Illinois vs. IU: IU moves on to the winners' bracket with a 4-3 win...

[ptrich]

Kraft will NOT be available for the tournament. Kraft had an arm strain, but the doctors say he is okay and could be back for a regional in the NCAAs next week.

IU has LHP Ben Seiler on the mound with an ERA of 5.45 in 36.1 IP. The batting order is pretty much the same as what it's been most of the season with the bottom of the order being Jessee, Cerny, and Serruto.

The Illini have RHP Jack Wenninger on the mound with 4.62 in 76.1 IP.

Iowa downed a slumping Michigan team 13-3, and the Wolverines limped into this tournament after getting swept by OSU.

1st inning:

T1st:

Seiler got a GO to open the game. A routine flyout resulted in the 2nd out. Seiler then gave up a two-out single. A FC at 2nd retired the side.

B1st:

Glasser K'd for the first out.

Whalen single to put a runner on with one out.

Taylor K'd looking on a pitch that was on the inside corner.

A WP moved Whalen into scoring position at 2nd. Tibbitts flied out to end the inning.

IU 0 Illini 0

 

[ptrich]

2nd Inning:

T2nd:

It's the 5-7 hitters up for the Illini. The leadoff hitter grounded out for the first out.

A lineout to Taylor resulted in out No. 2. Seiler then walked a hitter on a 3-1 count with two outs.

A good bunt put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs.

A flyout to Jessee retired the side.

B2nd:

It's the 5-7 hitters with Mathison leading off. Mathison K'd on three pitches. Pyne popped the ball up for the 2nd out. Jessee K'd to end the inning.

IU 0 Illini 0

 

[ptrich]

3rd Inning:

T3rd:

It's the top of the order up for the Illini and IU went to the bullpen and brought in RHP Ethan Phillips with an ERA of 4.71 in 28.2 IP. It was the plan to have Seiler go through the Illini order just once which Glant stated in a pregame interview.

Phillips walked the leadoff hitter on a 3-1 count. A flyout to Taylor resulted in the first out with the runner still at 1st.

A deep flyout to CF kept the runner at first with two outs. A routine flyout retired the side.

B3rd:

It's the 8 thru 1 hitters up with Cerny leading off. Cerny reached on a leadoff single after fouling off several pitches on a 3-2 count.

Cerny was caught stealing for the 1st out. Serruto singled to put a runner on, but Glasser hit into a DP to end the inning.

IU 0 Illini 0

 

[ptrich]

4th Inning:

T4th:

It's the 5-7 hitters up for the Illini. Phillips got the leadoff hitter on a GO. Another GO on a great play by Pyne at 3B was the 2nd out. A hitter reached on a two-out infield single. A flyout retired the side.

B4th:

It's the 2-4 hitters up with Whalen leading off. Wenninger has kept IU in check so far, but the Hoosiers have made him throw a lot of pitches with his PC at 55 after the 3rd inning.

Whalen reached on a leadoff single. Taylor popped up to the infield for the first out. Tibbitts flied out for two outs.

A two-out single by Mathison put runners on the corners. Pyne sent a ball to the warning track but it was a long out to end the inning.

IU 0 Illini 0

 

[GolfHacker1]

Chief Illiniwek and Oskee Wow Wow hanging tough!

 

[GolfHacker1]

Chief Illiniwek and Oskee Wow Wow take the lead 1-0 on RBI double T 5th.

 

[GolfHacker1]

Indiana ties Chief Illiniwek and Oskee Wow Wow.

Hoosiers in business B 5th

 

[GolfHacker1]

Indiana bases juiced, 1 down. Chief Illiniwek pitcher is doing what he can.

 

[GolfHacker1]

Indiana takes 2-1 lead over Chief Illiniwek and Oskee Wow Wow!

 

[ptrich]

5th Inning:

T5th:

Phillips was back out there and faced the 9 thru 2 hitters. Phillips walked the No. 9 hitter on four pitches. Phillips goes 2-0 on the next hitter and he has thrown six straight balls to start the inning. A double scored the runner from 1st to give Illinois a 1-0 lead with no outs.

Mercer goes to the bullpen and brings in RHP Evan Whiteaker with a 5.28 ERA in 15.1 IP. Whiteaker got the next batter on a flyout for one out and the runner still at 2nd. Whiteaker then got a big K for the 2nd out. A foul out retires the side.

B5th:

It's the bottom of the order up for IU with Jessee leading off. Jessee grounded out for the first out.

Cerny hit a one-out double to put a runner in scoring position.

Serruto came through with an RBI-single to tie the game at 1-1. Serruto took 2nd on the throw with the top of the order up.

Glasser walked on four pitches to put runners on 1st and 2nd and one out.

The Illini went to the bullpen and brought in RHP TJ Constertina with an ERA of 3.67 in 34.1 IP and Whalen up.

Whalen walked on a pitch that was way outside to load the bases with one out and Taylor up.

A FC got the runner at 2nd for two outs and Cerny scored to make it 2-1 IU and two outs.

Tibbitts lined out to 3B to end the inning.

IU 2 Illini 1

 

[ptrich]

6th Inning:

T6th:

It's the 5-7 hitters up with Whiteaker back out there.

Whiteaker got the leadoff hitter on a K. A single through the infield put a runner on with one out.

Whiteaker then got a high strike three for two outs and the runner still at 1st. Whiteaker then got another K to retire the side with all three outs on K's.

B6th:

It's the 5-7 batters up with Mathison leading off and Constertina back out there. Mathison flied out and Pyne grounded out for two outs. Jessee K'd to end the inning.

IU 2 Illini 1

 

[GolfHacker1]

Whiteaker dealing! Getting close Hoosiers! First Chief Illiniwek and Oskee Wow Wow, then the mighty Iowa Hawkeyes!

 

[ptrich]

7th Inning:

T7th:

It's the 9 thru 2 hitters up with Whiteaker back out there. Whiteaker got the first two batters on K's. Whiteaker then got the next hitter on a GO to retire the side in order.

B7th:

It's the 8 thru 1 hitters up for IU with Cerny leading off. The Illini went to the bullpen again and brought in RHP Joseph Glassey with an ERA of 4.35 in 41.1 IP.

Cerny flied out and it was the first time he hadn't reached in the game.

Serruto walked and reached for the third time in the game with one out and the top of the order up in Glasser.

A FC got Serruto at 2nd with two outs and Glasser at 1st.

Whalen flied out to end the inning.

IU 2 Illini 1

 

[GolfHacker1]

4 pitch inning. Chief Illiniwek and Oskee Wow Wow going down!

 

[GolfHacker1]

Oh boy, that might have just done it for Chief Illiniwek and Oskee Wow Wow

 

[GolfHacker1]

This could very well do it for the Hoosiers in a good way, and Chief Illiniwek Oskee Wow Wow in a bad way.

They playing baseball!

Small ball!

 

[GolfHacker1]

Ha ha, that’s the ball game. Calling it now.

 

[GolfHacker1]

4-1 Indiana. I think Illinois is done. Not good in close games.

 

[ptrich]

8th Inning:

T8th:

Whiteaker is back out there to face the 3-5 hitters. Whiteaker put them down in order, all on FOs.

B8th:

It's the 3 thru 5 hitters up with Taylor leading off. The Illini go to the bullpen again and brought in RHP Logan Tabeling with an ERA of 6.00 in 15 IP.

The freshman of the year got a leadoff hit to put a runner on.

IU caught a break when a foul pop up by Tibbitts was misplayed and missed by an Illini.

Tibbitts walked after fouling off several pitches to put runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs with Mathison up.

Mathison put down a SAC bunt to move the runners to 2nd and 3rd and one out.

On a slow ball hit in the infield to SS, Taylor was able to score from 3rd on a risky play with Pyne out at 1st for two outs.

Jessee singled to score Tibbitts to make it 4-1. Cerny flied out to end the inning and IU getting insurance runs for the 9th.

IU 4 Illini 1

 

[GolfHacker1]

Now Chief Illiniwek and Oskee Wow Wow shows plate discipline.

Stock a fork in em, they’re done.

 

[GolfHacker1]

Whiteaker throws a very, very good game today!

Covfefe! Never take the short money!

 

[GolfHacker1]

Get rested the Mighty Iowa Hawkeyes are next!

 

[GolfHacker1]

Probably gonna need more offense than this. Can’t rely on catching home runs over the fence. Iowa is a good ball club.

 

[GolfHacker1]

A bit of drama, but no big deal. Unless!

 

[GolfHacker1]

Error! 2 Runs Chief Illiniwek Oskee Wow Wow! 4-3!

 

[GolfHacker1]

Ha ha, tournament baseball! Never in doubt! Bring on the Mighty Iowa Hawkeyes!

 

[ptrich]

9th Inning:

T9th:

Whiteaker was back out there to try and close it out and he faced the 6-8 hitters and the leash has to be short. Whiteaker hit the leadoff hitter to put a runner on.

A FC got the runner at 2nd with a runner at 1st and one out.

Mercer went to the bullpen after an outstanding outing for the freshman Whiteaker. RHP Brayden Risedorph came in with an ERA of 4.50 in 44 IP.

Risedorph got a K for two outs and the Illini bring in a pinch hitter. The hitter reached on an infield single to put runners on 1st and 2nd and two outs and the top of the order up.

Risedorph then walked a batter on a full count to load the bases.

Bad luck struck when Glasser committed an error on a throw to Tibbitts that he couldn't corral and two unearned runs scored to make it 4-3 IU.

After a near-disaster, a flyout to LF was caught by Murrison to end the game.

IU 4 Illini 3 (Final)

 

[GolfHacker1]

We comin!

 

[ptrich]

IU entered the tournament with Kraft unavailable because of an arm strain that put him on the shelf for the entire tournament, but he may be ready for a regional next week since it's not considered serious. IU had planned a committee approach to this game from a pitching standpoint, and we got an excellent game out of the pitchers used with Whiteaker being outstanding going 4.1 IP. We had just enough hitting to pull this game out. IU now has a day's rest before taking on Iowa on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET.

IU outhit the Illini 9-6 and they were 9 for 30 for a team average of .300, while the Illini were 6 for 34 for a .176 average. IU had three multi-hit players and here are some stats.

Serruto: 2 for 2, an RBI, and a run scored.
Cerny: 2 for 4 and a double, and a run scored.
Taylor was 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Whalen was 2 for 3 while Mathison was 1 for 3, with Jessee and Pyne each having an RBI.

IU had one error on the game which cost two unearned runs in the 9th. The Illini had no errors.

Like I said in the first paragraph, pitching was excellent today and Whiteaker was outstanding. We gave up just one earned run over the length of the game and that is almost just about as good as it can get. There were no WPs today. Here are the pitching stats:

Seiler: 2.0 IP, 2 hits, no Ks, and 1 BB with the rest of the slate clean.
Phillips: 2.0 IP, 2 hits to include a double, 1 run earned, no Ks, and 2 BBs
Whiteaker: 4.1 IP, 1 hit, 1 unearned run, 6 Ks, no BBs, and 1 hit batter.
Risedorph: 0.2 IP, 1 hit, 1 unearned run, 1 K, and 1 BB.

 

[ptrich]

FWIW, D1Baseball put out their predictions on the conference tourney winners today, and IU didn't get much love at all. Of the 11 panelists making predictions, they gave Iowa five votes, Maryland three votes, Rutgers two votes, and IU just one vote out of the 11.

I'm assuming they are giving Iowa all of the love over their pitching staff finishing first in the B1G in team ERA and it's a tournament with several games packed into a short period of time. I don't get the Rutgers voting after they entered the tournament dropping 2 of 3 to Minnesota and they are on the same side of the bracket with Maryland.

 

[ptrich]

Here is the box score link:

Baseball vs Illinois on 5/23/2023 - Box Score - Indiana University Athletics

The official box score of Baseball vs Illinois on 5/23/2023

iuhoosiers.com

Here is the recap link:

Hoosiers Win Ninth One-Run Game to Open B1G Tournament - Indiana University Athletics

OMAHA, Neb. – As the only team to appear in the Big Ten Tournament in each of the last 10 events, the Indiana baseball program won a game for the ninth time ...

iuhoosiers.com

 

[ptrich]

The Iowa coach indicated after their win against Michigan today that RHP Ty Langenberg will get the start against IU on Thurs.

I thought it might be Brecht who pitched the Sunday game against Northwestern leading up to the tournament and he went 6.0 IP with a 79 PC in that game. Brecht handcuffed us in the first game of their series with IU in their one win in the series. Brecht had been struggling of late with control issues, but he started the Sunday games in the last couple of series and pitched well.

Langenberg, who has an ERA of 4.50 in 64.0 IP, pitched in the final game of the IU series and he pitched well, going 6.0 IP and giving up 6 hits and no runs. IU won the game when they got to Iowa's bullpen.

 

[GolfHacker1]

Sounds like Brody Brecht will be pitching for Iowa on Thursday.

 

[ptrich]

Sounds like Brody Brecht will be pitching for Iowa on Thursday.

What's the source on that?

 

[ptrich]

What's the source on that?

Yeah, I saw the comment on that just a while ago. That came from an individual from the Hawkeye Report, so maybe Heller and his pitching coach changed their mind. Hopefully, Brecht goes back to his control issues again.

 

[GolfHacker1]

What's the source on that?

Iowa media spoke to Heller this evening. Looks like Brody Brecht.

Ha ha, they comin @ptrich, they comin!

 

[rcaulfie]

Not sure it really matters at this point. Looking at that series, IU had 1 ER against their 3 starting pitchers combined. Good thing our pitching staff was able to do just a little bit better and win that series. I hope the bats do better this time around.

 

[GolfHacker1]

Not sure it really matters at this point. Looking at that series, IU had 1 ER against their 3 starting pitchers combined. Good thing our pitching staff was able to do just a little bit better and win that series. I hope the bats do better this time around.

Iowa and Indiana could be the two best teams in the B1G. Tournaments don't always reward the best teams however. Be thankful Indiana didn't weep Iowa as winning a 4th game would have odds stacked against Indiana.

Getting hot at the right time is the key. And getting hot in June is significantly more important than getting hot for the B1G tournament.

Iowa comin!

 

[Seyton]

FWIW, D1Baseball put out their predictions on the conference tourney winners today, and IU didn't get much love at all. Of the 11 panelists making predictions, they gave Iowa five votes, Maryland three votes, Rutgers two votes, and IU just one vote out of the 11.

I'm assuming they are giving Iowa all of the love over their pitching staff finishing first in the B1G in team ERA and it's a tournament with several games packed into a short period of time. I don't get the Rutgers voting after they entered the tournament dropping 2 of 3 to Minnesota and they are on the same side of the bracket with Maryland.

They probably don't like our pitching and for good reason. But I don't look at this as a slight. IU is probably a consensus no. 2 or 3 in the conference amongst those panelists and that seems about right to me.

 

[TomEric4756]

Here is the box score link:

Baseball vs Illinois on 5/23/2023 - Box Score - Indiana University Athletics

The official box score of Baseball vs Illinois on 5/23/2023

iuhoosiers.com

Here is the recap link:

Hoosiers Win Ninth One-Run Game to Open B1G Tournament - Indiana University Athletics

OMAHA, Neb. – As the only team to appear in the Big Ten Tournament in each of the last 10 events, the Indiana baseball program won a game for the ninth time ...

iuhoosiers.com

From the recap … [IU is the] only team to appear in the Big Ten Tournament in each of the last 10 events, the Indiana baseball program won a game for the ninth time in those 10 appearances with a 4-3 victory over Illinois on Tuesday (May 23) on Charles Schwab Field.

The investment in Baseball is clearly paying off … let’s see a few more super regional appearances