KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer said after Indiana was selected to the NCAA Tournament he was relieved Ty Bothwell got another chance to pitch. The No. 3-seeded Hoosiers’ berth in the Knoxville Regional gave the Hebron, Indiana, native one more outing in the cream and crimson, and he made it count.
An emphatic Bothwell dominated the No. 2-seeded University of Southern Mississippi (41-19) in Indiana’s 10-4 victory Friday afternoon, throwing 103 pitches and holding the Sun Belt champions to three runs in 5.2 innings.
“Bothwell did what he’s done for us all year,” Mercer said postgame. “He gave us a great start and a chance to win. He didn’t feel great or have his best stuff, but he’s a tough kid.”
Southern Miss starting pitcher Billy Oldham never settled in for the Golden Eagles, laboring through 3.2 innings while allowing seven runs on 10 hits. Indiana (33-24-1) teed off on Oldham, scoring seven runs in the first four innings.
First baseman Brock Tibbitts crushed a two-run homer in the first inning and the Hoosiers stretched their lead further with RBI knocks from outfielder Morgan Colopy and third baseman Josh Pyne in the second inning. Tibbitts picked up an RBI double in the fourth inning as part of a 3-for-5, four-RBI day to lead the Indiana offense.
Starting in his third consecutive game for the first time since March 17-22, Colopy performed well at the bottom of the Indiana lineup, going 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs. Despite being removed from the everyday lineup in late March after his batting average dropped below .240, Colopy put together quality at-bats throughout Friday’s game. Mercer lauded his work ethic and readiness.
“He works his tail off,” Mercer said of Colopy postgame. “As a coach, when you have a guy that you personally trust, it wasn’t a question — I told the guys before the game that I thought Morgan was going to have a good day. When you trust the people you go into these environments with, it gives you a ton of confidence. He came up and did exactly what we thought he would do.”
Mercer also spoke highly of Indiana’s offensive execution, saying the Hoosiers stuck to their gameplan well versus Oldham. Indiana took Oldham's offspeed pitches until he threw them in the strike zone, something it did not do when Nebraska pitcher Will Walsh twirled a complete game against the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Tournament on May 25.
“Once we showed the ability to do that, it opened up the rest of the offense,” Tibbitts said postgame.
Southern Miss reliever Kros Sivley ate the final 5.1 innings in relief, pitching much longer than anticipated after Oldham threw 82 pitches in less than four innings. Sivley was much more efficient, needing 83 pitches to close out the game for Southern Miss.
Buoyed by a healthy five-run cushion in the second inning, Bothwell went to work. He surgically worked around some traffic, stranding five baserunners in the first five innings. Mercer said Bothwell has been dealing with arm fatigue, causing his velocity to drop and making his pitches more hittable. Bothwell allowed seven hits in his outing.
“He’s such a tough kid,” Mercer said. “He bears down and executes his pitches with runners in scoring position. When he does that, it’s a tough matchup for anybody.”
The Golden Eagles showed more decisive signs of life in the sixth inning as Bothwell’s pitch count climbed to the century mark, with second baseman Nick Monistere hitting a two-run home run to right field to cut the Indiana lead to six runs.
Infielder Matthew Russo followed with a single, and a hit-by-pitch two batters later spelled the end of Bothwell’s outing. Righty Drew Buhr came out of the bullpen, and although a run scored on an error from second baseman Jasen Oliver, Indiana escaped the bases-loaded jam with its five-run lead still intact.
Buhr settled in from there, working a 1-2-3 seventh and inducing a 6-4-3 double play to retire the side in order in the eighth, quieting the heavily pro-Southern Miss cheering contingent. Southern Miss scored a run in the ninth but Buhr fanned Monistere to end the game, turning in 3.1 innings of one-run ball and closing out the Game 1 victory for Indiana.
“Any time you get through your first game with two pitchers, it’s a big help,” Mercer said. “It doesn’t mean you’re going to win the next game, but it gives you a much better path.”
Now 1-0 in the double-elimination NCAA Tournament, Indiana awaits the winner of the Friday nightcap between the No. 1 overall seed University of Tennessee and No. 4-seeded Northern Kentucky University. The Hoosiers will play either the Volunteers or the Norse in the 1-0 game at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Follow reporters Matt Press (@MattPress23) and Nick Rodecap (@nickrodecap) for updates throughout the Indiana baseball season.
