The challenge of winning on the road becomes exponentially more difficult when it involves facing a ranked opponent in three games in three consecutive days. With that in mind, the Michigan baseball team will have the odds stacked against it as it goes on the road to play No. 17 Indiana this weekend.

The Wolverines don’t seem to care in the slightest, though.

“We think we’re the best team,” said sophomore left-hander Trent Szkutnik. “That’s what’s going to happen this weekend and that’s our mentality going into that.”

Though the Hoosiers (8-4 Big Ten, 31-8 overall) are currently tied with Michigan (8-4, 22-17) for third place in the Big Ten standings, the teams have performed very differently throughout the majority of the season. Indiana boasts the statistics of a top team in the country, ranking No. 6 in team ERA and No. 12 in team batting average through April 21.

Michigan coach Erik Bakich believes his team won’t be fazed by the Hoosiers’ gaudy statistics, pointing to his team’s earlier sweep of Michigan State as an indicator that the Wolverines can compete with anybody.

“We prepare better than any team in the country,” Bakich said. “Just because we’re facing a team that statistically is better than some of the teams we’ve faced already doesn’t mean we do more or less.”

But the odds continue to mount against Michigan. The Wolverines have lost three of their last four games after their 10-game winning streak was snapped last Friday at Northwestern.

Though the first loss of the four was due in large part to the dominance of Wildcat right-hander Luke Farrell, the second two were caused in large part by Michigan mistakes. In Sunday’s loss to Northwestern, the Wolverines committed three errors late in the game, as they blew a seventh-inning 2-0 lead. During Tuesday’s loss against Eastern Michigan, the Michigan pitching staff had a meltdown, allowing 15 runs. Though the abysmal performance was likely an aberration because of how well the Wolverines have pitched throughout the rest of April, any type of mistake against the Hoosiers could be costly.

“We always put the emphasis on ourselves,” Bakich said. “That’s why our mentality is to play the game against the game. Our biggest opponent, no matter who we’re playing whether it’s Indiana or Mount St. Mary’s or the New York Mets, is always ourselves.”

Bakich plans to use his all-left-hander rotation against Indiana, consisting of Szkutnik, freshman Evan Hill and redshirt junior Logan McAnallen — who have all had consistent success against Big Ten competition. Last weekend, the trio combined to pitch 21 innings, giving up just three runs. Unfortunately for Michigan, its offense was only able to score seven runs in the series. In order to defeat the Hoosiers, the Wolverines will need their offense to perform like it did on Tuesday against the Eagles when it scored 10 runs, aided by 12 stolen bases.

With the Big Ten season halfway over, a series win over Indiana would go a long way in helping the Wolverines solidify a spot in the Big Ten Tournament. Whether Michigan wins or loses, Bakich is looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s going to be a great challenge,” Bakich said. “It’s going to be three games between two of the best teams in the league.”