You might go a week without pitching at all if your team’s starting pitchers do well. Or you might be called on for extended appearances on back-to-back nights if they don’t last long.
For sophomore Thomas Belcher, the latter was true last weekend.
After pitching three shutout innings Saturday night to extend the game into extra innings, he was called on to pitch two more innings Sunday, allowing one run.
“He’s been really good,” IU Coach Chris Lemonis said. “Usually we use him in that two-to-three inning role, and that’s how we’ve been using him. He’s becoming the go-to guy because he just makes pitches under pressure.”
Last season, Belcher posted a 1.91 ERA in 33 innings and 15 appearances. His ERA was third-lowest on the team, and he recorded four saves, second highest on IU.
This season, Belcher has posted a 1.12 ERA in eight innings pitched. The one run he allowed Sunday is his only blemish.
“I try not to let the situation get to me or let the pressure come to me,” Belcher said. “I just try to focus on the hitter and get him out as best as I can.”
Lemonis has put an emphasis on his reliever’s ability to attack hitters, especially the first batter of the inning.
Of the eight innings Belcher has pitched this season, the first batter he’s faced has only reached base twice.
One reason for Belcher’s success this season is the improvement of his pitches, particularly his slider.
“My stuff’s probably the best it’s been in my career here,” Belcher said. “Coach (Kyle) Bunn helped me out with certain things, especially my slider.”
Belcher said that this weekend he used his slider as the put-away pitch for three of his five strikeouts. This season Belcher has six strikeouts, tied for second on the team.
Not only is his stuff more explosive, but he’s more comfortable throwing all of his pitches for strikes.
If Belcher ever gets behind in the count he has the ability to throw his slider for a strike when the hitter might be ?expecting a fastball.
This gives Belcher more freedom against hitters. Not only can he use a variety of pitches, but he never has to give into a hitter. He doesn’t need to throw a first-pitch strike, because he said can throw his slider for a strike whenever he wants.
After Sunday’s outing, Belcher said he felt great and wanted to pitch Monday if IU needed him. If IU needs him to pitch out of a jam in the fourth inning and pitch until the eighth, he can do that, too.
This means Belcher feels no added weight because Lemonis named him his “go-to guy.” To Belcher, it’s still baseball, it’s still pitching and there’s only one thing he really needs to do — get hitters out.
“I’m perfectly fine with whatever role they throw me into,” Belcher said. “I’m just going to go out there and get outs.”
