CHICAGO -- IU senior kicker Mitch Ewald talks to the media at Wednesday's Big Ten Media Day. Ewald talks about what he expects out of this team, and how the expectations have changed during his time here. He also adds that saying the team expects to go to a bowl game is an "understatement."
CHICAGO -- IU senior safety Greg Heban spoke to the media Wednesday at the 42nd Big Ten Media Days. Heban talks about what it's been like playing alongside the highly touted freshmen defensive players, including Rashard Fant and Antonio Allen, who are both defensive backs.
Accustomed to wreaking havoc on opposing pitchers for the Hoosiers, Indiana's bash brothers will now get to team up for their country. Rising IU junior first baseman Sam Travis has officially made the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, the team announced Sunday. Travis joins fellow rising junior Kyle Schwarber, who was invited to the roster in May and had a guaranteed spot.
Former IU catcher Josh Phegley has been selected to play in the Major League Baseball All-Star Futures Game, the athletic department has announced in a press release. Phegley, a 2009 first round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox, is hitting .314 with 13 home runs, 17 doubles and 36 RBI through 55 games with the Sox' Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights.
IU players Kyle Schwarber and Aaron Slegers talk about IU's season ending 1-0 loss to Oregon State in the College World Series.
OMAHA, Neb. --- For the first time since May 26, IU players sported a look suited for a job interview at Tuesday's practice. That was the last time the Hoosiers lost and were forced to shave by IU Coach Tracy Smith. "That's our motto," sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber said.
The IU offense struggled all night, striking out 14 times and leaving 10 men on base. The Hoosiers ended six innings with a strikeout, and also closed six frames with someone left on base. Despite the struggles, IU led for most of the game before Trey Porter hit a two-run single to right field to give Mississippi State a 5-3 lead in the eighth inning.
OMAHA, Neb. -- Freshman left-hander Will Coursen-Carr will start against Mississippi State at 8 p.m.
College World Series fan Pat Hupp talks about his favorite part of the event at the "fanzone" outside of TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
University of Minnesota alum Kent Peterson talks about his tailgating experience at the College World Series as his allegiance to the Big Ten.
It's a special Father's Day for Larry Bentley. The teacher from Hobart, Ind., made his first trip to Omaha, Neb., with his son and grandson to see his Hoosiers play in their first College World Series. Bentley said he doesn't follow IU baseball that closely, but he decided to make the trip because his son said it would be the perfect Father's Day present. The Bishop Noll High School (Hammond, Ind.) teacher said that he's been very pleased with the reaction he's received from the people of Omaha.
IU sophomore designated hitter Scott Donley, sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber, senior shortstop Michael Basil, freshman pitcher Will Coursen-Carr and junior third baseman Dustin DeMuth talk about the IU baseball team making its first appearance in Omaha, Neb.
IU Coach Tracy Smith talks to the media about the IU baseball team's first appearance in the College World Series and what it means to the program.
The IU baseball team's storybook season is still being written, and the final chapter is on tap. After decades of futility, the Hoosiers are finally Omaha-bound. IU clinched its first-ever appearance in the College World Series with an 11-6 win over Florida State Sunday at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. It has been a season of 'firsts' for the Hoosiers, but this first -- a spot on college baseball's biggest stage -- is without a doubt the biggest.
The IU baseball team's attempt to advance further in a historic season came down to the right arm of a closer having a record-setting season. Ryan Halstead came in a little earlier than usual, but got the job done Sunday at Bart Kaufman Field. Halstead struck out Matt Wollenzin with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth to preserve the Hoosiers' three-run lead in IU's 6-1 win over Austin Peay that clinched the Bloomington regional championship. The Hoosiers (45-14) will take on the Seminoles in a best-of-three series next weekend in the super regional in Tallahassee, Fla., for a spot in the College World Series. Halstead worked the final 3.1 innings, striking out two in the ninth before Dylan Riner ended it with a foul-out down the left-field line that Dustin DeMuth tracked down and caught basket-style near the left-field clubhouse. It was a huge play on defense in the top of the second second that kept the Governors' offense at bay and prevented them from tying the game. With one out at runners on first and second, P.J.
Chad Clark committed a costly error in the top of the 9th, and things looked bleak for the IU baseball team. He more than atoned for his mistake in the bottom half. Clark ripped an 0-1 pitch off Karch Kowalcyzk into the left-field bullen for a walk-off two-runner homer that propelled the Hoosiers to a 5-4 win over Valparaiso, completing a miraculous four-run ninth inning comeback. Michael Basil started the rally with a one-out infield single to and scored on a Dustin DeMuth double.
A day after suffering a walk-off loss in the 11th inning, the IU baseball team returned the favor Sunday at Target Field. It just so-happened this walk-off would give IU its second Big Ten title in a week. Scott Donley hit a walk-off single to left-center with the bases loaded to beat Nebraska 4-3, giving IU its first Big Ten Tournament championship since 2009. The title comes eight days after the Hoosiers (43-14) captured their first outright Big Ten regular season title since 1932. Will Nolden led off the bottom of the ninth with a double to the gap in right-center off Nebraska righty Jeff Chestnut, who then issued an intentional walk to sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber. IU Coach Tracy Smith then asked sophomore first baseman Sam Travis, who was 2-for-4 in the game with a pair of doubles and finished with a tournament-high eight RBI, to sacrifice the runners to second and third. Travis twice failed to get down the bunt but drew a walk to load the bases and draw the Cornhuserks' infield in, setting up Donley's heroics. The Cornhuskers (29-30) staged yet another late rally, this time scoring a run each in the seventh and eighth innings. With IU up 3-1, Tanner Lubach doubled to left-center to lead off the seventh but was caught off third two batters later when Bryan Peters hit a chopper back to the mound.
MINNEAPOLIS --- Tanner Lubach ended a back-and-forth affair with a walk-off homer to left field in the bottom of the 11th that gave Nebraska a 7-6 win over IU Saturday at Target Field. Lubach rocked a fastball from Hoosier closer Ryan Halstead four rows deep into the bleachers, keeping the one-loss Cornhuskers alive for the conference tournament crown. IU and Nebraska will play in a winner-take-all game at 1:05 p.m.
MINNEAPOLIS --- Give a good team extra outs, and it will make you pay. What had been a back-and-forth, deadlocked contest turned into a rout thanks to a crucial fielding miscue by the Buckeyes. The IU baseball team scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth, all coming after a throwing error by Ohio State starter Brian King, to beat the Buckeyes 11-3 Friday at Target Field. The win puts the Hoosiers in the driver's seat for a Big Ten Tournament championship as the only undefeated team remaining.
