A few minutes after Nick Day sent a ball over the wall in left field, Ohio State was thinking about tomorrow.
That ball driven over the wall in left field turned a one-run Ohio State lead into a one-run Ohio State deficit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
“This isn’t the end, it’s not the end,” Ohio State senior catcher Aaron Gretz said. “It’s a double elimination tournament so we still have life. We play Indiana tomorrow and everyone on the bus including me, Pat and Coach Beals wants to get back after it less than 24 hours from now.”
The game between IU and Ohio State Thursday at Target Field will be an elimination game. For both teams, the game also represents a potential last opportunity to improve their resumes for the NCAA Tournament.
Both IU and Ohio State entered the conference tournament squarely on the bubble according to many publications. A win-less showing at a conference tournament could be enough to knock both teams out of the tournament field.
But at least for the Hoosiers, they aren’t trying to think about the potential ramifications Thursday morning could hold for the rest of their season.
“We’re trying to play and play well and fight to get to the end of the week,” IU Coach Chris Lemonis said.
IU’s 4-1 loss against Michigan was an aberration. The Hoosiers had won nine of their last 10 games including six in a row before Wednesday’s loss and Lemonis is confident his team will return to its winning ways Thursday.
But for Ohio State, Wednesday’s walk-off loss against Iowa seemed all too familiar. The loss was the ninth in the Buckeye’s last 10 conference games, many of which the Buckeyes believed they could have won.
Both Gretz and senior outfielder Pat Porter emphasized Wednesday’s loss was one pitch, and not indicative of the entire game Wednesday, much like many losses during the Buckeyes’ recent skid.
“I want them thinking about the next pitch and the next opportunity they’re going to get tomorrow,” Ohio State Coach Greg Beals said.
Three of the losses during Ohio State’s skid came against the Hoosiers, last Thursday and Friday in Bloomington. Two of those games IU won by the score of 6-4. In both games, the Hoosiers took the lead in the eighth inning and is a series the Buckeyes remember well.
“They’re a team that if you want to send somebody home after this past weekend, it’d be great to get a win tomorrowagainst Indiana,” Beals said.
Lemonis said he is still deciding on a starting pitcher for Thursday’s game, but that the decision rests solely on whether junior Kyle Hart feels he can pitch tomorrow.
Hart last pitched Friday against Ohio State, pitching six innings while allowing no earned runs to improve his record to 4-0 this season.
“I’ve got to check with Kyle Hart,” Lemonis said. “I’ve got to make sure recovery wise he’s good since he’s coming off a major injury.”
Ohio State plans on starting senior Ryan riga, who last pitched in the final game of the series against Indiana. Riga pitched five innings, allowing four runs and earning a no-decision.
Both coaches also recognize that in the postseason, there’s not much they can do. They just have to sit back and watch what unfolds, whatever that means for their futures.
“It’s the players game now and they’ve got to go out and play,” Lemonis said. “Some of our guys have to play a little bit better tomorrow than they played today.”
