carr have seen their struggles throughout the year and a lot of it has to do with control. With a softer lineup than what he's been seeing for most of the year, it will be interesting to see if Wil can find his strides in his sophomore season. If the Hoosiers need anyone to step up and be big down the stretch it would be Coursen-Carr.

In the meantime, we can sit back and enjoy that as a whole the squad has finally started to put it together. It turns out the Big Ten is the perfect remedy for anyone's struggles. They now sit at 8-1 in the conference and have a series sweep against a potential contender in Ohio State (who now sits at an ugly 2-7). Tho other big competition would be Nebraska and Michigan State, both of which are sitting several games back already. Though this weekend won't impact the Big Ten standings, continuing that momentum into a key series against Michigan State next weekend will be important. The Hoosiers and Cornhuskers don't face off this year, so beating up on teams that will play the upset bid is necessary.