IU's season makes prospects look bright

It was a regular spring practice for the IU baseball team.

John Mellencamp Pavilion crackled from the sound of hitters taking batting practice in the cages, scouts manned the sidelines and pitchers stood on inclined mounds, exchanging signs and 90-mph fastballs with catchers.

IU coach Tracy Smith stood in the middle of the complex, throwing the ball around with a team manager who struggled to keep up with the advanced arm of the 40-something coach.

Smith talked up anyone willing to listen.

“This is a great day for baseball,” he said, finishing his throwing motion. His cavalier demeanor exuded a confidence few coaches would have had given the expectations placed upon his team for the 2009 season.

Smith wasn’t intimidated by preseason polls that placed his team atop the Big Ten, citing his pride in building a program.

After the Hoosiers’ 2009 Big Ten Championship and NCAA Louisville Regional appearance, two feats IU baseball had not accomplished since 1996, it’s safe to say Smith’s project has begun.  

“I wanted another challenge,” Smith said of his 2006 move to IU. “I had been here at Indiana, I knew you could win championships here and it was the southernmost school in the Big Ten. I just said, ‘I want to take the job that everyone’s telling me not to take.’”

Outside cynics became convincing after IU began the year with another slow start. It redirected the season, though, by posting a 16-7 Big Ten record during conference play. Although it was barely above .500 on the year at 32-27, IU made a trip that few in its baseball history have.

Only three Hoosier baseball teams have gone to the NCAAs, one coming in the 1949 playoff. None of those made it past the initial bracket, where the 2009 rendition of IU lost out in the NCAA Regional’s two-game elimination format. In fact, IU has only made it to the Big Ten tournament four times since it last won the conference crown in 1996.

All-Louisville Regional performer Kipp Schutz said he hopes there are more to come.

“This is the second time we have gotten to the regional in school history,” the sophomore left fielder said. “So I hope that we can look forward and make that next step in the future.”

The ability to compete within the conference led IU to the postseason. Smith’s group produced wins every weekend while they faced their fair share of troubles out of conference on weekdays. The dynamic left them with a 16-20 non-conference mark and made a Big Ten championship the only window into a postseason stint.

IU pulled together and played its best baseball of the season during the conference tournament. The club put up a string of blowouts. An opponent was never allowed to tally more than three while IU scored no less than nine runs itself. In its four consecutive wins, IU’s smallest margin was eight.

A stampede of Hoosier players rushed the mound after their final win. Sophomore first baseman Jerrud Sabourin said he enjoyed his lone Big Ten Championship, even though it was less dramatic than he expected.

“I was kidding with myself, thinking, ‘It would have been fun to have a close game,’” he said. “But that was a great experience – to get the championship and have the dog pile.”

Louisville was the next stop. The regional’s two-game elimination tournament would be the last of IU’s season. Sustained losses of 8-2 to Louisville and 10-0 to Vanderbilt ended a season that began with promise and predictions.

Hiccups on the mound and hard times in the batter’s box left IU wondering, what if? Though no one was pleased with the season’s end, Smith said he wanted his team to remember what it had accomplished.

“As disappointed as we were, we were still Big Ten champions,” Smith said. “And I hope the guys feel the same way when they get away from it.”

Junior pitcher Eric Arnett, a Louisville Slugger Second Team All-American, wanted a little more time on the field, but he said his team should be poised for a postseason return, with or without him.   

“I expected us to go a little bit farther, and I think we all expected to win it,” Arnett said. “This season showed what we were capable of. We came up short in the NCAA regional, but we’ll come back next year with a little more fire and make another run at it.”

Arnett added that he will work out for and speak with major league teams in preparation for the June 9 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He may not be the only Hoosier testing the MLB waters, because juniors pitcher Matt Bashore and catcher Josh Phegley have been listed on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list.  

Arnett was one in a group of consistent performers who led IU into the postseason from the mound and the batter’s box. Many of them have begun to receive recognition for their accomplishments this season.

Freshman designated hitter Alex Dickerson was recently named the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year, IU’s first ever, and a freshman All-American. Arnett was also a finalist for National Pitcher of the Year and earned Big Ten Co-pitcher of the Year. And Phegley received All-Big Ten First Team honors he shared with Schutz and Arnett, a unanimous selection.

Five other players were either on the All-Big Ten or All-Freshman teams.   

Arnett, the most heralded of this year’s Hoosiers, said he hopes their postseason awards and performance on the diamond can benefit IU baseball.

“It was a great experience with the fan support we had,” Arnett said. “Hopefully, this helps build the program and puts what IU is doing on the map.”