He had four in three games this weekend against Michigan.
Dedelow was a bright spot for IU this weekend, despite the Hoosiers losing the first home series at Bart Kaufman Field in program history.
He finished the weekend 6-for-14, spreading out two singles, a double, two triples and a home run across the three-game series. He also scored six runs and had three RBIs.
“He’s been pretty steady all year,” IU Coach Chris Lemonis said. “He’s really evolving into a great college player. I like some of those big swings.”
IU (18-10, 2-6) lost game one 7-3, won game two 13-11 and lost game three 4-3.
Dedelow has been IU’s most consistent hitter all season and has recently moved into the leadoff spot to try to spark the offense.
“It’s definitely different, even though it’s a jump from two to one,” Dedelow said. “Just a whole other approach that I need to lock in on and try to help my team.”
Dedelow said his approach at the plate didn’t change much throughout the series, noting he doesn’t like pitches lower in the strike zone.
“I was trying to see a good pitch early,” Dedelow said. “Something preferably up in the zone. I usually hit higher pitches opposed to lower pitches.”
His home run came in game three to right field. It finally put the Hoosiers on the scoreboard in the fifth inning.
“He was throwing me some offspeed, so I was expecting a fastball since that was the only pitch he hadn’t thrown to me in that at-bat,” Dedelow said. “He threw it up, and I put a good swing on it. Luckily, it got out.”
With the outburst, Dedelow is batting .342 this season — the highest on the team. He has 13 extra-base hits, three of them home runs, and 18 RBIs. After being more of a role player last season, he has started all 28 games for IU.
He has taken over in center field after spending time at first base and in right field early on in the season.
An area Lemonis would like to see him improve in is strikeouts. Five of Dedelow’s eight outs during the weekend were strikeouts, with three of them coming Sunday — including the last out of the series.
“I keep thinking about the last swing of the game, though,” Lemonis said. “He’s really turning into a great player.”
