Baseball looks forward to postseason

After IU lost to Indiana State March 26, the Hoosiers’ record fell to 12-10.

IU was out of the top 25 polls.

It was out of national seed contention.

The team, which had been ranked as high as No. 3 in the preseason, was battling injuries and losing close games.

Going into that weekend after the Indiana State loss, IU traveled to play Ohio State.

“I tell the guys, ‘You’ve seen the light, so it can’t get much worse,’” IU Coach Tracy Smith said at the time.

IU went on to sweep Ohio State. Then IU swept Iowa. Then, in the next Big Ten series against Michigan State, the Hoosiers swept the Spartans and were playing some of the best baseball in the country.

IU (38-13, 21-3) has continued to play well, and this weekend finished off its regular season hot streak by winning two-of-three against Minnesota (27-22, 13-11).

“We knew all along we have something bigger to play for,” first baseman Sam Travis said.

Since the Indiana State loss, IU is 26-3, and all three of those losses have come by just one run.

The Hoosiers are back in the top 10 in several rankings, checking in at No. 9 in the Baseball America rankings.

During the first two games of the series, where IU and Minnesota split victories, Smith said he felt his team was flat and maybe thinking too much about what’s on the horizon for this team — a chance to win a national championship.

But when IU defeated Minnesota, 8-0, Saturday, it marked the fourth time the IU pitching staff had recorded a shutout in Big Ten play, and Smith said he saw that focus again.

“We have a chance to do something really historical with our program,” Smith said. “I won’t say this is a hard team to read, but they’re kind of melancholy in everything they do. But I like the intensity today.”

From here on, IU will be playing postseason ball. The first taste of playoff baseball will be this week when the Big Ten tournament begins Wednesday.

IU earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament, which will be played in Omaha, Neb., during a five-day stretch. In round one, the Hoosiers will play No. 8 seed Iowa (29-21, 10-14) at 6 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

When IU and Iowa played earlier this season, IU swept Iowa in three games with a combined score of 25-9.

If the Hoosiers win, they’ll go on to play the winner of the Minnesota–Michigan game.

The potential round two game will start at 10 p.m. Thursday. Both games will be aired on the Big Ten Network.

Smith will have to decide who will start which game for his pitching staff.

If the Hoosiers win all their games in the Big Ten tournament, they will end up playing four games in five days.

However, the tournament has a double elimination format, which means IU could potentially play more than four games if they lose in round one, two, three or four.

The Hoosier pitching staff has been the best staff in the Big Ten despite losing two of its original three starters.

No. 2 starter Kyle Hart is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and No. 3 starter Will Coursen-Carr has struggled this season with 25 walks given up in just 36.2 innings pitched. He was pulled from the rotation earlier this
season.

Christian Morris and Brian Korte have stepped up and boast a 1.99 and a 2.11 ERA, respectively.

Their performances, coupled with senior ace Joey DeNato’s 11-1 record with a 1.83 ERA, has made IU the best pitching team in the conference.

Their team ERA of 2.22 is the lowest in the Big Ten by almost a run.

But Smith will have to decide who gets the nod as the fourth and possibly fifth starter for not only the Big Ten tournament, but regionals, super regionals and possibly the College World Series.

Smith said he doesn’t want to use his pitchers on short rest in the Big Ten
tournament, because they’re not in a position where they need to win every game to get into the NCAA tournament — the Hoosiers already have an at-large berth locked.

“I’ve already started thinking about that,” Smith said. “We gotta make sure our pitchers are fresh when it comes time for regional play.”