Power Pitching Has IU in Good Big Ten Tournament Shape

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Aydan Decker-Petty strode off the Bart Kaufman Field mound pumped and primed. The Indiana sophomore pitcher jabbed the air with a right fist, then followed with a testosterone-fueled shout. He had just capped a dominating 3.1-inning relief performance against Michigan with a strikeout, his career-high eighth, and a celebratory hug with catcher Jake Stadler was next on his to-do list.

"They were chasing everything I was throwing," Decker-Petty said. "They were swinging a lot and not making a lot of contact."

His performance reflected the Hoosiers' month-long pitching dominance. They have allowed seven or fewer runs in 13 straight games. In three games, two wins and 27 innings against Michigan, they totaled 35 strikeouts and allowed just eight earned runs.

The result -- IU enters Tuesday's Big Ten tourney with a 30-22-1 record and the No. 3 seed. It will open with sixth-seeded Purdue (33-22) at Omaha's Charles Schwab Field.

"It feels great to win the series and go to Omaha on a roll," second baseman Jasen Oliver said.

Indiana dismantled Michigan in the series finale with a five-home run, season-high 17-strikeout performance. It won six of eight Big Ten series for the second-straight year.

Illinois (33-17) enters as the tourney favorite off its conference regular season title (18-6 Big Ten record) for the No. 1 seed, with second-seed Nebraska (34-19, 16-8) and the Hoosiers (15-9) right behind.

When it comes to pitching, IU might have the edge.

It has two of the Big Ten's best starters in Connor Foley (4-1, 3.81 earned run average) and Ty Bothwell (6-2, 5.02 ERA), plus shut-down reliever Jacob Vogel (1-0, 0.43 ERA), but talent extends well beyond them, including Decker-Petty (1-2, 5.14 ERA), Drew Buhr (1-2, 3.41 ERA), Ethan Phillips (4-0, 6.04), Julian Tonghini (2-1, 5.28) and Brayden Risedorph (4-6, 7.62).

Twelve Hoosiers have pitched at least 20.1 innings. Eleven have made at least 12 appearances. That depth could play a huge role in the Big Ten tourney.

"Our depth is incredible," Buhr says. "Everybody, when they get their opportunity, they're ready to go. We have confidence in every guy."

IU's team ERA of 6.07 ranks ninth in the Big Ten, but it's been much better down the stretch.

"You see these guys battle every pitch and every inning," first baseman Brock Tibbitts said. "They've been keeping it under six runs or less, which is what we strive to do. When they put us in that position, we think we're in any game. That's allowed us to have some of the late comebacks we've had. It's been huge what we've been getting on the mound."

Foley and Bothwell highlight IU's strikeout emphasis. Foley's average of 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings is second in the Big Ten. Bothwell isn't far behind at 9.0.

The Hoosiers' 517 team strikeouts rank second in the conference to Iowa's 553.

"We're built on power stuff on the mound," coach Jeff Mercer said. "We want to strike guys out."

IU has made a huge pitching jump since early in the season, when it struggled to get anybody out. In one stretch, it allowed 12 or more runs nine times, with a high of 16 against Illinois State.

Credit the improvement to the players' work under pitching coach Dustin Glant.

"The biggest adjustment we've made is being in the zone more," Tonghini said. "A lot of us have really good stuff, so fill it up in the zone as often as we can and attack hitters. When we do that, we've had success. We need to attack guys, execute our pitches in the zones and counts, and have fun doing it."

Added Mercer: "The big story is how much better these guys got from the beginning of the year until now. Think how much better Risedorph is from the first month. His stuff is way up. (Decker-Petty) wasn't really a guy for us that first month. Vogel didn't throw big innings until Vanderbilt.

"We've got guys who weren't what they are today. You have to cultivate those guys. Breathe into them and encourage them to give their best stuff.

"We talk about that all the time. (Against Michigan), we played three games in 24 hours and had stuff up and down in every game. Great kudos to Coach Glant and the staff for getting right and really attack guys with premium stuff."

Attack remains the pitching priority this week.

"We're super confident," Buhr said. "We're going after guys and going with our best stuff. We know that what we have will get it done.

"It's good to see that confidence show on the mound no matter who has the ball. It's what we've been trying to focus on. Everybody throws his best stuff and go after hitters."

Who has the best stuff?

"I can say Connor's fastball is the best," Buhr said. "It's hard to compete with a guy who is throwing it 99 miles per hour. He has one of the best fastballs I've seen in a long time.

"As far as off speed, it's Tonghini. His off-speed slider-curveball is unbelievable. Hitters know it's coming. Everybody in the park knows he's throwing it and it doesn't matter. It's that good. It's fun to watch him dominate with his stuff.

"We have a lot of guys whose stuff is incredible. It's a pleasure to watch."

Beyond pitching, IU's Big Ten tourney title hopes center on hitting and playing defense to its potential.

The Hoosiers have scored 435 runs and hit 76 home runs. Both rank second in the Big Ten to Purdue (449) and Illinois (103). Their .295 team batting average ranks fifth.

Outfielder Devin Taylor leads with a .362 average, 17 home runs and 47 runs batted in. Designated hitter Joey Brenczewski is hitting .352 with 42 RBI. Outfielder Nick Mitchel hits .343 with 48 RBI.

Still, Mercer wants more.

"We have to be dutiful offensively. (In the final Michigan game), I called a sac bunt and we didn't get it done. I called a hit and run and the guy was thrown out. I called a run and hit and a guy was thrown out. I tried. It didn't work out. We hit five homers, which was great, but we have to be dutiful to manufacture some key runs."

Defense has lacked consistency. IU has committed 66 errors this season -- three in the final game against Michigan -- to opponents' 55. That's contributed to 42 unearned runs

"We have to take care of the ball better or we won't have an opportunity to be successful," Mercer said.

The Big Ten tourney winner earns an automatic NCAA tourney bid.

As far as an at-large bid to the 64-team field, no Big Ten team is ranked, and only three have RPIs in the top 60 -- Nebraska (No. 31), Illinois (No. 43) and IU (No. 59).

The Hoosiers bottom line is simple -- win and they're in.

"We're in a good spot," Buhr said. "Anything can happen in a four-day span, especially with the offense we have. We can put up runs. On the mound, we're firing on all cylinders. I'm excited to see what we can do."

Indiana University Athletics

Power Pitching Has IU in Good Big Ten Tournament Shape

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Players Mentioned

Ty Bothwell

Joey Brenczewski

Drew Buhr

Aydan Decker-Petty

Connor Foley

Jasen Oliver

Ethan Phillips

Brayden Risedorph

Jake Stadler

Devin Taylor

Brock Tibbitts

Julian Tonghini

Jacob Vogel

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