Having done the pretty thorough Q&A already (and returning the favor here), I'm not going to focus a ton on previewing Indiana in this post; instead, I'll focus just on a few thoughts.

They come after the jump:

Runners in scoring position. In the statistical breakdown post I tried to show RBIs vs LOB to get an idea of how guys were doing. In this week's game notes, we get a bit of an update (pdf):

Six Wolverines are hitting .500 or better with runners in scoring position this season. Senior 1B Mike Dufek leads the team with 19 hits in 38 chances with runners in scoring position. Freshman OF Patrick Biondi is hitting .500 (12-for-24) along with junior OF Ryan LaMarre (3-for-6), sophomore/freshman OF Tyler Mills (1-for-2), senior/junior C Vinnie Sarafa (1-for-2). Junior P Kolby Wood is a perfect 1-for-1 in the situation. As a team, the Wolverines are batting .362 (104-for-287) with runners on second and/or third base.

I would venture that Michigan hit closer to .200 last season with RISP. The timely hit and the number of runners we left stranded were horrible. This season, as a team, Michigan's doing quite well.

Sunday Starter. I've heard some rumblings that the starter might be Eric Katzman. Nothing against Katzman, but I don't understand the move myself. What little game time he's had this season, it's been not so great. Obviously Maloney sees him in practice, so maybe he's ready. I just don't see him being more valuable than Miller or Burgoon, even if he does return to the same form as last year.

And on the subject of Sunday starters, Leininger is bumped to Sunday this week as he threw 3 innings against Louisville during the midweek. Smart move by Tracy Smith, Indiana's head coach. With him throwing Sunday, I'm thinking I should repeal my sweep and downgrade it to a 2-1 series win.

Last year's series numbers. Most of Indiana's current pitchers didn't face Michigan last season. Only Blake Monar (currently injured), Matt Carr (currently injured), and Chris Squires of this year's squad faced a Michigan hitter last season.

So how have did our batters do against Squires last year? Let's take a peak, LaMarre being included in the slim chance he plays:

That's probably better stats than any other Big Ten team. I'm not going to outline each pitcher vs. individual batters, but a look at their stat lines vs. Indiana last season:

Game 2:

Michigan IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Oaks, Alan.......... 2.0 6 5 5 2 1 10 13 42
Wood, Kolby......... 2.1 4 3 3 0 3 11 12 48
Gerbe, Matt......... 2.2 2 0 0 0 2 10 10 48
Burgoon, Tyler...... 2.0 2 0 0 1 1 7 9 38

Game 3:

Michigan IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Katzman, Eric....... 7.1 7 3 3 3 4 26 31 92
Miller, Matt........ 1.2 0 0 0 0 1 5 5 18

That was Oaks's second start of the season, back when he was a outfielder primarily, and hadn't been practicing at pitcher since his freshman year. Wood has also made some huge strides since this game, so take the appearance with a grain of salt.

Kittle in left. Mike Kittle is listed in the Game Notes as probable starter in left. No surprise as he's made the most of his time since Krantz broke his thumb.

Baseball helping kids in Chelsea. Commenter Sgt. Wolverine spotted a couple members of the team in the local paper:

My positive impression of him grew a bit stronger today when I opened this week's edition of the local paper and saw a page of photos from area schools and preschools. March has been declared reading month in Chelsea, and among other things, that includes a variety of guests who visit local schools and read to the kids. As a part of that, Coach Maloney and several of the players spent time as guest readers at one of the elementary schools in Chelsea.

So as a resident of Chelsea, I'd like to thank Rich Maloney, Nick Urban, Mike Kittle, Chris Berset and Eric Katzman for taking the time to make a positive contribution to the community.

Always cool of athletes to do this.