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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports baseball

Hoosiers to face Louisville in NCAA regional

Guaranteed an automatic NCAA bid for its four-game sweep through last week’s Big Ten Tournament, the IU baseball team landed perhaps its best option Monday.

The Hoosiers will be a four-seed in the NCAA Regional in Louisville, Ky., far and away their closest possible destination.

No. 1-seed Louisville will be IU’s first opponent, with games beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, according to Louisville’s athletics Web site.

On Monday at Yogi’s Grill and Bar, where the team massed with coaches, fans and various athletics department personnel to watch the selection show, catcher Josh Phegley said, “I think it’s our best opportunity to have any type of fan base at the games, being that close. The way we’re playing right now, I think it was one of the best selections we could have hoped for.”

The first round of the NCAA tournament is separated into 16 four-team regionals and played in the same double-elimination format as the Big Ten Tournament.

The Hoosiers’ 32-25 record virtually guaranteed them a fourth-seed draw, but their 10-1 record in their last 11 games also likely has opposing coaches worried. The way IU ran through the Big Ten Tournament, posting a 2.25 staff ERA and outscoring opposition 47-9, might turn some heads as well.

But maintaining that level of production without getting too enamored with what they have already accomplished is

something coach Tracy Smith knows will be key in preparing his players this week.

“Really, you just hope you’re mature enough to realize why you get in this thing is you get in it to win the College World Series,” Smith said. “I hope that our mind-set is, sure, it’s nice to get into the NCAA tournament, it’s neat that we haven’t done it in quite awhile, but our job is not done, particularly with the talent level that we have.”
That talent level is one that could carry the Hoosiers far.

Phegley leads an offense that finished 2nd in the Big Ten behind regular-season champion Ohio State.

Conference freshman of the year Alex Dickerson led the team in batting average (.379) and hits (88). In fact, the worst average among regular IU batters is a healthy .286.

The Hoosiers’ pitching leaves little to be desired either, with top two starters Eric Arnett and Matt Bashore among the Big Ten’s best this season. Arnett is in the mix for several national awards after going 12-1 this year, while Bashore had the best ERA in Big Ten games of any pitcher.

The bullpen had been shaky at times, but strong starts from freshmen left-handers Blake Monar and Matt Igel – coupled with solid relief work from the likes of Chris Squires, Matt Carr and Joey O’Gara – meant the highest run total IU allowed in any Big Ten tournament game was just three.

It’s not all silver lining; the Hoosiers have faced Louisville twice in each of the past three years with a 1-5 record to show for the series.

Smith said his team’s record against the Cardinals in the last three years shouldn’t be a large factor this weekend, because all their matchups came in midweek games when teams don’t usually roll out their best pitching.

“Everybody’s going to have a good Friday guy,” Smith said, referring to his belief that every team in the NCAAs will have at least one legitimate ace. “After that, it’s your depth, and making plays. It’s going to be the consistent pitching and making plays.”
In addition to the host Cardinals, Middle Tennessee State (No. 2 seed) and Vanderbilt (No. 3 seed) will compete in the weekend, which will send just one team to the super regional in two weeks’ time.

“Truthfully, I love the draw,” Smith said. “You can take the whole travel thing out of it, at this point, because now you can just concentrate on baseball.”

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