Indiana University Athletics
Kelzer Relishing the Pressure Situations
5/2/2016 11:35:00 AM | Baseball
By: Tori Ziege | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Twice during a must-win weekend series against Northwestern with the game on the line, Indiana turned to junior closer Jake Kelzer.
Twice, he delivered the win.
Kelzer pitched four innings over Games 2 and 3, allowing only one hit and zero runs. Those blanks proved to be the difference maker, as the Hoosiers rallied both times after Kelzer took the mound.
Each contest in the series — two played on Friday, one on Sunday — was decided by a single run, with the Hoosiers taking each decision to sweep the Wildcats 2-1, 4-3 and 7-6 for wins they simply had to have.
"We're like a Rocky Movie," head coach Chris Lemonis said. "We just keep getting punched and knocked down, and we fight back. We've learned to play from behind and have success."
In Game 2 of the Friday double-header, Lemonis called upon Kelzer to close out a tie game in the ninth. He responded with a 1-2-3 inning, striking out one, and giving junior Craig Dedelow all the ammunition he needed to strike with the walk-off at-bat.
In Game 3, Kelzer manned the bump from the seventh inning on. He provided the clean-up for starter Evan Bell and relief pitchers Pauly Milto and Thomas Belcher.
Northwestern took the one-run lead, and Kelzer walked his first batter and singled the next to put runners on first and second. He worked himself out of the jam, however, and Indiana retook the lead in the bottom of the frame off two unearned runs.
Kelzer shut the door the rest of the way, pitching a three-up, three-down eighth and ninth as the Hoosiers cruised to victory, his third of the year.
"The mentality is to throw strikes," Kelzer said. "That's how I've been going about it."
Kelzer attributed his success on the hill to his careful study of Northwestern's hitters. He saw Bell have an advantage through the first six innings when he got ahead on the count, and set on the same strategy once he was freed from the pen.
Entering back-to-back games with the decision riding on his shoulders, Kelzer said he didn't feel any pressure. Instead, he relished in it, allowing only words such as "exciting" and "fun" to enter his thoughts.
"I don't want to be over-thinking things and using the word pressure in my head," he said. "It's baseball, it should be fun, so that's how I'm thinking about it."
With just about every game a must-win from now until the Big Ten Tournament as Indiana (26-16, 11-4) looks to catch first-place Minnesota (25-13, 11-3) to win the conference and earn a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, having fun and playing relaxed is the key, Kelzer said.
But having a reliable closer doesn't hurt, either.
"The stuff is so good when he's in the zone," Lemonis said. "He's just locating right now."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Twice during a must-win weekend series against Northwestern with the game on the line, Indiana turned to junior closer Jake Kelzer.
Twice, he delivered the win.
Kelzer pitched four innings over Games 2 and 3, allowing only one hit and zero runs. Those blanks proved to be the difference maker, as the Hoosiers rallied both times after Kelzer took the mound.
Each contest in the series — two played on Friday, one on Sunday — was decided by a single run, with the Hoosiers taking each decision to sweep the Wildcats 2-1, 4-3 and 7-6 for wins they simply had to have.
"We're like a Rocky Movie," head coach Chris Lemonis said. "We just keep getting punched and knocked down, and we fight back. We've learned to play from behind and have success."
In Game 2 of the Friday double-header, Lemonis called upon Kelzer to close out a tie game in the ninth. He responded with a 1-2-3 inning, striking out one, and giving junior Craig Dedelow all the ammunition he needed to strike with the walk-off at-bat.
In Game 3, Kelzer manned the bump from the seventh inning on. He provided the clean-up for starter Evan Bell and relief pitchers Pauly Milto and Thomas Belcher.
Northwestern took the one-run lead, and Kelzer walked his first batter and singled the next to put runners on first and second. He worked himself out of the jam, however, and Indiana retook the lead in the bottom of the frame off two unearned runs.
Kelzer shut the door the rest of the way, pitching a three-up, three-down eighth and ninth as the Hoosiers cruised to victory, his third of the year.
"The mentality is to throw strikes," Kelzer said. "That's how I've been going about it."
Kelzer attributed his success on the hill to his careful study of Northwestern's hitters. He saw Bell have an advantage through the first six innings when he got ahead on the count, and set on the same strategy once he was freed from the pen.
Entering back-to-back games with the decision riding on his shoulders, Kelzer said he didn't feel any pressure. Instead, he relished in it, allowing only words such as "exciting" and "fun" to enter his thoughts.
"I don't want to be over-thinking things and using the word pressure in my head," he said. "It's baseball, it should be fun, so that's how I'm thinking about it."
With just about every game a must-win from now until the Big Ten Tournament as Indiana (26-16, 11-4) looks to catch first-place Minnesota (25-13, 11-3) to win the conference and earn a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, having fun and playing relaxed is the key, Kelzer said.
But having a reliable closer doesn't hurt, either.
"The stuff is so good when he's in the zone," Lemonis said. "He's just locating right now."
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