I've inundated you with posts in the last few days, and I apologize for that. It's just that with the lighter publication schedule in the summer, the blog is my best tool for bringing you what's happening with the Hoosiers. So I guess I'm not actually sorry.
Just finished my second story about Hervey and Phegley setting new IU and Big Ten marks respectively, it will run in Monday's paper as well. Check the post below for my wrap of the weekend.
A few thoughts before I hit the sack:
-I'll be traveling tomorrow, but I'll do my very best to get you a note dump some time in the next 24 hours. I got a lot of good stuff from a few different guys - David Trager in particular - that I just didn't have room for. I'll try to get it here, though I might also be doing another story just on the seniors.
-The Hoosiers are the No. 6 seed in the tournament, and their first round opponent, Penn State, certainly seemed to have IU's number this year. But baseball is a game of streaks and the Hoosiers are on one heck of a tear right now. Consider this: Since getting swept by Penn State, IU is 13 of its last 19, including 11-5 in the Big Ten since then. They won two series - Purdue and Michigan State - and split the other two - Northwestern and Michigan. If this weekend is any indication, the pitching has settled down a bit, and the bullpen looks like it's finally got a couple of established go-to arms. Obviously, the Hoosiers are a long way from even thinking about a tournament championship, but I doubt Penn State is looking forward to facing them.
-Talk is cheap, but Tracy Smith seems to have this team pointed in the right direction. He's recruited well, both in-state (Phegley, Kipp Schutz, Kyle Leiendecker) and out-of-state (Matt Bashore, Jerrud Sabourin - though he did transfer - Chris Hervey). He's almost completely overhauled a team that is almost entirely freshmen and sophomores, and he's getting Big Ten-leading production from a lot of those guys. Considering he's bringing in recruits now like Blake Monar, Josh Lyon and Drew Leininger, the future looks plenty bright as well. Now he and his squad face a new test - how to succeed in the Big Ten Tournament. It will be interesting to watch the development of this program over the next few years to see how far Smith can get IU, and how quickly he can get them there.
What do you think? Where is IU headed? Is this tournament appearance the tip of the iceberg or will it become the norm soon in the future? Sound off below, and have a good weekend.
