As promised, I return with news for all of you.
Practice was dotted with minor celebrities today, including the likes of Micah Johnson, the standout infielder from Park Tudor who committed to IU last fall. The man who supposedly helped convince Johnson IU was the place for him, Tom Crean, came rolling in on his golf cart as practice ended, as well.
First off, here's a link to the full article I wrote about the regional selection.
Second, Josh Phegley and Eric Arnett have been named as two of the 30 finalists for USA Baseball's 2009 Golden Spikes award. Press release Golden Spikes announcement.
Now, also a bit of review from what I got from interviews today with coach Smith, Chris Squires and Josh Phegley.
If only you could hear the sick(ening) tunes playing in the background while these interviews were going on. Seriously, the best jam of the afternoon was "Total Eclipse of the Heart." Bad news.
Squires --The junior reliever said having confidence in their top two starters (Arnett and Bashore) and last year's Big Ten Tournament run helped the Hoosiers play more relaxed and get into a groove in this year's tournament. --Squires also said the strong work of the pitching staff outside of the top two really helped grow confidence after the bullpen's struggles during most of the regular season. --Though his primary role last year was as IU's closer, Squires' foray into starting this year helped him learn how to pitch in extended work, as he did when he threw four innings in the Hoosiers' tournament-clinching victory on Saturday.
Phegley --While this is the second year the Hoosiers' best baseball, arguably anyway, has come at the end of the season, Phegley said he really couldn't pinpoint why that was. He did say the Hoosiers succeeded late in this season because they were able to relax. --Phegley acknowledged the fact that he and several of his teammates are considered to be appealing draft prospects come June. He said, however, that realistically, right now is the time to focus on college ball, since it's unlikely that draft status would improve greatly anyway over just a few games. Quotable: "We've seen Louisville a couple of times, and we've seen them twice a year the last three years. I actually know the pitcher, their No. 1, that we'll be facing. I roomed with him during the Team USA trials last summer, saw him pitch. But just with our pitching staff, we know Eric's going to roll out there, game one, and we've seen this team before, we know what they have, and I think everyone knows we can beat them."
Coach Smith --Smith said he expects that, in all likelihood, the Hoosiers will have at least five players -- Phegley, Kipp Schutz, Eric Arnett, Matt Bashore and Evan Crawford -- drafted in June. There could be more, but he set the minimum at five. --Predictably, Smith said he expects recruiting to get a bump from the Big Ten title and subsequent CWS trip. He said he's already gotten some feedback from guys whose friends committed to other schools and now wish they had pledged to go to IU instead. He didn't name names of uncommitted recruits, obviously, per NCAA rules. --Speaking about the new baseball stadium, Smith admitted things are in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment, but he said he's had personal assurances from Director of Athletics Fred Glass that the project is a top priority. Again, there have been over-budget problems with the new basketball facility, but Smith said there was considerable funding in place for the new baseball stadium. Not all of it yet, but considerable funding.
