Indiana Baseball: Hoosiers Take on Rival Purdue

The Hoosiers face the Boilermakers on Wednesday in a rare nonconference game at Bart Kaufman Field.

Caleb Coffman | Mar 4, 2020

Indiana Baseball: Hoosiers Take on Rival Purdue /

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana is coming off another impressive baseball weekend, as the Hoosiers picked up wins against No. 17 East Carolina and High Point before dropping the third game to No. 13 Ole Miss on Sunday n Greenville, N.C.,

After nine straight games on the road to open the season, the Hoosiers finally get to experience a home game at Bart Kaufman Field on Wednesday, with a matchup against in-state rival Purdue in a nonconference game.

The Boilermakers are in the midst of a three-game losing streak after falling to a trio of ranked teams in the Cambria College Classic this past weekend against No. 14 Duke, No. 8 N.C. State and No. 23 North Carolina.

Purdue’s offense is led by catcher Zac Fascia, who is batting .344 with five extra-base hits and 19 RBIs in 10 games.

Indiana’s first mid-week game of the season gives its young team an early taste of Big Ten baseball.

Here are the particulars on Wednesday’s matchup:

Who: Purdue (6-4)
When: Wednesday, March. 4, 3:05 p.m. ET
Where: Bart Kaufman Field, Bloomington, Ind.
Probable Starters: McCade Brown (RHP) v. Andrew Bohm (RHP)
Television: BTN+
Radio: Indiana Radio Network
Announcer: Austin Render

Here are three things I’m looking to see from Indiana:

1. Bullpen Consistency

Midweek games are often pitching experiments while teams turn them into bullpen games and a chance to see pitchers who are underutilized. Indiana’s bullpen has been strong of late, with standout performances from senior Braden Scott and freshman David Platt early in the season.

The Hoosiers have relied on strong pitching from their main core of arms but will need to expand their select group if they are going to have success during a busy Big Ten schedule. Wednesday’s game against Purdue provides Indiana a good opportunity to discover if it has some hidden depth in the bullpen from the team’s underclassmen.

2. Drive the Pitch Count Up

Similarly to Indiana, Purdue has benefited from strong starting pitching early in the season. When the Hoosiers have been most effective at the plate, they have taken a patient approach and driven up opposing pitch counts.

Against No. 17 East Carolina, Indiana drove starting pitcher Alec Burleson out of the game after just 2.2 innings while scoring six runs, forcing him to throw 55 pitches in his short outing. The Hoosiers also forced High Point starter Trent Harris to throw 89 pitches over five innings in their two wins over the weekend.

Indiana has a powerful offense, and when they can wear down starting pitchers, the team’s bats become even more dangerous, allowing them to pile on runs in the middle innings.

3. Dunham and Richardson Stay Hot

Junior Elijah Dunham and freshman Grant Richardson have gotten off to hot starts to the season and have been the two biggest catalysts for the Hoosiers’ offense. Both players are hitting over .435 through nine games this season with five combined home runs and 14 total RBIs.

Dating back to last season, Dunham has reached base in 27 consecutive games and Richardson has reached base in 12 straight.

It’s unlikely that Dunham and Richardson can maintain this amount of offensive production throughout the season, but even as they regress back towards more reasonable statistics, Indiana needs both players to continue to lead the team offensively through its challenging nonconference schedule.

1. Bullpen Consistency

2. Drive the Pitch Count Up

3. Dunham and Richardson Stay Hot

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