For the second time in the last week, IU baseball will meet Ball State University.
This Tuesday, IU and Ball State will head to Indianapolis to play at Victory Field.
IU beat Ball State 14-3 last Tuesday behind a standout effort from sophomore pitcher Tommy Sommer.
Ball State comes to Indianapolis on the heels of a series win over Miami University in which Ball State won the first two games before dropping the finale.
The offense for Ball State struggled the first time around against IU, but it has been the carrying force when Ball State’s has had success.
Junior outfielder Aaron Simpson is hitting .360 on the season while junior outfielder Ross Messina and senior outfielder William Baker are both hitting .316.
After the series win against Miami, Ball State sits just one game out of the Mid-American Conference lead at 9-4.
IU goes to Indianapolis having won 10 of its last 11 games after taking its weekend series against Michigan State.
IU was expected to sweep a lowly Michigan State team. However, a poor performance from the bullpen in the second game of the series cost IU a chance at its second conference sweep of the season.
Still, after 12 games in conference, IU leads the Big Ten and has won all four of its conference series.
In the first matchup with Ball State, IU’s offense exploded for 14 runs. Junior outfielder Matt Gorski had a grand slam that cleared the left field scoreboard. It was just one of five home runs by five different players.
Senior utility Matt Lloyd has put himself in serious consideration for Big Ten Player of the Year. Through his 39 games played this season, he’s batting .322 with 13 home runs and 40 runs batted in.
Freshman outfielder Grant Richardson continues to produce, hitting .327 with 7 home runs and 27 runs batted in through 26 games.
After pitching last week against Ball State and also against Michigan State, Sommer may be given a rest by IU Head Coach Jeff Mercer may look to give Sommer a rest. Freshman pitcher Gabe Bierman may be a candidate to start Tuesday.
As a result of its play over the last 11 games, IU cracked the D1 Baseball poll this week, checking in at No. 23.
Tuesday’s game will start at 7 p.m.
