Indiana University Athletics
‘Star Power’ – IU Aims to Capture NCAA Baseball Tourney Moment
5/30/2024 10:00:00 AM | Baseball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Relief? There was some of that. Satisfaction? It resonated up and down the Indiana roster.
Now that the Hoosiers are in the NCAA tourney for the second straight season, now that they have the opportunity to rock the college baseball world thanks to a Knoxville Regional field that features the overall top seed in Tennessee and a dangerous Southern Miss team that has won six straight and 14 of 15, they are ready for business.
"We get this opportunity," first baseman Brock Tibbitts says. "You can't ask for much more. We get to be one of the 64 teams that compete to win its final game. You capture that moment. Take it one game at a time. Play for your brothers next to you."
Third-seed IU (32-24-1) plays No. 2 seed Southern Mississippi (41-18) on Friday afternoon in the double-elimination regional. Top-seed Tennessee (50-11) plays No. 4 Northern Kentucky (35-22) on Friday night.
While the Hoosiers are still gathering information on regional opponents, this much is clear:
"Any team still alive will be a great opponent," Tibbitts says. "They will be able to pitch, hit and play defense. Going out there and playing our game is the biggest thing."
IU's No. 56 RPI and a No. 39 strength of schedule offset injury-fueled inconsistency (losing talented position player A.J. Shepard and potential starting pitchers Luke Sinnard, Matthew Bohnert and Ben Grable) that resulted in an up-and-down season.
That's in the Hoosiers' rear-view mirror. Coach Jeff Mercer sees a team that won 15 Big Ten regular season games, and two more in the conference tournament; he sees a team that is loaded with postseason potential.
"Offensively, when we're locked in and play well and follow the game plan, we're one of the better offenses in the country," he says. "We can hit fastballs. We can hit off-speed pitches. We have a high walk rate. We slug it well. We hit for average and hit for power. It comes down to getting everyone on the same page.
"Our starting pitchers have been through the battles. Our bullpen is good. When we're locked in, we can compete with anybody."
Outfielder Devin Taylor earned first-team All-Big Ten honors after hitting. .352 with 18 home runs and 49 runs batted in. Infielder Joey Brenczewski was all-conference second team after hitting .335 with three homers and 42 RBI. Shortstop Tyler Cerny also earned all-conference honors after hitting .312 with 10 home runs, 22 doubles and 60 RBI. Outfielder Nick Mitchell hit .349 with 15 doubles, five homers and 49 RBI. Tibbitts, who missed 14 games with injuries, hit .309 with three homers and 39 RBI.
Pitcher Connor Foley was second-team All-Big Ten by compiling a 4-1 record with a 3.71 earned run average. He has 80 strikeouts against 42 walks.
Pitcher Ty Bothwell is 6-3 with a 4.90 ERA and 82 strikeouts.
Freshman Jacob Vogel has emerged as one of the Big Ten's top relief pitchers with a 1-0 record and a 2.42 ERA.
"You've got star power in the mound; star power at the plate," Mercer says. "Defensively, this is a group that can take care of the ball. It's a matter of putting it all together."
Togetherness starts with a Southern Miss team that rallied for a Sun Belt Conference tourney title. Trailing Georgia Southern 11-9 in the ninth inning, it won 14-11.
The Golden Eagles are led by designated hitter Slade Wilks, who hit 14 home runs this season, and has 46 for his career. He's hitting .329 with 65 runs batted in and has a 32-game hitting streak.
IU will likely face pitcher Billy Oldham, who is 7-2 with a 3.97 earned run average and 96 strikeouts.
Mercer says Oldham throws 88 to 92 mph with a good changeup and breaking ball.
"They don't strikeout," he says. "They don't walk a ton. They're like Rutgers. They have a high team batting average. They hit a lot of singles and doubles. They have a lot of early count swings."
IU beat Northern Kentucky 11-5 in early March. Mercer said he's good friends with many of Northern Kentucky's coaches.
Tennessee is coming off a SEC tourney title, beating defending national champ LSU along the way. It is the only team in the NCAA tourney field with 50 victories. It has won its last five regionals in Knoxville and is 20-5 all-time in regional games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Volunteers are one of a record 11 SEC teams to make the NCAA tourney field.
Indiana is one of three Big Ten teams in the field, joining conference regular season champion Illinois (34-19) and conference tourney winner Nebraska (39-20).
Technology will have a big scouting role for Mercer and his staff as they prepare for the three other regional opponents.
"Now I can pull up every video and get every metric," Mercer says. "I know exactly what somebody does. I know the percentages of pitches and count. There's so much information out there."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Relief? There was some of that. Satisfaction? It resonated up and down the Indiana roster.
Now that the Hoosiers are in the NCAA tourney for the second straight season, now that they have the opportunity to rock the college baseball world thanks to a Knoxville Regional field that features the overall top seed in Tennessee and a dangerous Southern Miss team that has won six straight and 14 of 15, they are ready for business.
"We get this opportunity," first baseman Brock Tibbitts says. "You can't ask for much more. We get to be one of the 64 teams that compete to win its final game. You capture that moment. Take it one game at a time. Play for your brothers next to you."
Third-seed IU (32-24-1) plays No. 2 seed Southern Mississippi (41-18) on Friday afternoon in the double-elimination regional. Top-seed Tennessee (50-11) plays No. 4 Northern Kentucky (35-22) on Friday night.
While the Hoosiers are still gathering information on regional opponents, this much is clear:
"Any team still alive will be a great opponent," Tibbitts says. "They will be able to pitch, hit and play defense. Going out there and playing our game is the biggest thing."
IU's No. 56 RPI and a No. 39 strength of schedule offset injury-fueled inconsistency (losing talented position player A.J. Shepard and potential starting pitchers Luke Sinnard, Matthew Bohnert and Ben Grable) that resulted in an up-and-down season.
That's in the Hoosiers' rear-view mirror. Coach Jeff Mercer sees a team that won 15 Big Ten regular season games, and two more in the conference tournament; he sees a team that is loaded with postseason potential.
"Offensively, when we're locked in and play well and follow the game plan, we're one of the better offenses in the country," he says. "We can hit fastballs. We can hit off-speed pitches. We have a high walk rate. We slug it well. We hit for average and hit for power. It comes down to getting everyone on the same page.
"Our starting pitchers have been through the battles. Our bullpen is good. When we're locked in, we can compete with anybody."
Outfielder Devin Taylor earned first-team All-Big Ten honors after hitting. .352 with 18 home runs and 49 runs batted in. Infielder Joey Brenczewski was all-conference second team after hitting .335 with three homers and 42 RBI. Shortstop Tyler Cerny also earned all-conference honors after hitting .312 with 10 home runs, 22 doubles and 60 RBI. Outfielder Nick Mitchell hit .349 with 15 doubles, five homers and 49 RBI. Tibbitts, who missed 14 games with injuries, hit .309 with three homers and 39 RBI.
Pitcher Connor Foley was second-team All-Big Ten by compiling a 4-1 record with a 3.71 earned run average. He has 80 strikeouts against 42 walks.
Pitcher Ty Bothwell is 6-3 with a 4.90 ERA and 82 strikeouts.
Freshman Jacob Vogel has emerged as one of the Big Ten's top relief pitchers with a 1-0 record and a 2.42 ERA.
"You've got star power in the mound; star power at the plate," Mercer says. "Defensively, this is a group that can take care of the ball. It's a matter of putting it all together."
Togetherness starts with a Southern Miss team that rallied for a Sun Belt Conference tourney title. Trailing Georgia Southern 11-9 in the ninth inning, it won 14-11.
The Golden Eagles are led by designated hitter Slade Wilks, who hit 14 home runs this season, and has 46 for his career. He's hitting .329 with 65 runs batted in and has a 32-game hitting streak.
IU will likely face pitcher Billy Oldham, who is 7-2 with a 3.97 earned run average and 96 strikeouts.
Mercer says Oldham throws 88 to 92 mph with a good changeup and breaking ball.
"They don't strikeout," he says. "They don't walk a ton. They're like Rutgers. They have a high team batting average. They hit a lot of singles and doubles. They have a lot of early count swings."
IU beat Northern Kentucky 11-5 in early March. Mercer said he's good friends with many of Northern Kentucky's coaches.
Tennessee is coming off a SEC tourney title, beating defending national champ LSU along the way. It is the only team in the NCAA tourney field with 50 victories. It has won its last five regionals in Knoxville and is 20-5 all-time in regional games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Volunteers are one of a record 11 SEC teams to make the NCAA tourney field.
Indiana is one of three Big Ten teams in the field, joining conference regular season champion Illinois (34-19) and conference tourney winner Nebraska (39-20).
Technology will have a big scouting role for Mercer and his staff as they prepare for the three other regional opponents.
"Now I can pull up every video and get every metric," Mercer says. "I know exactly what somebody does. I know the percentages of pitches and count. There's so much information out there."
Players Mentioned
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