Josh Pyne Wins Big Ten Freshman of the Week

After hitting .381 across five games, Indiana freshman Josh Pyne was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. He becomes the first Hoosier since Morgan Colony in April of 2021 to earn the award.

Seven was the magic number for Josh Pyne last week. Over a seven day span, the freshman from Bloomfield, Ind. racked up seven hits and seven RBI.

7️⃣ hits & 7️⃣ RBIs in the past 7️⃣ days.@_joshpyne_ | #IUBase

— Indiana Baseball (@IndianaBase) April 27, 2022

Pyne has now reached base in 29 straight games, making him the only freshman in the Big Ten to accomplish such a feat in 2022. Pyne's knack for getting on base is also the third longest single-season streak at IU since at least 2005.

Dating back to Indiana's matchup at Cincinatti on April 20, Pine is batting .381. All seven of Pyne's RBI during that span came during Indiana's series win over Nebraska. 

Pyne has also belted three doubles, a triple and a home run in the last week to score four runs for the Hoosiers. Pyne's hot streak puts him atop the RBI leaderboard among Big Ten freshmen with 39 and second in hits.

And when Pyne is hitting well, it tends to mean Indiana is winning games. The Hoosiers are 4-1 during Pyne's tear, which marks their most wins in a five-game span since the first week of March. 

Pyne has now raised his batting average to .306 on the season, joining Phillip Glasser, Hunter Jessee and Bobby Whalen as Hoosiers batting above .300. The freshman has second most at-bats on the team and is tied for second in hits. 

Former Linton star Josh Pyne hit the first homer of his college career today in IU 7-0 win over Cincinnati. The freshman is off to a great start down in Bloomington. Through 11 games, Pyne is currently third on IU team in RBI with 9. (Courtesy: BIG+) pic.twitter.com/qF4Armxfrp

— Rick Semmler (@RickSemmler) March 9, 2022

Pyne has also been a reliable run producer, ranking behind only Matthew Ellis for the team lead in RBI. He is also tied for the team lead with 11 doubles and tied for second among Hoosiers with 77 total bases. 

The freshman out of Linton-Stockton High School stands at 6-foot-1, bats right and throws right. Pyne was ranked as the No. 14 overall prospect and No. 2 shortstop in Indiana by Perfect Game out of high school.

In Pyne's team MVP senior season, he earned All-State honors and set the Linton-Stockton school record for hits in a season with 50. With Pyne, Linton-Stockton reached three Class 2A sectional titles.

Pyne and the Hoosiers host a weekend series with the Illinois Fighting Illini this weekend at Bart Kaufman Field beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Friday. Pyne will look to continue his hot hitting against an Illinois team that is third in the Big Ten with an 11-4 conference record and a 20-17 record overall.