While the Indiana baseball team’s 16 consecutive wins seem impressive from afar, a closer look at the NCAA’s longest active winning streak reveals that the Hoosiers’ recent tear might not be as substantial as the numbers suggest.
Indiana’s opponents since falling to Florida on March 10 are a combined 126-158, with just two of those teams — Louisville (22-5) and Navy (16-13)— sporting records above .500.
Illinois (18-7, 1-2 Big Ten) presents arguably the greatest threat to snapping Indiana’s (23-3, 6-0) streak since it began. The Illini ended then-No. 17 Oregon’s 10-game winning streak last season behind a one-run complete game outing by Kevin Johnson, who held the Ducks to four hits while striking out five. Johnson will once again take the mound in Friday’s series opener in Bloomington, Ind,, this time against Indiana’s Joey DeNato.
“You can say you don’t look at the stats, but everyone does,” Johnson said. “Indiana is a big conference rival. It’s a huge weekend for us.”
The Hoosiers’ numbers, if slightly inflated, are still worth noting.
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Indiana’s .324 team batting average is far and away the best in the Big Ten; with the Illini in second, hitting .300. Indiana’s 19 home runs also pace the conference, with the Illini again following in second with 11 on the season. The Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in a number of other offensive categories, including team slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs, hits, RBIs, walks and total bases. The Illini are second in each of those categories.
“A portion of their schedule hasn’t been all that great,” Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb said before practice Thursday. “Obviously it’s still an accomplishment to win that many in a row, but I think the same things about us.”
Indiana’s Kyle Schwarber is the Big Ten’s hits leader with 46 and also leads the conference in home runs with seven and RBIs with 19. Illinois’ Jordan Parr is tied for second in the Big Ten with four home runs, while his brother, Justin, is just two hits behind Schwarber with 44.
“I expect Saturday and Sunday to be really offensive,” Jordan Parr said. “The No. 1 guys will probably keep people in check, but the next two days you’ll start to see us put up some runs.”
In addition to offensive firepower, Illinois and Indiana also boast strong pitching numbers.
Johnson is 4-1 with a 1.89 ERA in seven appearances, while the Hoosiers feature the tandem of Scott Effross and Aaron Slegers, who stand atop the conference with matching 5-0 records and ERAs of 0.88 and 1.08,l respectively. Effross, however, isn’t slated to start against Illinois. Sophomore left-hander Kyle Hart is scheduled to face Illinois right-hander John Kravetz (3-0, 3.82 ERA) on Saturday. Hartleb said Friday’s and Saturday’s results will dictate who gets the start on Sunday.
Adding to the drama this weekend is the history between Johnson and Indiana leftfielder, Chris Sujka. The two, along with Kravetz, attended Mount Carmel High School together in Chicago. Johnson also played summer ball with Hoosiers first baseman Sam Travis.
Johnson didn’t waste a breath when asked about the scouting report on Sujka.
“He can’t hit breaking balls,” Johnson said.
Jeff can be reached at [email protected] and @jkirsh91.
