Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
#2 Nebraska
Baseball Notes to Know: Big Ten Semifinals
5/24/2024 12:30:00 PM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - The Indiana Baseball team (32-22-1, 15-9 B1G), the tournament's No. 3 seed, will head to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday (May 25) morning, needing just one win to advance to a potential championship game on Sunday. On the right side of the winner's bracket in Omaha, the Hoosiers will meet the winner of an elimination game between (2) Nebraska and (7) Ohio State.
The Hoosiers opened their postseason run with an 8-6 win over (6) Purdue and a 14-7 win over (7) Ohio State. The 22 runs are the most scored in program history across its first two Big Ten Tournament contests. IU's pitching staff has gone 15-straight games allowing seven or fewer runs.
More information on each note below can be found in the IU game notes link above.
Hoosiers Beat Purdue in Big Ten Tournament Opener
• Jasen Oliver sparked a run of eight-unanswered runs in the middle innings of Tuesday's 8-6 win over (6) Purdue in Omaha. His three-run home run, and RBI double the next inning, sparked the bats as the Hoosiers advanced to the winner's bracket.
• Drew Buhr gave IU four innings in relief after starter Ty Bothwell, who had been sick the last week, only went three innings. Carter Mathison, Nick Mitchell and Brock Tibbitts all had multi-hit days. IU has won three-straight games against Purdue this year.
Bats Breakout to Beat Buckeyes
• The Hoosiers bats exploded on Thursday afternoon, pounding 14 hits to score 14 runs, running away late in a matchup against (7) Ohio State. Carter Mathison had a three-hit day, IU recorded five doubles and Devin Taylor smashed a no-doubt home run to advance in the winner's bracket with a 14-7 victory.
Cerny Loves Doubles
• The Big Ten leader in doubles, IU shortstop Tyler Cerny, added another to his collection on Thursday, giving him 23 on the season. He now sits alone in third place for doubles in a single season in program history. He has the most doubles in one campaign since Dustin DeMuth (24) in 2013. Cerny is tied for No. 12 in the NCAA this year in doubles.
• Cerny and third baseman Josh Pyne (21) are the first pair of IU teammates each with 20+ doubles in a season since 2013 (DeMuth and Sam Travis). Pyne now has 57 doubles in his career which is tied for fifth all-time in program history.
DT is Red Hot
• Devin Taylor hit his 18th home run of the season on Thursday. He has home runs in six of his past eight games. His 18 long balls are tied for eighth in a single season in program history with Matthew Ellis (2022), Kyle Schwarber (2013) and Alex Smith (1986).
• Only Alex Dickerson (38) has more home runs in first two seasons of college baseball at Indiana than Taylor (34), the Cincinnati native. Taylor also became the first player in program history to be named First Team All-Big Ten in both of his first two years of college baseball.
Just Keep Winning
• The Hoosiers have won their first two games in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2014. IU hasn't made a conference tournament title game since that same campaign. Its 22 runs in the first two games of the Big Ten Tournament are the most to open a week in program history (last: 21 – 2009).
Junior Group is the Key in Omaha
• Carter Mathison, Brock Tibbitts and Josh Pyne will play their 10th career Big Ten Tournament game on Saturday afternoon. In their careers, the trio has 589 hits, 79 home runs, 446 RBIs and 147 doubles. Those three can be the key to a long run this week.
• In this year's Big Ten Tournament, Mathison is hitting .625 (5-8), Tibbitts is hitting .429 (3-7) and Pyne is sitting at .300 (3-10). They've combined to score nine runs and drive in six runs.
