Indiana University Athletics
Find A Way – Baseball Makes Late-Season Surge
5/6/2022 1:00:00 PM | Baseball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Sometimes you find a way.
If you're a competitor, and these Indiana baseball Hoosiers certainly are, you fight back from flaws, mistakes, losses and missed opportunities because anything else isn't acceptable.
"Successful people are the bedrock of this program," coach Jeff Mercer says. "It comes down to finding the right people with the right DNA who make great decisions."
Despite being rocked by a slow season-opening start against a rugged schedule and then staggered by a mid-season slide against beatable opponents, IU is poised for a special finish.
Why?
How?
It starts, Mercer adds, with belief.
"You play pitch by pitch, inning by inning. Whatever happens, happens. There's no reason why we can't compete."
Proof came during last Sunday's winner-take-all series finale against Illinois, which is third in the Big Ten standings.
IU's 7-3 fifth-inning deficit morphed into a possible season-saving victory. Now comes a three-game weekend series at Michigan with a chance to really shake up the conference order.
"We're a tough team, on the mound and hitting," freshman third baseman Josh Pyne says. "That showed it right there. Everybody competed. We wanted to win. We needed to win. Everybody stepped in the box competing. Doing as much as they could. The pieces fell together."
A fierce wind whipped around Bart Kaufman Field as he spoke. Truth and perspective whip with it.
"Sometimes that doesn't happen for us," Pyne says. "Sometimes we get tough breaks. But (Sunday) it fell our way."
A pause.
"It felt good."
There's a lot of good these days for a Cream 'n Crimson squad -- dominated by underclassmen -- that's finally figuring out how to win against elite competition.
IU (20-24) has won seven of its last nine games. It went from a team that seemed to have no chance to make the eight-team Big Ten tourney -- painful for this conference powerhouse over the last decade -- to one positioned to do just that.
"They struggled," Mercer says. "We saw that. They had adversity. You have to respond and respond and respond. Eventually, you get used to doing that. It becomes part of your DNA. That's what you're seeing."
With a 6-9 conference record, Indiana is tied for ninth in the conference standings with Michigan State and Nebraska. Just ahead are Purdue (6-7), Northwestern (7-8) and Penn State (7-8).
IU has nine remaining Big Ten games -- three-game series against Michigan (9-6), Minnesota (2-13) and Iowa (10-5) -- to surge past them, make the conference tourney and, perhaps, push into the NCAA tourney field.
"When you have a young team," Mercer says, "they have to grow up. When you play a tough schedule early, and run those guys through the gauntlet, there's nothing they haven't seen.
"It's a growth and a process. That's what we're seeing now. Growth is predicated on opportunity and experience. A tough early schedule prepared those guys for what it will be like."
It's more than that, freshman left fielder Carter Mathison says.
"We're playing together as a team," he says. "We're all one. We have one goal.
"It was a rude awakening to realize we might not make the Big Ten Tournament. Now that we are in this position, we have a big goal ahead. It's not over yet. We have three weekends left. Those are big for us."
Mercer saw this coming even while others pushed doubt.
"It's an attitude. Just keep going. You can't get down and quit competing. We didn't. It's a great testament to the kids. They were awesome."
At times, "awesome" seemed as likely as Earth gaining a new moon. A banged-up pitching staff, ill-timed injuries (including losing leading hitter Phillip Glasser and his .340 average to a broken finger), inconsistency and youth (four freshmen and two sophomores started against Illinois) left the Hoosiers as apparent Big Ten also-rans.
Not anymore.
"We had some guys in the rotation that went down with injuries," Mercer says. "You bank on those guys to compete for big innings, and then you lose 10 to 12 innings on a weekend after losing so many guys to the draft last year. It's tough."
The good news …
"Young guys can grow up," Mercer says. "You have to go through it a little bit."
Consider sophomore pitcher Reese Sharp, who dominated Illinois with 4 1/3 scoreless relief innings last Sunday. His 2-6 record and 8.24 earned run average don't reflect how well he's pitched lately.
"Reese is a perfect example," Mercer says. "He was incredible (against Illinois). It was one of the best pitching performances I've seen.
"The first month, he really struggled. Now he's stepped up."
Sharp isn't alone. Pitchers Luke Hayden (4-0) and Ty Bothwell (1-1, 28 strikeouts in 30.2 innings) have improved. Jack Perkins is 3-2 with team bests in earned run average (4.28) and strikeouts (66).
"We had to grow up on the mound," Mercer says.
Beyond the pitching, outfielders Hunter Jesse (.339 average) and Samuel Murrison (.250), "have really developed." Max Johnson and Evan Goforth (.286) "are doing great jobs."
Add strong seasons from Bobby Whalen (.330, 21 steals in 23 attempts), Pyne (.312, five home runs, 44 runs batted in), Matthew Ellis (.274, Big Ten-leading 14 home runs, team-high 47 RBI), Brock Tibbitts (.273, eight home runs, 34 RBI) and Mathison (.265, 13 homers, 40 RBI, team-leading 40 runs scored), and you have an IU squad peaking at the right time.
"We're incredibly resilient," Mercer says. "Guys show up. We keep putting on pressure. We keep having (good) at bats."
All of this seemed unlikely when the season began in late February.
IU lost its first four games and five of its first six, including to No. 2 Arkansas and No. 6 Stanford.
More recently, there were nine losses in an 11-game stretch, painful given they came by one, two, two, one and two runs when victory was there for the taking.
The Hoosiers were unfazed. The more they played, the less youth became an issue. They also go healthier.
"We're putting it all together -- hitting and pitching," Pyne says. "We struggled with that early in the season. Now, it's falling into place. When we do that, we're one of the best teams in the country."
If that seems more youthful brashness than reality, don't tell Mercer. He's too busy pushing his we-can-do-this message.
"As long as they do the best they can and follow the plan, if you win, you win, if you lose, you lose. You don't change the way you coach whether things are going your way or not. It's the same routine over and over.
"We're getting better pitching. We've been a great offense for the most part (IU has 13 games of scoring 10 or more runs). We've played good defense.
"You put them in situations to be successful. Support them. Love them. Encourage them when they go 0-for-4 or give up seven runs. Have them get back out there and do it again."
Bottom line -- you find a way.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Sometimes you find a way.
If you're a competitor, and these Indiana baseball Hoosiers certainly are, you fight back from flaws, mistakes, losses and missed opportunities because anything else isn't acceptable.
"Successful people are the bedrock of this program," coach Jeff Mercer says. "It comes down to finding the right people with the right DNA who make great decisions."
Despite being rocked by a slow season-opening start against a rugged schedule and then staggered by a mid-season slide against beatable opponents, IU is poised for a special finish.
Why?
How?
It starts, Mercer adds, with belief.
"You play pitch by pitch, inning by inning. Whatever happens, happens. There's no reason why we can't compete."
Proof came during last Sunday's winner-take-all series finale against Illinois, which is third in the Big Ten standings.
IU's 7-3 fifth-inning deficit morphed into a possible season-saving victory. Now comes a three-game weekend series at Michigan with a chance to really shake up the conference order.
"We're a tough team, on the mound and hitting," freshman third baseman Josh Pyne says. "That showed it right there. Everybody competed. We wanted to win. We needed to win. Everybody stepped in the box competing. Doing as much as they could. The pieces fell together."
A fierce wind whipped around Bart Kaufman Field as he spoke. Truth and perspective whip with it.
"Sometimes that doesn't happen for us," Pyne says. "Sometimes we get tough breaks. But (Sunday) it fell our way."
A pause.
"It felt good."
There's a lot of good these days for a Cream 'n Crimson squad -- dominated by underclassmen -- that's finally figuring out how to win against elite competition.
IU (20-24) has won seven of its last nine games. It went from a team that seemed to have no chance to make the eight-team Big Ten tourney -- painful for this conference powerhouse over the last decade -- to one positioned to do just that.
"They struggled," Mercer says. "We saw that. They had adversity. You have to respond and respond and respond. Eventually, you get used to doing that. It becomes part of your DNA. That's what you're seeing."
With a 6-9 conference record, Indiana is tied for ninth in the conference standings with Michigan State and Nebraska. Just ahead are Purdue (6-7), Northwestern (7-8) and Penn State (7-8).
IU has nine remaining Big Ten games -- three-game series against Michigan (9-6), Minnesota (2-13) and Iowa (10-5) -- to surge past them, make the conference tourney and, perhaps, push into the NCAA tourney field.
"When you have a young team," Mercer says, "they have to grow up. When you play a tough schedule early, and run those guys through the gauntlet, there's nothing they haven't seen.
"It's a growth and a process. That's what we're seeing now. Growth is predicated on opportunity and experience. A tough early schedule prepared those guys for what it will be like."
It's more than that, freshman left fielder Carter Mathison says.
"We're playing together as a team," he says. "We're all one. We have one goal.
"It was a rude awakening to realize we might not make the Big Ten Tournament. Now that we are in this position, we have a big goal ahead. It's not over yet. We have three weekends left. Those are big for us."
Mercer saw this coming even while others pushed doubt.
"It's an attitude. Just keep going. You can't get down and quit competing. We didn't. It's a great testament to the kids. They were awesome."
At times, "awesome" seemed as likely as Earth gaining a new moon. A banged-up pitching staff, ill-timed injuries (including losing leading hitter Phillip Glasser and his .340 average to a broken finger), inconsistency and youth (four freshmen and two sophomores started against Illinois) left the Hoosiers as apparent Big Ten also-rans.
Not anymore.
"We had some guys in the rotation that went down with injuries," Mercer says. "You bank on those guys to compete for big innings, and then you lose 10 to 12 innings on a weekend after losing so many guys to the draft last year. It's tough."
The good news …
"Young guys can grow up," Mercer says. "You have to go through it a little bit."
Consider sophomore pitcher Reese Sharp, who dominated Illinois with 4 1/3 scoreless relief innings last Sunday. His 2-6 record and 8.24 earned run average don't reflect how well he's pitched lately.
"Reese is a perfect example," Mercer says. "He was incredible (against Illinois). It was one of the best pitching performances I've seen.
"The first month, he really struggled. Now he's stepped up."
Sharp isn't alone. Pitchers Luke Hayden (4-0) and Ty Bothwell (1-1, 28 strikeouts in 30.2 innings) have improved. Jack Perkins is 3-2 with team bests in earned run average (4.28) and strikeouts (66).
"We had to grow up on the mound," Mercer says.
Beyond the pitching, outfielders Hunter Jesse (.339 average) and Samuel Murrison (.250), "have really developed." Max Johnson and Evan Goforth (.286) "are doing great jobs."
Add strong seasons from Bobby Whalen (.330, 21 steals in 23 attempts), Pyne (.312, five home runs, 44 runs batted in), Matthew Ellis (.274, Big Ten-leading 14 home runs, team-high 47 RBI), Brock Tibbitts (.273, eight home runs, 34 RBI) and Mathison (.265, 13 homers, 40 RBI, team-leading 40 runs scored), and you have an IU squad peaking at the right time.
"We're incredibly resilient," Mercer says. "Guys show up. We keep putting on pressure. We keep having (good) at bats."
All of this seemed unlikely when the season began in late February.
IU lost its first four games and five of its first six, including to No. 2 Arkansas and No. 6 Stanford.
More recently, there were nine losses in an 11-game stretch, painful given they came by one, two, two, one and two runs when victory was there for the taking.
The Hoosiers were unfazed. The more they played, the less youth became an issue. They also go healthier.
"We're putting it all together -- hitting and pitching," Pyne says. "We struggled with that early in the season. Now, it's falling into place. When we do that, we're one of the best teams in the country."
If that seems more youthful brashness than reality, don't tell Mercer. He's too busy pushing his we-can-do-this message.
"As long as they do the best they can and follow the plan, if you win, you win, if you lose, you lose. You don't change the way you coach whether things are going your way or not. It's the same routine over and over.
"We're getting better pitching. We've been a great offense for the most part (IU has 13 games of scoring 10 or more runs). We've played good defense.
"You put them in situations to be successful. Support them. Love them. Encourage them when they go 0-for-4 or give up seven runs. Have them get back out there and do it again."
Bottom line -- you find a way.
Players Mentioned
LHP
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C
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IF
/ Baseball
IF
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RHP
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IF
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OF
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RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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C
/ Baseball
OF
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