After Iowa sent them to the elimination bracket, the Indiana baseball squad was determined to bounce back.
But with a pitching staff that would give up 18 hits in Friday’s elimination game versus Michigan, the Hoosiers faced an insurmountable climb.
After a good couple of innings from Indiana lefty Ty Bothwell, Michigan began their offensive onslaught with three runs in the 3rd. The Hoosiers then turned to freshman Brayden Risedorph, who struggled on the mound to increase the Michigan lead to 6-0 by the end of the 4th. The Indiana defense also struggled in the field, with two errors costing the Hoosiers runs in key moments.
Indiana would get one run back in the top of the 5th, but Michigan continued to punish the pitching slump from Hoosiers, accumulating seven more runs in the back half of the contest.
Indiana would score six of their own through the 7th, but it was not enough to comeback from the Wolverine’s thrashing offensively, as they fell by a final of 13-6.
The seniors provided the offense for Indiana, with Bobby Whalen hitting a 2-run homer in the top of the 7th, as well as Phillip Glasser earning a 3-for-5 effort with an RBI at the plate. Sophomore Josh Pyne rounded out the scoring with a fielder’s choice RBI in the 6th and an RBI double in the 7th.
Indiana came into today’s matchup ranked No. 28 in the RPI. The latest projections from D1 Baseball saw Indiana projected in Coastal Carolina’s regional bracket, with the Hoosiers sitting at a No. 2 seed.
Jeff Mercer’s team will now wait for their named to be called in the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Championship selection show on Monday, May 29th at 12 p.m. Fans can tune into ESPN2 for live results of the bracket.