8 — Friday, March 16. 2018 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Big Ten preview: Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana set to challenge for title Snow and baseball are not two things that people commonly associate with one another, but that’s typical in the world of Big Ten baseball. It is difficult for the conference to reach a level of national success when many of its schools still have weather below freezing in mid- March. Despite this, the Big Ten is coming off a season in which five conference teams made the NCAA Tournament — tied for a conference record — and an impressive 35 combined players were drafted. The Big Ten has developed into one of the better leagues in the nation, and looks poised to continue its recent success in the upcoming season. Michigan (4-11) has kept up with the rest of the conference in recent years and has positioned itself near the top, though early returns hint that this year may be different. This season, like last, the Wolverines should see a plethora of tough conference competition, highlighted by defending Big Ten regular season champion Nebraska, defending Big Ten Tournament- champion Iowa and NCAA Tournament-participant Indiana. Nebraska: Last season: (16- 7-1, 35-22-1) This Season: (0-0, 10-7) Following their Big Ten regular season championship — and a season that would ultimately end with a defeat in the first round of the tournament — 2017 Big Ten Coach of the Year Darin Erstad and Nebraska look to bounce back from a disappointing end to the season. Following last year’s campaign, the Cornhuskers return all but seven players, including All-Big Ten First Team senior outfielder Scott Schreiber and All-Big Ten Third Team shortstop Angelo Altavilla. Erstad will rely on Schreiber and Altavilla to carry the offensive load come conference play. Schreiber, after hitting .330/.376/.494 last year, has followed up with another stellar season thus far, hitting .348/.436/.606. Altavilla, on the other hand, who posted a .316/.401/.406 stat line last year, has struggled at the plate, hitting only .246/.421/.298. The rest of the team has also struggled to hit the ball, as the team’s average is just .258 thus far, compared to last year’s team average of .281. On the mound last season, Nebraska had the Big Ten’s second-lowest team earned- run averaged at 3.73, but lost its top two starting pitchers to the draft. This season, the Cornhuskers have registered a significantly worse team ERA of 4.92, good for fifth highest in the conference. Redshirt junior Jake McSteen, who recorded a 2.04 ERA in 39.2 innings of relief for Nebraska last season, has struggled with his transition to starter, posting a 6.00 ERA thus far. Senior Luis Alvarado, on the other hand, has excelled as the Cornhuskers’ top starting pitcher with a 2.70 ERA in 23.1 innings. If last year is any indication, this Nebraska team could become very dangerous if they can find their groove come Big Ten play. But for now, they are playing at just above .500 and have had their share of struggles. Iowa: Last season: (15- 9, 39-22) This Season: (0-0, 8-6) After a good but not great regular season, Iowa entered the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 5 seed. Led by the Big Ten Player of the Year, All-American first baseman Jake Adams, the Hawkeyes scraped their way to an unlikely Big Ten Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. Adams and his impressive .335/.417/.747 stat line, 29 homers and 71 RBIs, as well as All-Big Ten Second Team shortstop Mason McCoy are gone, and Iowa has had to look for offensive production and leadership elsewhere. Junior outfielder Robert Neustrom (.321/.403/.415) and senior catcher Tyler Cropley (.300/.417/.420), both All-Big Ten Second Team selections last year, have stepped up to the challenge. Iowa, however, has not seen the same offensive success it saw last season overall. The team is hitting just .248 this season, as opposed to .284 last year. Iowa has salvaged a meager 8-6 record so far. It has remained above .500 due in large part to a weak schedule, playing only five games against over .500 teams, winning none of those contests. The Hawkeyes’ pitching has been a different story from their hitting, taking full advantage of the weak offensive competition. Despite losing All- Big Ten Second Team pitcher Nick Gallagher to the draft, redshirt junior Nick Allgeyer — who has 24 strikeouts and a 1.82 ERA in four starts — and the rest of the roation have combined for the fifth-best team ERA in the Big Ten (4.20). While Iowa has players who can continue to produce all season, the team’s lack of success against above-average competition and offensive struggles signal red flags for the team heading into conference play. Repeating the success they saw last year seems unlikely, but still possible, at this point. Indiana: Last season: (14- 9-1, 34-24-2) This Season: (0-0, 12-4) After placing a disappointing sixth in Big Ten play last season despite being showered with praise, Indiana, the only Big Ten team currently ranked, has made the NCAA Tournament in four of the past five years and is poised to further its recent success this season. Despite losing their top hitter from last season, Tony Butler (.314/.418/.454), the Hoosiers have started the season strong, holding the conference’s best record. Senior All-Big Ten Second Team outfielder Logan Sowers (.333/.413/.537) decided to return to school for his final season and has stepped into the role as team leader, helping Indiana obtain the fifth-best team batting average in the Big Ten at .275 thus far. Unlike other most other teams in the Big Ten, Indiana’s offensive focus is more on the big hit as opposed to stringing together multiple singles; it is second in the conference in both home runs (15) and doubles (38). While the offense has been good for the Hoosiers, their true calling card is their pitching. With a miniscule 2.92 team ERA, Indiana’s pitching leads the Big Ten in ERA by nearly 0.3 points. All-Big Ten Third Team pitcher Pauly Milto has a 2.36 ERA in four starts to go along with a batting average against of only .216. All-Big Ten Freshman Team pitcher Cal Krueger has been dominant in his sophomore campaign, not allowing a single run thus far in 11 innings of relief. Indiana’s hot start does not appear to be cooling off anytime soon, and the Hoosiers should be successful in Big Ten play this year. They are serious contenders, if not favorites, to win the Big Ten title. FILE PHOTO The Indiana baseball team made it to the NCAA Tournament last year and could do so again; the Hoosiers currently own the conference’s best record. BENNETT BRAMSON Daily Sports Writer Position-by-position breakdown: Wolverines not as deep as last season At the end of last season, Michigan lost 11 players to the MLB Draft — pitcher Oliver Jaskie, infielder Drew Lugbauer, catcher Harrison Wenson and infielder Michael Brdar. Jaskie was the team’s ace and was drafted in the sixth round. Lugbauer led the team in slugging percentage, home runs and runs batted in. With such significant roster turnover heading into this season, some minor growing pains were to be expected. Whether a current 4-11 record can be called “minor,” though, really depends on how well Michigan fares in conference play going forward. A recruiting class ranked tenth nationally was supposed to plug the remaining holes in the roster. But the youthful Wolverines have struggled so far to do so. At times, Michigan has shown that it is capable offensively. Through 15 games, the Wolverines have recorded 107 hits and taken 65 walks. On the flip side, a .221 team batting average and 4.13 runs per game average have let them down. The pitching staff has also proved to be inconsistent thus far, posting a cumulative earned- run average of 4.66. Defensively, Michigan has recorded 27 errors with a fielding percentage hovering around .950. As the Wolverines begin a five-game homestand with a three-game series against Bowling Green beginning Friday, The Daily breaks down the team position-by-position: Pitchers Though Michigan lost Jaskie, senior Mac Lozer and others to the draft, the team does return many from last year’s pitching staff. Seniors Alec Rennard and Jayce Vancena have starting experience from last year, but have stepped into the spotlight as two of the main starters. Rennard has pitched 16 innings thus far with an ERA of 3.38 and 13 strikeouts. Vancena is still regarded as one of Wolverines’ top pitchers, despite an 0-3 record, and a 9.35 ERA through 8.2 innings. Sophomore Karl Kauffman, who pitched a total of 13 innings last year, has really come on in his second season. With Vancena’s struggles early on, Kauffman has staked his claim to become the No. 2 behind Rennard. Kauffman has posted a 2-2 record with a 4.64 ERA. He had stellar outings against Army and Stanford, letting up only a single run between the two. Another sophomore fighting for a starting position, left- hander Tommy Henry, has put up impressive numbers as well. Against Stanford, Henry went seven scoreless innings and has a 2.74 ERA in 23 innings. In the bullpen, junior William Tribucher and freshman Ben Dragani have been the go-to guys. Tribucher has an ERA of 2.53, while Dragani has allowed just six hits and four runs in 13 innings of work. Junior Troy Miller and freshman Jeff Criswell are also set to see a lot of time in relief going forward. Catcher The position battle that received the most attention this offseason was behind the plate. Senior Brock Keener may have seemed destined to fill the void left by Wenson, but three younger guys have also been in the mix for the job. Sophomore Harrison Salter, redshirt freshman Marcus Chavez and freshman Joe Donovan have all seen time at the position this season. Keener has been the most productive offensively of the four, recording a .280 batting average, while Chavez and Salter have performed well defensively. Altogether, expect it to be somewhat of a revolving door behind the plate, with all four seeing playing time going forward, especially if the team continues to struggle. First Base In the sixth inning of Michigan’s first game of the season, fifth-year senior Hector Gutierrez powered a grand slam to right field to give the Wolverines a nine-run advantage against Army. “Guti” as he’s been christened by his teammates, is one of the team’s best hitters and as a result has alternated between first and third base in order to get at-bats. Keener and talented freshman slugger Jesse Franklin have also seen time at first. All three can be offensive weapons on their day, so expect to see a lot of rotation here throughout the season. Second Base When the bottom of the first inning rolls around at any Michigan home game this year, the first song is T.I.’s “Bring Em’ Out” — junior Ako Thomas’ walkout music. One of the best all-around players on the team, Thomas burst onto the scene last year as an All-Big Ten First Team selection. Symbolic of the Wolverines’ struggles so far, Thomas, who helped solidify one of the best defensive teams in the nation last year, leads the team with seven errors. His .224 batting average this season also hasn’t been on par with the offensive numbers he put up a year ago. And yet, if the Wolverines are going to turn the tide, Thomas will most likely be the one to lead them. Shortstop The departure of the sure- handed Michael Brdar left a gap at the shortstop position coming into the season. Freshman Jack Blomgren has stepped up to fill that void. Blomgren, another member of this record- breaking recruiting class for the Wolverines has struggled at times this season. Blomgren has recorded six errors and a .154 batting average. Despite this, the coaching staff appears content on having the freshman press on. Third Base As has been a theme at other positions this year, no one has excelled at third base. Junior Jimmy Kerr is widely considered the starter at the position, but only has a .880 fielding percentage and a .125 batting average. Kerr is a respected veteran on the team though, and despite his struggles, he will remain a fixture in the starting lineup. Outfield As a redshirt sophomore, Miles Lewis started every game in left field for the Wolverines. Now a year later, Lewis should do the same barring injury. The current clubhouse leader in RBIs and home runs with 12 and two respectively, Lewis typically hits in the two-hole. In addition to hitting for power, the hulking 6-foot-1, 200-pounder is quite capable of getting on base and getting into scoring opportunities, having recorded 29 walks and 19 stolen bases last year. A 1.000 fielding percentage this season also speaks to what a great all-around player Lewis is. To the right of Lewis is another powerful junior, Jonathan Engelmann. Typically Michigan’s cleanup hitter, Engelmann currently is hitting at a rate of .237 with a team-high 14 hits. Like Lewis, the young Wolverines look to Engelmann for not only an offensive spark but also as a source of leadership. Sophomore right-fielder Christian Bullock rounds out the outfield and leads the team with four stolen bases. The speedster has been capable of getting on base as well, hitting .250 and reaching base on four walks. The outfield as a whole has been fairly consistent defensively, with Bullock owning the only error, which occurred at the top of the 7th inning against Lawrence Tech on Wednesday. DH Sophomore Dominic Clementi has been a major contributor this season as a designated hitter, though he could also play in the outfield. As a freshman he finished last season with a .409 batting average through 18 games. Thus far, Clementi has been hitting at a significantly lesser rate of .242. As the season goes on though, Clementi could be a valuable offensive weapon for Michigan. KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily Senior pitcher Alec Rennard has been a consistent starter for the Wolverines thus far, pitching 16 innings with an earned-run average of 3.38. CONNOR BRENNAN Daily Sports Writer Indiana’s hot start does not appear to be cooling off. Nebraska could be very dangerous if it finds its groove.