Doanes Exhibits Hoosier DNA with Season Adjustments
5/17/2022 10:30:00 AM | Baseball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tyler Doanes adjusts. Of course he does. Indiana's second baseman doesn't rattle. Would you expect anything less?
Welcome to the process of making a difference, for himself and the Hoosiers, in this late season push to Big Ten tourney relevance.
Make Doanes the leadoff hitter, as he was for the season's first 26 games, and brace yourself (see the first-pitch home run he smacked in the second game of the season against Clemson).
Drop him to eighth in order, as he is now, and he thrives. Consider the four hits, two walks, five runs scored, and one run batted in he delivered in Sunday's split with Minnesota.
Attack him with fastballs as he saw for most of the season, or switch up with curveballs, as Minnesota tried, and he deals with it as you'd expect a fifth-year senior would.
Doanes works with head coach Jeff Mercer and assistant coach Derek Simmons on the nuances of hitting, and it's paid off with a .266 average, 43 runs scored, 30 RBI and the ability to spray hits all over the park.
"Me and Coach Simmons and Coach Mercer are in the lab every day working on adjustability," Doanes says. "(On Sunday) I did a good job of it."
More importantly, he and shortstop Phillip Glasser (back from a hand injury that cost him 12 games) jump start the bottom of the lineup to give lead-off hitter Bobby Whalen, Hunter Jesse and Josh Pyne a chance to punish whatever pitcher faces the Hoosiers.
"They put us in the bottom on the lineup," Doanes says, "and it's our job is to turn it back over. Give it back to Bobby. We did a good job of that. The runs showed that."
Specifically, Glasser and Doanes combined for eight of the 20 runs IU scored on Sunday.
Glasser led IU in hitting before his injury. After a big weekend, he still does with a .344 average.
"It felt like he's been gone for decades," Doanes says with a laugh. "It's good to have him back."
After four seasons at West Virginia, Doanes wanted a fresh start. Indiana, with a decade-long run of success that includes a College World Series berth, has provided it.
"This (program) is known across the country," he says. "This team and everybody here has taken me in. I am thankful for it.
"It's my last year to come out and play. I want to give it my all and have a lot of fun."
Fun finds IU (24-27) hosting Illinois State (19-27) on Tuesday before ending the regular season with a three-game series at Iowa, starting on Thursday, that will decide whether the Hoosiers make the eight-team Big Ten tourney in Nebraska.
"The whole year the expectation was to win," Doanes says. "Our goal is to keep winning.
"We're not focused on the Big Ten Tournament. We're focused on Illinois State and Iowa. We'll go game by game and try to win out."
IU is tied with Michigan for sixth in the Big Ten standings. Both teams are 10-11, just ahead of Purdue (9-10) for the final berth in the upcoming conference tournament.
Mercer focuses on the now rather than what might be.
"I don't know where we stand. All I know is, we have to win today to worry about tomorrow."
The Hoosiers would have taken some of the stress off this weekend's series by sweeping Minnesota. They were positioned to do that after taking an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning in Sunday's second game, but failed to score the clinching runs despite having the bases loaded with no outs, then gave up a two-run home run in the ninth to lose.
Still, they won their fourth straight Big Ten series to give themselves a tourney-making opportunity after a slow start to the season.
"I'm proud of those guys," Mercer says. "It was a tumultuous start to the season, and to watch the growth of these young players and see us start winning those close games."
IU has won eight of its last 12 Big Ten games.
"The goal as a coach is to get better over the course of a year and play your best ball in the last month," Mercer says. "The toughness and competitiveness from the kids has been terrific.
"Want those guys to keep going. We've pushed them. They've been forced to bear it out. They have had to battle to be in this position."
Falling behind hasn't rattled the Hoosiers, whose combination of relentless offense and effective relief pitching have made comebacks the norm.
"We've had multiple comebacks and massive bullpen performances," Mercer says. "That we're able to do it every day has been a pleasure to watch."
Pleasure starts with stabilizing "the culture and the environment."
"It's setting expectations every day," Mercer says. "When you have a young team, you try to set the standard and DNA of the program for now and the future.
"You have to have a goal in a mind. We'll keep working and coaching those guys till they get where they want to go. Where we want to go."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tyler Doanes adjusts. Of course he does. Indiana's second baseman doesn't rattle. Would you expect anything less?
Welcome to the process of making a difference, for himself and the Hoosiers, in this late season push to Big Ten tourney relevance.
Make Doanes the leadoff hitter, as he was for the season's first 26 games, and brace yourself (see the first-pitch home run he smacked in the second game of the season against Clemson).
Drop him to eighth in order, as he is now, and he thrives. Consider the four hits, two walks, five runs scored, and one run batted in he delivered in Sunday's split with Minnesota.
Attack him with fastballs as he saw for most of the season, or switch up with curveballs, as Minnesota tried, and he deals with it as you'd expect a fifth-year senior would.
Doanes works with head coach Jeff Mercer and assistant coach Derek Simmons on the nuances of hitting, and it's paid off with a .266 average, 43 runs scored, 30 RBI and the ability to spray hits all over the park.
"Me and Coach Simmons and Coach Mercer are in the lab every day working on adjustability," Doanes says. "(On Sunday) I did a good job of it."
More importantly, he and shortstop Phillip Glasser (back from a hand injury that cost him 12 games) jump start the bottom of the lineup to give lead-off hitter Bobby Whalen, Hunter Jesse and Josh Pyne a chance to punish whatever pitcher faces the Hoosiers.
"They put us in the bottom on the lineup," Doanes says, "and it's our job is to turn it back over. Give it back to Bobby. We did a good job of that. The runs showed that."
Specifically, Glasser and Doanes combined for eight of the 20 runs IU scored on Sunday.
Glasser led IU in hitting before his injury. After a big weekend, he still does with a .344 average.
"It felt like he's been gone for decades," Doanes says with a laugh. "It's good to have him back."
After four seasons at West Virginia, Doanes wanted a fresh start. Indiana, with a decade-long run of success that includes a College World Series berth, has provided it.
"This (program) is known across the country," he says. "This team and everybody here has taken me in. I am thankful for it.
"It's my last year to come out and play. I want to give it my all and have a lot of fun."
Fun finds IU (24-27) hosting Illinois State (19-27) on Tuesday before ending the regular season with a three-game series at Iowa, starting on Thursday, that will decide whether the Hoosiers make the eight-team Big Ten tourney in Nebraska.
"The whole year the expectation was to win," Doanes says. "Our goal is to keep winning.
"We're not focused on the Big Ten Tournament. We're focused on Illinois State and Iowa. We'll go game by game and try to win out."
IU is tied with Michigan for sixth in the Big Ten standings. Both teams are 10-11, just ahead of Purdue (9-10) for the final berth in the upcoming conference tournament.
Mercer focuses on the now rather than what might be.
"I don't know where we stand. All I know is, we have to win today to worry about tomorrow."
The Hoosiers would have taken some of the stress off this weekend's series by sweeping Minnesota. They were positioned to do that after taking an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning in Sunday's second game, but failed to score the clinching runs despite having the bases loaded with no outs, then gave up a two-run home run in the ninth to lose.
Still, they won their fourth straight Big Ten series to give themselves a tourney-making opportunity after a slow start to the season.
"I'm proud of those guys," Mercer says. "It was a tumultuous start to the season, and to watch the growth of these young players and see us start winning those close games."
IU has won eight of its last 12 Big Ten games.
"The goal as a coach is to get better over the course of a year and play your best ball in the last month," Mercer says. "The toughness and competitiveness from the kids has been terrific.
"Want those guys to keep going. We've pushed them. They've been forced to bear it out. They have had to battle to be in this position."
Falling behind hasn't rattled the Hoosiers, whose combination of relentless offense and effective relief pitching have made comebacks the norm.
"We've had multiple comebacks and massive bullpen performances," Mercer says. "That we're able to do it every day has been a pleasure to watch."
Pleasure starts with stabilizing "the culture and the environment."
"It's setting expectations every day," Mercer says. "When you have a young team, you try to set the standard and DNA of the program for now and the future.
"You have to have a goal in a mind. We'll keep working and coaching those guys till they get where they want to go. Where we want to go."
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