Late-season surge propels Hoosiers into Big Ten Tournament as two-seed

Through its first 42 games, the IU baseball team looked lost on the diamond in practically every facet of the game. The team couldn’t field, posting a Big Ten-worst .946 fielding percentage and committing a staggering 91 errors. The pitching staff got knocked around on a regular basis, recording a 4.89 ERA. The offense wasn’t bailing them out either, hitting just .258.

Preseason All-American  Micah Johnson, the team’s do-it-all second baseman and cleanup hitter, had elbow surgery March 7  that kept him off the field for nearly two months.

The result: IU stumbled to a 19-23 record, 6-6  conference record and 9-15 road record.

Only one of five preseason polls picked the Hoosiers to qualify for the six-team Big Ten Tournament. Some national media outlets predicted IU to finish as low as ninth.

It seemed as though the prognosticators would be validated.

Now, the Hoosiers (30-26, 16-8) steamroll into the tournament as the two-seed and the hottest team in the Big Ten. IU heads into the tournament having won six straight games, 12 of its last 15 games overall, 10 of its last 12 conference games and its last four conference series.

As the two-seed, IU enjoyed a first-round bye and will open action against game two winner Michigan State (36-19, 14-11 in conference) in game three. First pitch is 3:35 p.m. Thursday, May 24, at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio.

The dramatic turnaround makes this regular season the most satisfying for Head Coach Tracy Smith’s  seven years as head of the team, he said.

“I’m very proud of what these guys accomplished and (the way they) kicked it in gear and kept on working in spite of Micah’s injury, in spite of the shoddy play,” Smith said. “You get greedy, you sit back now and say, ‘If we had just been a little bit stronger early, we’re potentially looking at an at-large (bid to the NCAA regionals) before going to the (Big Ten) tournament.’

“But from where we were to where we are now, I’m very pleased.”

Everything seemed to click for IU in its series against Michigan April 27-29, 42 games in. Since the start of that series, IU has an 11-3 overall record and 10-2 conference record, thanks to drastic improvements across the board. In those 14 games, the Hoosiers have a .975 fielding percentage, 14 errors, a staff ERA of 3.87 and are hitting .317.

IU closed out the season and Sembower Field on a high note, sweeping Ohio State and securing comeback victories in three of its last four games.

“We’re strong all the way around; you see we can calm down if we’re down,” designated hitter Dillon Dooney said. “None of us press or anything. We’ve been down so many times, we all just stay on one playing field and stick to our approach and just keep hitting.”

IU will send sophomore lefthander Joey DeNato (7-3, 3.08 ERA) to the mound Thursday. DeNato was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team on Tuesday but has struggled as of late. Since beating Michigan by tossing eight shutout innings, DeNato has not lasted more than five innings in any of his last three starts, while posting an ERA of 7.90. In that span, DeNato’s overall ERA has ballooned from 2.15 to 3.08.

Against Ohio State on Thursday, DeNato lasted just 4.2 innings, surrendering 11 hits and five runs, all earned.

“He’s maybe a little tired because he’s leaving the baseball up, and that’s generally a sign of fatigue,” Smith said. “Our decision to get him out of there in the fourth — certainly they were up a couple of runs or whatever — but it was also my thought to get him out of there early and give him a little bit more rest for the tournament.”

But Smith is sticking with his ace.

“We all know he’s a very, very good pitcher in this league, and you haven’t been around this game long if you don’t realize guys go through tough patches,” Smith said. “Joey has been ‘great Joey’ for two years. I think he’ll get back on track. He’s a competitive guy, and rest assured when we roll into the first game of the tournament, I’m not giving the ball to anyone else.”

If his front-of-the-rotation starter does falter, though, Smith has the ability to turn to a strong back-end of his bullpen. Righthander Jonny Hoffman (7-1, 2.36 ERA) was the only reliever named to the All-Big Ten First Team.

Hoffman leads the team in saves (5)  and has allowed just 44 hits in 53.1 innings pitched while opponents are hitting just .223 against him. 

“He knows he’s going to get the ball in crunch time,” Smith said. “He wants the baseball.”

Hoffman struggled in his first two seasons when he pitched using an over-the-top delivery. In 2010, he went 2-3 with an ERA of 8.80 in 45 innings pitched, and 1-0 with a 6.23 ERA in 21.2 innings pitched in 2011.

After two seasons of futility, Hoffman completely retooled his delivery and now uses a submarine­-style sidearm delivery.

“He had the aptitude to do that, he had the desire, the want to do that, and clearly it’s paid off for him,” Smith said. “That kid has grown up a ton. He’s put in the work, he’s dedicated himself and I think he’s now getting the results and sees there’s no shortcuts to success.”

As for the offense, Micah Johnson’s return to the lineup May 5 against Nebraska  provided a much-needed spark. In his first eight games back, Johnson hit .294 with three doubles, a triple, five stolen bases and six RBI. Johnson went 0-10 for the OSU series but did draw four walks, score two runs and swipe a base.

“To get him back now, if he’s gonna miss half the season, I’d rather it be early,” Smith said. “He’s a threat to steal bases, he’s a threat to take away hits and he’s a threat to hit the ball out of the park any time.

“My goodness, you’re not kidding. It makes me sleep better knowing he’s back in there.”