Hoosiers stunned in season-ending loss

Kyle Schwarber sat at a table cloaked in a crimson cloth. A name tag and a Dasani water bottle sat in front of him.

A microphone was perched under his chin.

He was talking to the press after one of the most devastating losses in IU baseball history.

To his right sat his teammate, Dustin DeMuth. To his left, his teammate Sam Travis and his coach, Tracy Smith.

The three Hoosier players' hat brims covered their eyes, which were visibly red. IU (44-15) had just had its season ended minutes prior in a 5-4 loss to Stanford (34-24) with a walk-off Cardinal home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

IU had gone into the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead, which was erased with one swing of freshman shortstop Tommy Edman’s bat.

The players were asked to put the loss into words.

Schwarber, a first team All-Big Ten catcher and the No. 17 ranked draft prospect, leaned forward to the microphone.

He started to answer, then paused.

He was trying to find the right words.

What did the loss mean for his team that came into the season ranked No. 3 in the nation, and had aspirations of a national championship?

“I'll speak for all of us,” Schwarber said. “It's tough. I mean, this group of guys, these guys up here, everyone in the locker room, they are like -- they are all brothers to us.  I'm not going to lie. This is my favorite team to be on, out of all my years here.”

In a do-or-die game Monday night and a bid to the super regional on the line, Stanford was able to keep its season alive, while IU’s dramatically ended.

IU had taken an early 3-0 lead in the third inning, thanks in large part to a two-run home run by Schwarber.

After a two hour and 51 minute rain delay, Stanford responded with a two-run third inning. The team added a solo home run in the sixth to make it a 3-3 ballgame.

In the top of the eighth, sophomore shortstop Nick Ramos hit a chopper over the head of Stanford pitcher Cal Quantrill for an RBI infield single to put IU up 4-3.

The fans that remained after the rain delay were elated. Sophomore reliever Scott Effross plowed through the eighth inning with two strikeouts and a groundout, and the Hoosiers were three outs away from a win.

In the bottom of the ninth, Effross got Stanford’s Wayne Taylor to a 1-2 count, but Taylor – who hit the go ahead three-run home run Sunday night – singled up the middle.

Smith had his ace, senior Joey DeNato, warming up in the bullpen, but he opted to stay with Effross to face Edman.

After the game, Smith said he was going to bring in DeNato to face the next Stanford batter, first baseman Danny Diekroeger.

But Diekroeger wouldn’t take his at-bat.

On the first pitch, Edman sent Effross’ pitch over the right field wall. The home run kept Stanford’s national championship dream alive, and it ended the Hoosiers’ historic season.

“I was just trying to get on base to be honest,” Edman said. “Home run was the last thing I expected.”

Now it was Smith’s turn to answer the question. He acknowledged that yes, this was one of the worst losses he’s endured.

But that’s not what he was thinking about.

It’s the people, the relationships he’s built, that were done. With just one swing of the bat, those relationships, to an extent, ended.

“It's hard for me to be disappointed when I've had the opportunity to work with the group of guys and the team that we had,” Smith said. “And, again, the toughest piece is not going to be seeing some of those faces in the locker room.”