Records fall in sweep of Michigan State

Josh Phegley and Chris Hervey went to East Lansing, Mich., this weekend chasing remarkably different records. While Phegley was locked in on hitting pitches thrown at him, Hervey had his eyes on getting hit by pitches thrown his way. \nBoth the sophomore catcher and junior left fielder set new records this weekend in the Hoosiers’ four-game sweep of Michigan State, which put IU in its first Big Ten Tournament in five years. \nPhegley, one of the best hitters in the Big Ten, set a conference record for most RBIs in a conference season with 45, besting the previous mark by one. The sophomore catcher from Terre Haute plated three runs in the Hoosiers Saturday victory over Michigan State to close out the conference season. \nPhegley, whose average has been at the top of the Big Ten almost all season, said he felt humbled by the record.\n“There’s something to be said about that,” said the second-year backstop. “It really is awesome.”\nIU coach Tracy Smith, who was with the Hoosiers as an assistant when Mike Klimek set the Big Ten record in 1996, was thrilled for Phegley to break the conference mark. \n“I remember the kid from Illinois (who) had the record,” Smith said. “I thought that guy was the most ungodly hitter at the time ... I think it’s great for (Phegley).”\nIU assistant coach Tyler Best said last week that Phegley is a quiet, lead-by-action kind of player, an assessment with which Phegley agreed.\n“People will start to watch and see you go about your business,” Phegley said. “Our entire team’s offensive production has just been contagious the whole year.” \nStatistics support that claim.\nAt the end of the season, the Hoosiers find themselves just .001 points behind Illinois for first in the Big Ten in team batting, even they have more hits, runs, doubles, triples and home runs than the Illini. \nHervey’s record has nearly as much to do with run production as Phegley’s. On Saturday, the St. James, N.Y., native took a first-inning pitch from A.J. Achter off of his oft-bruised body to set a new IU record for being hit by a pitch 17 times in a single season. True to his word from two weeks ago, Hervey kept the ball. \n“I actually did,” he said, laughing. “I like (the record) just because it shows toughness and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win.”\nSmith was equally pleased to see Hervey get the left-fielder’s “knucklehead award.” Smith said earlier in the year that he liked Hervey chasing the record, because he thought it showed Hervey would do whatever it takes to win, even if it hurts.\n“That was good for him,” Smith said of Hervey’s new place in IU baseball history. “I don’t know that he necessarily goes up there trying to get hit, he’s just a fearless player.”\nBoth players personify the team’s late surge into the postseason – professionalism and the determination to do whatever it takes to win – something echoed by Smith. \nThe third-year coach said players like Phegley and Hervey help the Hoosiers walk the line between focused and relaxed. He used Phegley as an example, saying the sophomore spent time before Saturday’s game shagging fly balls in center field and throwing mock warm-up pitches in the bullpen.\n“As I thought back on the weekend, they were tremendously calm,” Smith said. “I’m impressed with their mentality at this point. I hope we can carry that into the tournament.”