B1G Baseball Update 5/5 - 5/11

STANDINGS	CONF.	PCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	LAST 10	STREAK
Nebraska	12-5-1	.694	30-16-1	.649	15-5-0	12-5-1	3-6-0	8-2-0	W6
Maryland	14-7-0	.667	32-15-0	.681	19-1-0	8-12-0	5-2-0	6-4-0	W1
Minnesota	12-6-0	.667	29-15-0	.659	13-10-0	16-5-0	0-0-0	6-4-0	W3
Michigan	11-7-0	.611	36-12-0	.750	21-5-0	9-5-0	6-2-0	6-4-0	L1
Iowa	11-7-0	.611	29-17-0	.630	16-3-0	7-11-0	6-3-0	6-4-0	W1
Indiana	10-7-1	.583	27-18-2	.596	12-7-1	12-9-1	3-2-0	7-3-0	L1
Purdue	10-8-0	.556	26-21-0	.553	10-7-0	16-14-0	0-0-0	7-3-0	L2
Michigan State	8-10-0	.444	26-19-0	.578	9-7-0	12-10-0	5-2-0	6-4-0	W2
Northwestern	8-10-0	.444	19-27-0	.413	9-12-0	10-15-0	0-0-0	5-5-0	W1
Illinois	7-11-0	.389	21-24-0	.467	11-9-0	9-13-0	1-2-0	6-4-0	W2
Ohio State	6-12-0	.333	19-30-0	.388	7-15-0	7-10-0	5-5-0	4-6-0	L1
Rutgers	5-10-0	.333	17-28-0	.378	6-9-0	11-19-0	0-0-0	4-6-0	L3
Penn State	2-16-0	.111	15-33-0	.313	8-11-0	5-19-0	2-3-0	3-7-0	L1

Things are getting interesting now. With only this weekend and next as the final games in the regular season the storylines are beginning to build into a frenzy with each passing day. Can Nebraska, who just overtook Maryland for conference leader, keep its winning ways going and finally grab that elusive B1G title? Can the Terps rebound in their final B1G conference weekend to regain the lead? Can Minnesota (or Michigan/Iowa) sneak in at the last second? Who's going to get that final 8th seed? Seriously, why the hell does Wisconsin not have a baseball team? The answers to these questions will come soon enough* but first a recap of last week. RPI as of 5/11/17

*except that Wisconsin one. Come on, WTF Wisco?

Illinois 21-24 (7-11) RPI: 120

05/05/17 MARYLAND L 4-9
05/06/17 MARYLAND W 6-2
05/07/17 MARYLAND W 8-6

Picked up a huge home series upset of Maryland which now gives the Illini a little bit of life in the quest to make it to Bloomington. Will get an even better chance at a series win in a trip to New Jersey this weekend.

Up next:
5/12 & 5/13 @Rutgers

Bloomington Bound?: @Rutgers, Iowa
Current position: 10th
Not a whole lot of movement in the standings but with the series win against the Terps it gives some hope to get that final 8th seed.

Indiana 27-18-2 (10-7-1) RPI: 21

05/05/17 XAVIER W 1-0
05/06/17 XAVIER W 14-3
05/07/17 XAVIER W 11-7
05/09/17 at Kentucky L 2-5

Got a nice little sweep against the Musketeers and fought hard but fell to the top ten rated Wildcats this week. The Hoosiers will get back into B1G play this weekend hosting PSU and has another nice mid week RPI booster with top five rated Louisville coming to town.

Up next:
5/12 - 5/14 PSU
5/16 Louisville

Bloomington Bound?: PSU, @aOSU
Current position: 6th
Considering who they play in the final two series Indiana is an almost lock to be heading home in hosting the tournament. Now its just a matter of what seed will they be when all is said and done.

Iowa 29-17 (11-7) RPI: 95

05/05/17 at Michigan State W 3-2
05/06/17 at Michigan State L 1-2
05/07/17 at Michigan State W 9-4

Got the series win against the Spartans which keeps Iowa in the top half of the seeding and brought their RPI up 20 spots. The Hawkeyes will try and cement themselves for the tournament in hosting the Buckeyes.

Up next:
5/12 - 5/14 Ohio State
5/16 UNO

Bloomington Bound?: aOSU, @Illinois
Current position: two way tie for 4th
Iowa still can't sleep on the final two teams but should be in as long as they get a series win or two.

Maryland 32-15 (14-7) RPI: 26

05/05/17 at Illinois W 9-4
05/06/17 at Illinois L 2-6
05/07/17 at Illinois L 6-8
05/09/17 UMBC W 6-2

Dropped the road series to the Illini which relinquished the top spot to Nebraska. Maryland's last attempt to put the pressure on the Huskers is this week against the Wildcats since the Terps are off B1G play the final weekend.

Up next:
5/12 - 5/14 Northwestern

Bloomington Bound?: NW
Current position: two way tie for 2nd
Maryland's hopes for the regular season crown falls on what happens this weekend against Northwestern and how things play out for everyone else next weekend. Its a tight window but the opportunity is still there. Although with the Wildcats in contention for the final B1G seed this weekend will not be a walk in the park.

#16 Michigan 36-12 (11-7) RPI: 43

05/05/17 OHIO STATE W 6-0
05/06/17 OHIO STATE W 5-2
05/07/17 OHIO STATE L 2-4
05/09/17 CENTRAL MICH. W 4-2
05/10/17 at Central Mich. L 3-4

Almost had the sweep on the Buckeyes but still picked up a needed series win to keep hope alive in possibly sneaking away with a regular season title. The Wolverines have a significant matchup with the Boilermakers this weekend in which both teams are trying to get one of the top seeds in the tournament.

Up next:
5/12 - 5/14 @Purdue
5/16 Eastern Michigan

Bloomington Bound?: @Purdue, @MSU
Current position: two way tie for 4th
Michigan has the toughest remaining B1G schedule out of the teams with a shot at the regular season title. However, as long as the Wolverines get at least one series win they should be in Bloomington.

Michigan State 26-19 (8-10) RPI: 89

05/05/17 IOWA L 2-3
05/06/17 IOWA W 2-1
05/07/17 IOWA L 4-9
05/09/17 vs. Western Michigan W 7-6
05/10/17 EASTERN MICH. W 11-6

Dropped the series to Iowa but still cling to that 8th seed currently. That may be short lived considering the remaining B1G games the Spartans face with a trip to Lincoln coming up first.

Up next:
5/12 - 5/14 @Nebraska
5/16 @Central Michigan

Bloomington Bound?: @Nebraska, Michigan
Current position: 8th
Still hanging in there but with Northwestern and Illinois right behind them the Spartans have little room for error going forward.

Minnesota 29-15 (12-6) RPI: 72

05/05/17 at Penn State W 6-5
05/06/17 at Penn State W 17-1
05/07/17 at Penn State W 12-4

After dropping a series to Illinois a road trip to Happy Valley was just what the doctor ordered and with the sweep Minnesota is still in the running for the regular season crown. This weekend the Gophers will take a break from B1G play and face off with the top ten rated Dirtbags in an RPI boosting series. After that Minnesota will quickly get back into conference mode doing a doubleheader set with Rutgers which is (kind of) making up for a series that was cancelled earlier in the season.

Up next:
5/12 - 5/14 Long Beach St.
5/16 Rutgers

Bloomington Bound?: Rutgers (2), Purdue
Current position: two way tie for 2nd
The addition of the Rutgers games will make things interesting these final weeks considering: a) its the same week as a weekend series with Purdue, b) its only two games rather than three, and c) it might determine if Minnesota gets the regular season title or gets screwed over.

Nebraska 30-16-1 (12-5-1) RPI: 36

05/05/17 RUTGERS W 8-5
05/06/17 RUTGERS W 9-3
05/07/17 RUTGERS W 7-6
05/10/17 at Creighton W 4-0

Picked up the sweep of Rutgers which, coupled with Maryland dropping the Illinois series, gives Nebraska the current top spot. The Huskers also closed out the season long series with Creighton with a win and will take a six game win streak into this weekend's matchup with MSU.

Up next:
5/12 - 5/14 MSU

Bloomington Bound?: MSU, @PSU
Current position: 1st
The goal is in sight for picking up the conference crown but Nebraska will need to stay focused these final two weekends since multiple teams are waiting to be top dog if they falter.

Northwestern 19-27 (8-10) RPI: 223

05/05/17 at Purdue W 7-2
05/06/17 at Purdue L 1-2
05/07/17 at Purdue W 8-7

Got the series win over Purdue which keeps the Wildcats right behind MSU for that 8th seed. Northwestern will stay on the road to take on a probably pretty pissed off Terps squad.

Up next:
5/12 - 5/14 @Maryland

Bloomington Bound?: @Maryland, Rutgers
Current position: 9th
Passed the test with the matchup against Purdue. Now onto the harder one in traveling to College Park. The wildcats will try to get at least one win to keep the pressure on MSU and/or Illinois.

Ohio State 19-30 (6-12) RPI: 159

05/05/17 at Michigan L 0-6
05/06/17 at Michigan L 2-5
05/07/17 at Michigan W 4-2
05/09/17 BOWLING GREEN W 7-6
05/10/17 BALL STATE L 4-14

Fell to rival Michigan which effectively shut the door on the Buckeyes' postseason hopes. Will get a chance to play the spoiler role in the remaining series with a trip to Iowa City up first.

Up next:
5/12 - 5/14 @Iowa
5/16 Toledo

Bloomington Bound?: @Iowa, Indiana
Current position: 11th
Theoretically still has a shot to make the tournament but aOSU would have to win out to even have a chance so don't count on the Buckeyes defending their tournament title crown this time around.

Penn State 15-33 (2-16) RPI: 224

05/05/17 MINNESOTA L 5-6
05/06/17 MINNESOTA L 1-17
05/07/17 MINNESOTA L 4-12
05/09/17 at West Virginia W 6-5
05/10/17 vs. West Virginia L 2-4

Got the broom treatment in the series with Minnesota but did break a 6 game losing streak in beating a decent Mountaineers squad.

Up next:
5/12 - 5/14 @Indiana
5/16 Villanova

Bloomington Bound?: @Indiana, Nebraska
Current position: 13th
Much like the Buckeyes the Nits are also in spoiler mode the rest of the way.

Purdue 26-21 (10-8) RPI: 116

05/05/17 NORTHWESTERN L 2-7
05/06/17 NORTHWESTERN W 2-1
05/07/17 NORTHWESTERN L 7-8
05/10/17 BUTLER L 2-4

Dropped the series to the Wildcats which hurt Purdue in the standings as well as fall 20 pts. in RPI. Can't dwell on it too much since Michigan is up next in a visit to West Lafayette.

Up next:
5/12 - 5/14 Michigan
5/16 IPFW

Bloomington Bound?: Michigan, @Minnesota
Current position: 7th
The Boilermakers didn't grab as many wins as they hoped vs. Northwestern and with the remaining games not being much easier Purdue might be in trouble of falling out of the top eight.

Rutgers 17-28 (5-10) RPI: 97

05/05/17 at Nebraska L 5-8
05/06/17 at Nebraska L 3-9
05/07/17 at Nebraska L 6-7

Got swept in their visit to Lincoln meaning the opportunity to move to the postseason is closing up fast. Rutgers does have some winnable games left but it might be too little too late at this point in time.

Up next:
5/12 & 5/13 Illinois
5/16 @Minnesota

Bloomington Bound?: Illinois, @Minnesota (2), @Northwestern
Current position: 13th
If the Knights can win out they have a slim shot but a lot of breaks will have to go their way.

Wisconsin -

S

Players of the Week

May 8th 2017

Player of the Week -

Micah Coffey Jr. Minnesota

Hit a .550 AVG with 11 hits, 10 RBIs, plated 9 runs, and 1 HR. Also hit for the cycle in a win over PSU Saturday which was the first time for a Gopher player since 2002. This is his first player of the week award.

Pitcher of the Week -

Oliver Jaskie Jr. Michigan

Had a complete game shutout in his win over aOSU in which he struck out a career high 14 batters. Amazingly this is his 4th pitcher of the week honor.

Freshman of the Week -

Brett Schulze Minnesota

Got the win over PSU in which he pitched 7 innings, struck out 8 batters, and only allowed 1 run on 4 hits. This is his first freshman of the week award.

I Want My BTN

All times EST

BTN/ BTN2Go 2017 Baseball Schedule

Sunday, May 14, 2017

PSU - Indiana 12pm

Michigan - Purdue 3pm

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Louisville - Indiana 6pm

BTN/ BTN2Go 2017 Softball Schedule

B1G Softball Tournament - Bracket

Tournament Central

Thursday, May 11 (First Round)

Game 1 -- No. 8 seed Northwestern 6 - No. 9 seed Purdue 1
Game 2 -- No. 5 seed Nebraska 0 - No. 12 seed Penn State 5
Game 3 -- No. 7 seed Michigan State 8 - No. 10 seed Indiana 7
Game 4 -- No. 6 seed Wisconsin 3 - No. 11 seed Iowa 0

Friday, May 12 (Quarterfinals)

Game 5 -- No. 1 seed Minnesota vs. No. 8 seed Northwestern 11 a.m.
Game 6 -- No. 4 seed Illinois vs. No. 12 seed PSU 1:30 p.m.
Game 7 -- No. 2 seed Michigan vs. No. 7 seed MSU 4:30 p.m.
Game 8 -- No. 3 seed Ohio State vs. No. 6 seed Wisconsin 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 13 (Semifinals)

Game 9 -- Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 10 -- Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 13 (Championship Game)

Game 11 -- Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 6 p.m.

Schedules and players of the week courtesy of bigten.org

RPI courtesy of Boyd's World (http://www.boydsworld.com/baseball/rpi/currentrpi.html)