Indiana University Athletics
For Stiever, it's all about Attack Mode
3/16/2018 9:54:00 AM | Baseball
By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON – Jonathan Stiever isn't here to nibble. Let's get that straight from the beginning.
Indiana's junior pitcher hits the mound in attack mode, and has the stuff to back it up. He goes after hitters ruthlessly, partly because it's the Hoosier way (finesse won't win championships), partly because he has the talent and mindset to make it work.
If you don't believe it, take if from fellow Cream 'n Crimson pitcher Pauly Milto.
"He throws strikes," Milto says. "His fastball jumps. He has a great curveball. He has great stuff. He can locate it wherever he wants."
Darn straight, coach Chris Lemonis says, in so many words.
"He has good stuff, but he also has great command in the zone. He's one of your better strike throwers out there."
Case in point, the eight-inning gem Stiever threw against Pacific last Friday amid cold, gray conditions. It included a career-high 12 strikeouts, two walks, five hits and one run allowed. His fastball approached the mid-90 mph range. His curveball broke in unfair ways.
To say Pacific batters were overmatched is an understatement.
It was, by far, the 6-1, 205-pound Stiever's best performance of the season and the latest indication of why the righthander is expected to have a monster year.
Still, it wasn't enough to earn a victory. Stiever got a no-decision as IU lost, 2-1.
"We all wanted to win," he says. "It (stinks) it wasn't able to go our way."
Expect Stiever to help make it go the Hoosier way, and soon. He is 1-1 and has 32 strikeouts against eight walks in 24.1 innings.
He thrives by throwing strikes at a rate few can match. Against Pacific, 82 of his 108 pitches were strikes.
This follows Lemonis' philosophy of pounding the strike zone with quality pitches.
"As a staff, we work to get ahead in the count," Stiever says. "We attack hitters.
"Obviously, it can be bad if you throw too good a pitch that batters can hit and drive for extra bases.
"This year I'm working on the corners more and not being afraid to miss off the plate."
That means sometimes intentionally throwing outside the zone to get batters to chase balls.
"There's a balance to that," Stiever says. "You want a batter to chase, but you don't want to throw a pitch that's not even competitive and they won't bother to swing at.
"A good pitch will let your defense play behind you. You can get guys out that way."
Dominance was missing in Stiever's first three starts, usually because of one bad inning. Stiever gave up six runs in his first start, against No. 18 Oklahoma, then allowed three each in his next two against Rutgers and No. 13 San Diego.
"The first starts I had some really good things going," he says. "Just an inning or two got away from me. I knew had the ability to finish those innings. I've done it in the past. It's just being able to execute."
Stiever has executed well enough to earn the role of Friday starter, which usually goes to a team's best pitcher, although he downplays the status.
"I don't think anyone looks too much into the days of the week you pitch," he says. "We have a talented staff. Whenever you go out there, you have to be ready to pitch your game. If we all do that, we'll have a successful weekend."
Adds Milto, who has co-team-ace status with a 3-1 record and a 2.36 earned run average: "You go out there do your job. It's not like, 'Oh, I'm going to be better than him. You your job and compete."
Stiever came to IU out of Wisconsin after a two-sport standout career for Cedarburg High School. As a pitcher, he earned all-state honors as a senior and went 15-2 his last two seasons with an earned run average well below 1.50. He also earned all-state honors as a defensive back and receiver in football.
Lemonis was impressed then, and is even more so now.
"He was an athletic pitcher, a competitor," Lemonis says. "His arm worked really well. He threw 88 to 90 miles an hour, and he threw a lot of strikes.
"Everything we heard was that his makeup was really high. Everybody was right. He was a rock for us. You don't worry about Jon. He just shows up and does his job."
Did Stiever ever consider picking football over baseball?
The short answer – no.
"I thought maybe a little about playing football when I was younger," he says, "but as I got older, I fell more toward baseball."
For Stiever, choosing the Hoosiers was a no-brainer.
"I was late in the recruiting process," he says. "Coach Lemonis had a relationship with my club coach, and it worked out from there -- the facilities, the coaching staff, the tradition. They'd been really successful in recent years.
"Everything fell into place. When you look at the facilities we have, and everything around the campus, it was pretty much perfect for me."
Those facilities include a new LED video scoreboard looming over the left-center field wall at Bart Kaufman Stadium. It measures 26.8-foot high by 48.7-feet wide, and has enough bells and whistles to rival professional stadiums.
"It's awesome," Stiever says. "It's been in the works for a while. It's good to see. It's impressive. The people behind the scenes have put a lot of work into it."
Stiever is a key member of a potentially dominant pitching staff. Milto is another. He is 3-1 with a 2.26 earned run average. He was in control in last Saturday's 3-1 win over Pacific, recording a career-high-tying nine strikeouts in seven innings.
"They fill up the zone and compete," Lemonis says of Stiever and Milto. "They've been good their whole careers, but we're seeing the best of them right now."
If the rest of the pitching staff follows their lead, and if the offense plays to its potential, the No. 14 Hoosiers (12-4) will be well on their way toward meeting expectations of a Big Ten title and a deep NCAA tourney run.
"We have a confident group of guys," Stiever says. "We know what we're capable of. It's having that experience, as well as having a lot of young guys coming through early in the season. That helps everybody gain confidence."
As for last week's home losses to Cincinnati and Pacific, Stiever says, "We had a rough bump. We're experienced and mature enough to get over that. We have the talent to do good things.
"The key is playing our game day in and day out. It's showing up every day. Stay on our path and not let others dictate how we're doing.
"If we do that, with the talent we have, we should have a really successful season."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON – Jonathan Stiever isn't here to nibble. Let's get that straight from the beginning.
Indiana's junior pitcher hits the mound in attack mode, and has the stuff to back it up. He goes after hitters ruthlessly, partly because it's the Hoosier way (finesse won't win championships), partly because he has the talent and mindset to make it work.
If you don't believe it, take if from fellow Cream 'n Crimson pitcher Pauly Milto.
"He throws strikes," Milto says. "His fastball jumps. He has a great curveball. He has great stuff. He can locate it wherever he wants."
Darn straight, coach Chris Lemonis says, in so many words.
"He has good stuff, but he also has great command in the zone. He's one of your better strike throwers out there."
Case in point, the eight-inning gem Stiever threw against Pacific last Friday amid cold, gray conditions. It included a career-high 12 strikeouts, two walks, five hits and one run allowed. His fastball approached the mid-90 mph range. His curveball broke in unfair ways.
To say Pacific batters were overmatched is an understatement.
It was, by far, the 6-1, 205-pound Stiever's best performance of the season and the latest indication of why the righthander is expected to have a monster year.
Still, it wasn't enough to earn a victory. Stiever got a no-decision as IU lost, 2-1.
"We all wanted to win," he says. "It (stinks) it wasn't able to go our way."
Expect Stiever to help make it go the Hoosier way, and soon. He is 1-1 and has 32 strikeouts against eight walks in 24.1 innings.
He thrives by throwing strikes at a rate few can match. Against Pacific, 82 of his 108 pitches were strikes.
This follows Lemonis' philosophy of pounding the strike zone with quality pitches.
"As a staff, we work to get ahead in the count," Stiever says. "We attack hitters.
"Obviously, it can be bad if you throw too good a pitch that batters can hit and drive for extra bases.
"This year I'm working on the corners more and not being afraid to miss off the plate."
That means sometimes intentionally throwing outside the zone to get batters to chase balls.
"There's a balance to that," Stiever says. "You want a batter to chase, but you don't want to throw a pitch that's not even competitive and they won't bother to swing at.
"A good pitch will let your defense play behind you. You can get guys out that way."
Dominance was missing in Stiever's first three starts, usually because of one bad inning. Stiever gave up six runs in his first start, against No. 18 Oklahoma, then allowed three each in his next two against Rutgers and No. 13 San Diego.
"The first starts I had some really good things going," he says. "Just an inning or two got away from me. I knew had the ability to finish those innings. I've done it in the past. It's just being able to execute."
Stiever has executed well enough to earn the role of Friday starter, which usually goes to a team's best pitcher, although he downplays the status.
"I don't think anyone looks too much into the days of the week you pitch," he says. "We have a talented staff. Whenever you go out there, you have to be ready to pitch your game. If we all do that, we'll have a successful weekend."
Adds Milto, who has co-team-ace status with a 3-1 record and a 2.36 earned run average: "You go out there do your job. It's not like, 'Oh, I'm going to be better than him. You your job and compete."
Stiever came to IU out of Wisconsin after a two-sport standout career for Cedarburg High School. As a pitcher, he earned all-state honors as a senior and went 15-2 his last two seasons with an earned run average well below 1.50. He also earned all-state honors as a defensive back and receiver in football.
Lemonis was impressed then, and is even more so now.
"He was an athletic pitcher, a competitor," Lemonis says. "His arm worked really well. He threw 88 to 90 miles an hour, and he threw a lot of strikes.
"Everything we heard was that his makeup was really high. Everybody was right. He was a rock for us. You don't worry about Jon. He just shows up and does his job."
Did Stiever ever consider picking football over baseball?
The short answer – no.
"I thought maybe a little about playing football when I was younger," he says, "but as I got older, I fell more toward baseball."
For Stiever, choosing the Hoosiers was a no-brainer.
"I was late in the recruiting process," he says. "Coach Lemonis had a relationship with my club coach, and it worked out from there -- the facilities, the coaching staff, the tradition. They'd been really successful in recent years.
"Everything fell into place. When you look at the facilities we have, and everything around the campus, it was pretty much perfect for me."
Those facilities include a new LED video scoreboard looming over the left-center field wall at Bart Kaufman Stadium. It measures 26.8-foot high by 48.7-feet wide, and has enough bells and whistles to rival professional stadiums.
"It's awesome," Stiever says. "It's been in the works for a while. It's good to see. It's impressive. The people behind the scenes have put a lot of work into it."
Stiever is a key member of a potentially dominant pitching staff. Milto is another. He is 3-1 with a 2.26 earned run average. He was in control in last Saturday's 3-1 win over Pacific, recording a career-high-tying nine strikeouts in seven innings.
"They fill up the zone and compete," Lemonis says of Stiever and Milto. "They've been good their whole careers, but we're seeing the best of them right now."
If the rest of the pitching staff follows their lead, and if the offense plays to its potential, the No. 14 Hoosiers (12-4) will be well on their way toward meeting expectations of a Big Ten title and a deep NCAA tourney run.
"We have a confident group of guys," Stiever says. "We know what we're capable of. It's having that experience, as well as having a lot of young guys coming through early in the season. That helps everybody gain confidence."
As for last week's home losses to Cincinnati and Pacific, Stiever says, "We had a rough bump. We're experienced and mature enough to get over that. We have the talent to do good things.
"The key is playing our game day in and day out. It's showing up every day. Stay on our path and not let others dictate how we're doing.
"If we do that, with the talent we have, we should have a really successful season."
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