Indiana University Baseball Third Baseman Josh Pyne named Big Ten Freshman of The Week
After advancing his reached streak in each of the five games last week, Indiana baseball freshman Josh Pyne was tabbed as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week the conference office announced Wednesday afternoon. Pyne who hails from Bloomfield Indiana and played at Linton-Stockton High School was on base multiple times in each of his five starts last week to move his reached base streak to 29 games, the third longest single season streak at IU since at least 2005. The streak is tied for the fifth longest streak in the Big Ten in 2022 and the longest by a freshman.
On the week, he hit .381 (8-of-21) with a .500 (7-of-14) average and five extra base hits in Indiana’s series victory over Nebraska. In the series with the Cornhuskers, Pyne posted three straight multi-hit efforts and doubled once in each game. He added a three-run home run in the series opener and a triple in the series finale. He posted seven RBIs in the three games versus Nebraska, including three-RBI efforts in the first two games to help IU wrap up the series win on Saturday. He struck out just twice in 24 plate appearances and added six runs scored in five games on the week. It is the first Big Ten weekly honor for Pyne, who leads all Big Ten freshmen with 39 RBIs and is #2 in hits among the conference rookies. The last Big Ten Freshman of the Week for Indiana was Morgan Colopy on April 27, 2021.
Indiana University Athletes earn Big Ten Medal of Honor
Indiana University Athletes Kristen Hayden-Women’s Diving and Ben Veatch–Men’s Cross Country/Track and Field) have earned the Big Ten Medal of Honor. The award is given to a person who strives for excellence in both athletics and academics.
Hayden joined Indiana during the 2021-22 season and went on to win silver on the 3-meter springboard at the NCAA championships where she qualified for All-America honors in all three diving events. In March, Hayden also won silver on the 1-meter board and sixth in platform diving at the conference meet, where she was awarded second team All-Big Ten. During the regular season, Hayden was named Big Ten Diver of the Week twice and in February she scored 399.38 on the 3M to break the program’s dual meet record. In December, Hayden became USA Diving’s first black female national champion when she won the mixed synchro 3-meter dive with IU teammate Quinn Henninger at winter nationals. Hayden also serves on USA Diving’s Diversity Equality and Inclusion Council. A liberal studies major, Hayden has earned a 4.00 GPA while at IU.
Ben Veatch is a seven time All-American and 15 time All-Big Ten honoree. He holds school records in the indoor 3000m and 5000m. In the indoor record book, Veatch has one top-10 marks while holding another three outdoors. Veatch has claimed Big Ten Championships in the 3000m, 5000m, and 10000m. In the classroom Veatch has earned All-Big Ten and Distinguished scholar accolades every year he has been at IU.
The Big Ten, the nation’s oldest collegiate conference, commemorates the 108th anniversary of a very unique tradition – the Big Ten Medal of Honor. The conference’s most exclusive award was the first of its kind in intercollegiate athletics to recognize academic and athletic excellence. The Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had “attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work.” Big Ten schools currently feature almost 9,500 student-athletes, but only 28 earn this prestigious award on an annual basis. In the 108 years of the Medal of Honor, over 1,400 student-athletes have earned this distinction.
NFL draft begins in Las Vegas
The 2022 NFL Draft will take place tonight through Saturday in Las Vegas. ESPN/ ABC and NFL Network will coverage of all seven rounds starting at 8 pm this evening with Round 1. Round 2-3 begins tomorrow at 7 pm and Rounds 4-7 will start Saturday at Noon.
The Indianapolis Colts have 8 draft picks overall. Thursday the have the 23rd overall pick in the first round. On Friday the Colts have 23rd pick in round 2 and 23rd pick in Round 3. On Saturday the Colts will wait until Round 6 to make a selection as they do not have a fourth or fifth round pick. They will select 23rd and 37th in the sixth round. They have the 23rd, 35th, and 36th picks in the 7th Round.
There will be 262 names called during the three-day event and the Jacksonville Jaguars will have the first overall pick for the second year in a row after selecting Clemson Quarterback Trevor Lawrence in 2021.
Former IUMBB Player Khristian Lander transfers to Western Kentucky
Khristian Lander announced on Wednesday that he will transfer to Western Kentucky University to play under head coach Rick Stansbury. Lander has three years of eligibility remaining. Lander’s commitment post on Twitter says, “Like father, like son.” Lander’s father Keith played cornerback and safety on the Western Kentucky football team.
Lander will play for the Hilltoppers after spending two seasons at Indiana. He was recruited by former Indiana head coach Archie Miller and arrived in Bloomington as after his junior year. Lander skipped his senior year of high school at Evansville Reitz and reclassified into the 2020 class. He was ranked as a five-star recruit, the No. 27 player in the nation and the No. 1 player in the state of Indiana, according to 247Sports. Lander came to Indiana with a lot of hype, but his career as a Hoosier never panned out. Under Miller as a freshman, Lander appeared in 20 games and averaged 10.1 minutes per game. Coming off the bench, Lander averaged 2.1 points per game and shot 26% from the field. Lander’s career-high scoring total came on December 13, 2020, when he scored 10 points in Indiana’s win over North Alabama. In this game, Lander also grabbed a season-high four rebounds.
Following his freshman season, Lander entered the transfer portal but decided to return to Bloomington after Indiana hired Mike Woodson as its next coach. In a Twitter post announcing his return, Lander expressed his trust in Woodson. During Lander’s second season in Bloomington, he was stuck behind two veteran guards in the depth chart and struggled to see the floor on a consistent basis. Lander also dealt with a leg injury throughout the season, resulting in him playing in 13 games off the bench. Lander averaged 2.9 points per game and shot 45 percent from the field while playing 8.8 minutes per game. As a sophomore, Lander’s season-high came against Louisiana on November 21, 2021. In this game, he also totaled a season-high six rebounds, six assists two steals and four turnovers.
Lander will now start his next chapter at Western Kentucky, who finished with a 19-13 overall record last season. The Hilltoppers compete in Conference USA and finished in second place in the East Division last season with an 11-7 record in conference. Western Kentucky’s season came to an end with a 59-57 loss to Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA tournament.
Indianapolis Indians Coverage
Indians Fall to Iowa in Shortest Nine Inning Game Since 2017
Ji-Hwan Bae launched his first career Triple-A home run, but the Indianapolis Indians offense was held to just four hits in a 3-2 loss to the Iowa Cubs on Wednesday afternoon at Principal Park in Des Moines Iowa. The game lasted just two hours and five minutes which is shortest nine inning game for the Indians franchise since 2017. Both teams are 10-9 on the season and will face each other this evening in Game four of the six-game series at 7:38 pm Eastern Time.
Indians Record: 10-9 LP: Brad Case (1-1) / Iowa Record: 10-9 WP: Erich Uelmen (2-0 ) SV: Eric Stout (1)
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