Notre Dame has won the past six meetings between the ?in-state rivals.
It will be the third time in a week IU will have a chance to pick up a win against an in-state ?opponent.
The Hoosiers (21-15) whiffed on their first two chances, falling to both Indiana State and Evansville last week as part of a four-game losing streak. They will head to Indianapolis, where they will play Notre Dame at 7 p.m. at Victory Field, home of the Indianapolis ?Indians.
“We’re excited,” IU Coach Chris Lemonis said. “This is something we’ve talked about a lot throughout ?the year.”
The Fighting Irish (26-12) are coming off of a 2-1 series win against North Carolina State.
After having game three of its series against No. 9 Illinois rained out Sunday, IU did not pitch juniors Kyle Hart or Scott Effross. Hart is making his way back after recovering from last season’s Tommy John surgery, while Effross, who started the year as the team’s ace, has struggled as of late. Instead, junior Evan Bell will get the start against the Fighting Irish.
Bell is 2-2 with a 2.08 ERA this season in 15 appearances, one start.
It will likely be a game pitched by committee, ?Lemonis said.
Notre Dame will start sophomore Scott Tully. He is 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 14 appearances, two of them starts.
On offense, Notre Dame is led by sophomore catcher Ryan Lidge, who is batting .328 with two home runs and 26 RBIs. Lidge is the only player on the Notre Dame roster hitting above .300. Similar to IU, the Fighting Irish don’t have one single power threat but instead have a little power spread out throughout the entire lineup — with no player having more than three home runs.
IU is paced by senior first baseman/designated hitter Scott Donley, who is batting .350 with one home run and 21 RBIs. He stepped into the first base job after sophomore Austin Cangelosi ?was injured.
Sophomore Craig Dedelow is the other hitter batting above .300 for IU. He sits at .302 with three triples, three home runs and 19 RBIs.
This will be IU’s first game at Victory Field, which opened in 1996.
“It’s great to have a chance to showcase our team in front of our fans against another great opponent,” Lemonis said. “Our kids are really looking forward to it, getting to play a program like ?Notre Dame.”
