Caleb Baragar didn’t try to change anything.
After allowing a run and three hard hit singles, the senior pitcher trusted himself and kept his approach consistent.
After that first, Baragar went on the pitch six more shutout innings in a 3-1 win Saturday against Illinois at Bart Kaufman Field.
“I don’t know I thought I was throwing some pretty good pitches,” Baragar said. “I was working pretty low in the zone which was weird because I tend to be more up than down. I think they just put some pretty good swings on it and got some stuff going.”
Baragar thought he pitched fine in the first innings. IU Coach Chris Lemonis agreed, saying he wasn’t worried because Baragar’s execution on his pitches was better than his recent starts.
Saturday was the longest start for Baragar since an April 15 win against Iowa when he also went seven innings. Since that start, the left-hander had been struggling to go deep into games primarily because he couldn't find the strike zone consistently.
Against Illinois, even in the first, he did that.
“That’s why in the first I wasn’t too worried,” Lemonis said. “He was throwing strikes and when he throws strikes he’s usually pretty good.”
Baragar’s cause was helped by two RBIs from sophomore outfielder Logan Sowers. The first came after a solo home run to center in the third.
The blast came after the Hoosiers stranded three runners in the first two innings, but afterwards, Sowers said he noticed a change in the mentality of his teammates.
“That thing was a monster shot, too,” Lemonis said. “It let everybody relax a little bit.”
That mentality hasn’t been hard to come by in recent weeks, Lemonis said. Faced with a situation where the only path to the NCAA Tournament is by winning the Big Ten Tournament, IU has been battling for the top seed in the conference tournament.
After Saturday’s win, IU trails Minnesota by half a game for the Big Ten lead.
“The Big Ten standings are so close now you can jump from third place to first place,” Sowers said. “It’s really tight right now we’re just trying to go out and play our butts off every game.”
That’s just how it’s been for the Hoosiers recently. Lemonis likened it to what the Hoosiers were faced with to end last season, when they needed to go on a run to make the NCAA Tournament.
Every game has a sense of urgency to the point where Lemonis and his coaching staff don’t have to stress the importance of any one particular game.
The Hoosiers know, because every game has a sense of urgency at this point.
“It feels like we’re in the playoffs right now to be honest with you,” Lemonis said. “Every game, it means a lot to us.”
