Hoosiers continue road trip at Northwestern

The IU baseball team, in the middle of an 11-game road trip, will resume Big Ten play this weekend with a four-game set against the Northwestern Wildcats. The Hoosiers lost three of four games to open the conference schedule last weekend at Michigan State.\nAfter a road loss to the University of Evansville on Tuesday, the Hoosiers (8-15) fell to 2-11 on the road this season and 3-4 at neutral sites. IU has played only three home games and is 3-0 at Sembower Field so far this season. \n"If we go out and do what we're supposed to do, it shouldn't make a difference (whether we're at home or on the road)," sophomore catcher Jon Fixler said. "We're baseball players; we should get the job done."\nIU has lost five of six games to open the road trip and has struggled at times on defense, committing 15 errors so far on the trip. The fact that the games are on the road, however, should not affect how the team plays, IU coach Tracy Smith said.\n"We can't use it as an excuse," Smith said. "We have to be tough enough to overcome that (the games are on the road)."\nThe Hoosiers have five games remaining on their current road trip before returning to Bloomington for a 10-game home stand.\nWith four more conference games before returning home, the Hoosiers will try to use playing on the road to their advantage.\n"I personally like being on the road," junior pitcher Matt Saba said. "It makes you try harder and gives you more motivation."\nNorthwestern (6-16) is 3-1 in Big Ten play after taking three of four from the University of Michigan last weekend. Michigan won the first game, but Northwestern swept the final three games for the series victory. \nThe Wildcats have struggled offensively so far this season, averaging just 3.7 runs per game with a .248 team batting average. The only player hitting over .300 is sophomore outfielder Antonio Mule, who leads the team with a .386 average, two home runs and 12 RBIs. \nSenior pitcher Josh Lewis (2-4, 6.15 ERA) will take the ball for the Hoosiers in game one of the series. Lewis will be followed by senior Clint Crosier (2-1, 2.41) in game two, sophomore Chris McCombs (0-0, 3.65) in game three and senior Adam Poole (0-0, 12.27) in game four.\nThe Hoosier offense, led by senior outfielders Jay Brant and Reggie Watson, will face a Northwestern pitching staff that has compiled a team ERA of 5.87 on the season.\nIU has earned an 83-64-2 lead in the all-time series between the two schools. The teams split their last meeting in Evanston, Ill., a season ago. \nThe first pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Games two and three will be played as a double-header beginning at 2:30 p.m. Sunday and the series finale will be played at 3 p.m. Monday. \nThe series was set to begin today, but all games were pushed back due to forecasts calling for inclement weather in Evanston.