Indiana right-handed junior starting pitcher Luke Sinnard is expected to miss the entire 2024 season after undergoing elbow surgery, Indiana baseball head coach Jeff Mercer said in an email to the Indiana Daily Student on Monday.
In another email Tuesday, Mercer told the IDS the surgery correlated to the injury Sinnard sustained during the third inning of Indiana’s first NCAA Tournament game versus West Virginia University on June 2.
Sinnard set a new Indiana single-season strikeout record, tallying his 114th punchout in the second inning of Indiana’s 12-6 win over the Mountaineers. He left the game an inning later after surrendering a leadoff single, covering his face with his glove and appearing in discomfort.
“Our goal is to be ready for the 2025 season,” Mercer said of Sinnard in the email Monday.
Sinnard spent his freshman season at Western Kentucky University in 2022. Through 11 appearances with the Hilltoppers, the then-freshman pitched 26 ⅓ innings, posted a 7.18 earned run average and struck out 28 batters.
Sinnard transferred to Indiana for this past season, and the then-sophomore flourished in his first season in Bloomington. Sinnard found his way into the weekend pitching rotation, starting all 16 of his appearances in 2023. He posted a 4.27 earned run average across 86 ⅓ innings.
[Related: 'Unstoppable force': transfer Luke Sinnard at the forefront of Indiana's rotation]
Sinnard’s 114 strikeouts led the Big Ten and broke the program record that stood for nearly 90 years. The right-hander turned in three separate outings with ten or more strikeouts in 2023, and Sinnard’s season-high of 13 was on March 17 versus Morehead State University. Indiana went 12-4 in games that Sinnard pitched.
