West Virginia vs. IU: IU moves on to the winner's bracket with a 12-6 win...

[ptrich]

It will be RHP Luke Sinnard on the mound for IU with an ERA of 4.16 in 84.1 IP. The lineup and batting order for IU is the same as it was in the B1G tourney.

In a pregame interview, Coach Mercer said the Ryan Kraft is ready to go for the regional, and that is great news, and his absence in the B1G tourney was certainly noticeable.

For the Mountaineers, it will be RHP Blaine Traxel with an ERA of 3.79 in 99.2 IP.

It's 86 degrees and sunny.

1st Inning:

T1st:

Glasser grounded out to start the game. Whalen beat out a throw for an infield single to put a runner on.

Taylor K'd for the 2nd out with Whalen still at 1st. Tibbitts K'd to retire the side.

B1st:

Sinnard K'd the leadoff hitter to set a single season record for strikeouts at IU with 110 K's.

Sinnard then K'd WVU's top hitter in Wetherholt, but then gave up a two-out solo homer to give WVU a 1-0 lead.

Sinnard then struck out the next batter getting all outs on K's to end the inning.

WVU 1 IU 0

 

[Bucket Getter]

If we don’t adjust to this fat kid’s assortment of junk balls, I’m not sure we’ll deserve to win. Let’s freaking gooooo!!!!

 

[ptrich]

2nd Inning:

T2nd:

It was the 5-7 hitters up with Mathison leading off. Mathison walked on a full count.

On a grounder hit by Pyne, the ball was thrown away by the SS for an error advanced Mathison and Pyne to 2nd and 3rd with no outs.

Jessee walked on four pitches to load the bases with no outs and Cerny up.

Cerny K'd for one out with Serruto up.

Serruto then K'd for the 2nd out and it really hurt that Cerny and Serruto couldn't put the ball in play.

Glasser up with two outs. A two-out RBI single by Glasser saved IU from what would have been a big missed opportunity with IU taking the lead at 2-0 with Mathison and Pyne scoring.

Jessee was out trying to take 3rd in the single to retire the side.

B2nd:

It's the 5-7 hitters up for WVU. Sinnard K'd the leadoff hitter. A flyout resulted in two outs. Sinnard then ended the inning with another strikeout.

IU 2 WVU 1

 

[Bucket Getter]

Holy cow. Sinnard hurt? Crap!!!!

 

[ptrich]

3rd Inning:

T3rd:

It's the 2-4 hitters up with Whalen leading off. Whalen doubled to leadoff.

Taylor moved Whalen to 3rd on a SF for one out. Tibbitts K'd for the 2nd out with Mathison up and Whalen still at 3rd.

Whalen then scored on a WP to give IU a 3-1 lead with two outs and no one on. Mathison flied out to retire the side.

B3rd:

It's the 8 thru 1 hitters up. The leadoff hitter reached on a single up the middle.

Sinnard is having a problem and some of the WVU fans are cheering the situation to show their class. Sinnard is done with what may be a wrist injury and IU is having a dark cloud hanging over them when it comes to pitching with Kraft unavailable for the B1G tournament and now Sinnard going out after pitching extremely well up until the 3rd inning injury.

RHP Brayden Risedorph came in to replace Sinnard with an ERA of 4.47 in 46.1 IP, and he faced the No. 9 hitter with a runner on and no outs. Risedorph hit the batter to put runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs.

A SAC bunt moved the runners to 2nd and 3rd with one out and WVU's best hitter up in Wetherholt.

Risedorph then grazed the jersey of Wetherholt to load the bases with one out and he has put two runners on after hitting them. It certainly appears that this is not going to be one of Risedorph's better appearances.

Risedorph then walked in a run and after having Sinnard in full control, things are starting to fall apart for IU.

A SAC fly brought in another run to tie the game with two outs, and some of the classless Mountaineer fans are rewarded with two runs. A flyout ended the inning.

IU 3 WVU 3

 

[Bucket Getter]

Sure would be nice if our relievers could actually enter a game and get outs. Seems like lately they come in and poor gas on every little fire.

 

[ptrich]

4th Inning:

T4th:

It's the 6-8 hitters up for IU and Pyne hit deep to the outfield but it died for just a long out.

Jessee grounded out and Cerny flied out to retire the side.

B4th:

Risedorph faced the 6-8 hitters and the leadoff hitter hit a triple that got well over the head of Taylor who was playing shallow. Risedorph then got a K for one out and the runner still at 3rd.

Risedorph got a foul out to Tibbitts for the 2nd out. Risedorph then walked the No. 9 hitter to put runners on the corners with two outs and the top of the order up.

Risedorph is starting to have trouble finding the strike zone again.

On a botched play, a runner faked an attempt to steal 2nd and when Serruto threw to Cerny, the runner retreated back to 1st, but the runner on 3rd was able to score with the throw by Cerny off at the plate and the runner on 1st reaching 2nd. It was just a mental mistake for Serruto to throw the ball, and what WVU hoped would happen, did happen and the lead run scored after two outs.

A flyout ended the inning:

WVU 4 IU 3

 

[ptrich]

5th Inning:

T5th:

Serruto and Glasser singled to start the inning. An attempted SAC bunt by Whalen was thrown away by the pitcher to score Serruto with an unearned run to tie the game at 4-4 with Glasser taking 3rd and Whalen on 2nd and no outs.

A SF by Taylor gave IU the lead back with Glasser scoring to give IU a 5-4 lead.

Tibbitts K'd for the 2nd out with Whalen at 3rd.

Whalen scored for the 2nd time in the game on a WP to give IU a 6-4 lead and Mathison up with two outs.

Mathison grounded out to retired the side with IU up 6-4

B5th:

It's the 2-4 hitters up with Risedorph back out there. Jessee made a tough catch on a fly hit to LF by Wetherholt for the first out.

Risedorph then walked another batter to put a runner on with one out. Risedorph has given up just one hit over two innings but his control issues with BBs and hit batters have really hurt.

A single put runners on 1st and 2nd and one out. Risedorph's PC is at 58 thru 2.1 IP.

Risedorph then got a DP ball, but WVU challenged the call. The review looked good for a DP to end the inning and the umps agreed after the review.

IU 6 WVU 4

 

[ptrich]

6th Inning:

T6th:

It was the 6-8 hitters up and Pyne was out on an attempted bunt to leadoff.

Jessee got a one-out walk to put a runner on. The walk chased Traxel with WVU going to the bullpen.

WVU brought in RHP David Hagaman with an ERA of 3.06 in 35.1 IP and a 1.06 WHIP, and he faced Cerny with one out and Jessee at 1st.

Cerny walked on four pitches to put runners on 1st and 2nd and one out with Serruto up.

Serruto K'd on a foul tip for the 2nd out, and Glasser grounded out to retire the side.

B6th:

Risedorph was back out there to face the 6-8 hitters and I have to believe with his control issues, he will be gone if anyone reaches. Risedorph got the leadoff man on a K.

Risedorph got a GO for the 2nd out. A two-out single put a man on with the No. 9 hitter up who has reached twiced with no official at-bat so far.

An RBI triple scored a run to make it 6-5 with two outs.

Mercer brought in LHP Ty Bothwell with a 7.03 ERA in 24.1 IP to face the top of the order with two outs.

Bothwell K'd the batter to end the inning.

IU 6 WVU 5

 

[ptrich]

7th Inning:

T7th:

It's the 2-4 hitters up with Whalen leading off. Yoho and Foley are warming up in the bullpen.

Whalen popped out and Taylor K'd for two outs, and Tibbitts fouled out to retire the side.

B7th:

Bothwell was back out there and faced the 2-4 hitters. WVU's top hitter, Wetherholt, who was hitless so far, doubled to leadoff. Bothwell then got a big strikeout for the first out with the runner still at 2nd.

A lineout to Glasser resulted in the 2nd out with Wetherholt able to get back to 2nd.

A flyout ended the inning, and Bothwell got thru the toughest part of the batting order, leaving a runner at 2nd.

IU 6 WVU 5

 

[ptrich]

8th Inning:

T8th:

It's the 5-7 hitters up for IU with Mathison leading off. Mathison doubled to leadoff on a ball that was off the tip of the glove of the outfielder.

A GO sent Mathison to 3rd with one out and Jessee up. A SF by Jessee scored an important 7th run for IU and it's the first time that IU has scored 7 runs in a game since the Purdue series.

Cerny grounded out to retire the side.

B8th:

Bothwell faced the 6-8 hitters. Bothwell K'd the leadoff hitter. Bothwell then walked a batter on a full count with one out.

A double put runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. A FC got the runner at 1st, but a run scored with the runner n 2nd holding and two outs. Bothwell then got a K to end the inning with IU holding on to the lead.

IU 7 WVU 6

 

[ptrich]

9th Inning:

T9th:

It's the 9 thru 2 hitters up, and with WVU having the meat of the order up in the bottom of the 9th, an extra run or two would be great right here.

Serruto flied out for the first out. Glasser walked on a full count after the WVU pitcher was hit with a ball on a pitch clock violation for the 3rd ball.

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

The Mountaineers went to the bullpen and brought in RHP Carlson Reed with an ERA of 1.50 in 36 IP, and he is the main closer for WVU with Taylor up.

A FC got Taylor at 1st for two outs and the runners advancing to 2nd and 3rd with Tibbitts up and Tibbitts is overdue for a hit. Just like that, Tibbitts tripled to scored Glasser and Whalen to make it 9-6 IU.

Mathison then singled to bring in Tibbitts to make it 10-6 with two outs.

Pyne then hit a two-out, two-run homer to make it 12-6 and IU greeted the Mountaineers main closer with an avalanche of hits which chased the WVU pitcher. The Mountaineers then went to the bullpen again and brought in RHP Noah Short with an ERA of 4.09 in 11 IP.

The new pitcher walked Jessee on a 3-1 count.

Cerny walked on a full count to put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs.

Serruto K'd to retire the side.

B9th:

With the 2-4 hitters up for WVU and the most dangerous part of the batting order, the six-run cushion was welcomed, and Bothwell is back out there to close it out, saving the need to use more pitchers out the bullpen.

Bothwell put them down in order to end the game.

IU 12 WVU 6 (Final)

 

[HoosierJimbo89]

Go Hoosiers! W! The bats came alive at the end big time.

 

[ulrey]

Hell yes!!

 

[HoosierJimbo89]

 

[cd_hoosiers]

That's how you win tourney games...throw strikes, make the other guy throw strikes, and play error-free. Well done team.

 

[Pazhoosier85]

Bring on the wildcats!

 

[82IU]

The Ty Bothwell of tonight is the one I want to see going forward. They say he has the speed and stuff. He just needs to build on this performance.
Go Hoosiers!
82

 

[Orford]

Bothwell a senior couldn’t end his college career without returning to the Bothwell we’ve known. He was confident out there. Really good to see and should really fire up the team.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car Is Back]

Nice to know our best pitchers get hurt two weeks in a row. What are they doing in practice that two guys have arm trouble without doing anything out of the ordinary? This staff needs to reexamine how it is handling it's pitchers.

Nice win and took advantage of other team being sloppy for once but the coaches better change something before every pitcher gets injured.

 

[ptrich]

There might have been a little bit of karma with this win after some of the Mountaineer fans openly cheered Sinnard leaving the game with an injury after he was dominating them for the most part. Things didn't look good when Risedorph came in and had control problems, but after WVU tied the game he settled down some and kept the game close.

IU outhit the Moutaineers, 9-8, with several of those hits coming in the 9th to put the game away. IU was 9 of 34 for the game and a team average of .265, while WVA was 8 of 32 for .250. IU had three multi- hit players and here are some of the stats.

Whalen: 2 for 3 with a double, and he scored 3 runs.
Glasser: 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and he scored 2 runs.
Mathison: 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and he scored 3 runs.
Pyne: 1 for 5 with a homer, 2 RBIs, and he scored 2 runs.
Tibbitts: 1 for 5 with a triple, 2 RBIs, and he scored a run.
Jessee only had one official at-bat, but he showed a good eye with three walks and he got an RBI on a SF.

IU had no errors, but the two errors committed by the Mountaineers played big in the game.

Sinnard was dominating the Mountaineers with the exception of a two-out solo homer he gave up in the first before he left with an arm injury with a man on and no outs in the 3rd. Risedorph came in and really had control issues to start with, hitting two batters and walking another one with WVA getting two runs to tie the game in that inning. Risedorph settled down after that inning and gave up another run in the 4th which was actually scored because of a mental error. After giving up a leadoff triple in 4th, Risedorph almost pitched out of the inning after getting two outs and the runner still at 3rd, but the runner on 1st faked stealing 2nd which drew an ill-advised throw by Serruto to Cerny with the runner retreating back to 1st. With the runner on 3rd heading home, a throw by Cerny was off, allowing a score that was the 4th run of the game for WVU and a temporary lead. Bothwell replaced Risedorph in the 6th with two outs and he got the last out to end the inning. Bothwell had a great game in relief to finish the game. There were no WPs by IU. Here are the pitching stats.

Sinnard: 2.0 IP, 2 hits to include a solo homer, 2 runs both earned, 5 Ks, and no BBs.

Risedorph: 3.2 IP, 4 hits to include a double and triple, 3 runs all earned, 2 Ks, 3 Bs, and he hit two batters.

Bothwell: 3.1 IP, 2 hits which were doubles, 1 earned run, 5 Ks, and 1 BB.

 

[ptrich]

Here's the link to the box score:

Baseball vs West Virginia on 6/2/2023 - Box Score - Indiana University Athletics

The official box score of Baseball vs West Virginia on 6/2/2023

iuhoosiers.com

Link to the recap:

Hoosiers Take Home Regional Opening Win - Indiana University Athletics

LEXINGTON, Ky. – There is a saying about the best laid plans and on Friday (June 2) inside Kentucky Proud Park not everything went as planned for the India...

iuhoosiers.com

 

[baileyiu]

Great win! Bothwell was outstanding & the bats came alive.
Mercer did a great job of trusting Bothwell, thus saving our pitching staff

 

[GeddyHoosier]

Thanks for the updates , everyone.

 

[GolfHacker1]

I was there. Some of this didn’t happen. Careful who you pay attention to on message boards. Very imaginative.

 

[hookyIU1990]

I was there. Some of this didn’t happen. Careful who you pay attention to on message boards. Very imaginative.

Why don't you post the actual goings on at the end of every inning then.

😲

How many accounts do you have now? This one, the original dude and the dude is back.

Anyone know if there’s a limit on ignored accounts?

 

[GolfHacker1]

Why don't you post the actual goings on at the end of every inning then.

😲

How many accounts do you have now? This one, the original dude and the dude is back.

Anyone know if there’s a limit on ignored accounts?

Nah, West Virginia fans were cheering for an injury. Meanwhile, back in reality……

 

[ulrey]

Here's the link to the box score:

Baseball vs West Virginia on 6/2/2023 - Box Score - Indiana University Athletics

The official box score of Baseball vs West Virginia on 6/2/2023

iuhoosiers.com

Link to the recap:

Hoosiers Take Home Regional Opening Win - Indiana University Athletics

LEXINGTON, Ky. – There is a saying about the best laid plans and on Friday (June 2) inside Kentucky Proud Park not everything went as planned for the India...

iuhoosiers.com

Appreciate it bud.

 

[Palmbeachhoosier]

Nice to know our best pitchers get hurt two weeks in a row. What are they doing in practice that two guys have arm trouble without doing anything out of the ordinary? This staff needs to reexamine how it is handling it's pitchers.

Nice win and took advantage of other team being sloppy for once but the coaches better change something before every pitcher gets injured.

What makes you think the coaches are doing something in practice that are leading to injuries?

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

What makes you think the coaches are doing something in practice that are leading to injuries?

Because no other team has had their two best pitchers leave with injuries over the span of two weeks within the normal course of play. Once it happens, twice it is no longer a fluke and means something is wrong with the way the coaching staff is doing pitching maintenance.

Especially with this staff that is not the most competent in the world it deserves extra scrutiny.

 

[ptrich]

I was there. Some of this didn’t happen. Careful who you pay attention to on message boards. Very imaginative.

For the record, I caught the radio broadcast and Austin Render, the play-by-play guy said there were some WVU fans celebrating Sinnard's injury and he said it was uncalled for and there was no place for that (paraphrasing some there.) How many are some? Who knows. Obviously, he was there also.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

If I read it correctly we should see the game on the SEC network

 

[ptrich]

If I read it correctly we should see the game on the SEC network

Yes. It should be on there at 6 p.m. ET. and fortunately it is on their main channel and not on SEC+.

IU lost to UK 12-2 back in March in 7 innings because of the 10-run rule that was in effect for that game. IU used the backend of their bullpen in that game with pitchers that had been struggling up to that point. IU had to save pitchers for the Morehead State series which started the next day (Weds) at The Bart and that series had been moved up from the weekend to a Wednesday thru Friday series because of poor weather that was expected over that weekend. Hopefully, we have a much different game today.

 

[Palmbeachhoosier]

Because no other team has had their two best pitchers leave with injuries over the span of two weeks within the normal course of play. Once it happens, twice it is no longer a fluke and means something is wrong with the way the coaching staff is doing pitching maintenance.

Especially with this staff that is not the most competent in the world it deserves extra scrutiny.

Yes fluke things do happen. And guys do get tired arms. It happens. As far as a competence of the staff, a 40 win season with multiple freshmen and sophomores and a BIG runner up is pretty good for a team picked to finish 6th.

 

[baileyiu]

Because no other team has had their two best pitchers leave with injuries over the span of two weeks within the normal course of play. Once it happens, twice it is no longer a fluke and means something is wrong with the way the coaching staff is doing pitching maintenance.

Especially with this staff that is not the most competent in the world it deserves extra scrutiny.

Kraft pitched well today! Mercer doing a great job of managing pitchers.

 

[Dude Where Is My Car]

Kraft pitched well today! Mercer doing a great job of managing pitchers.

That's been fine but his lack of teaching of fundamentals is going to cost IU a very winnable game tonight. I have said many times he can recruit and win on talent alone but you will never hit your absolute maximum unless a change is made. This is the ceiling at best and program is capable of far better in a weak league.

 

[ulrey]

Boom

 

[ulrey]

That's been fine but his lack of teaching of fundamentals is going to cost IU a very winnable game tonight. I have said many times he can recruit and win on talent alone but you will never hit your absolute maximum unless a change is made. This is the ceiling at best and program is capable of far better in a weak league.

Ok Sparky Anderson..

 

[baileyiu]

That's been fine but his lack of teaching of fundamentals is going to cost IU a very winnable game tonight. I have said many times he can recruit and win on talent alone but you will never hit your absolute maximum unless a change is made. This is the ceiling at best and program is capable of far better in a weak league.

Hoosiers bet uk 5-3! Another very solid game by Hoosiers - great pitching, timely hitting, outstanding managing by Mercer!

 

[Palmbeachhoosier]

That's been fine but his lack of teaching of fundamentals is going to cost IU a very winnable game tonight. I have said many times he can recruit and win on talent alone but you will never hit your absolute maximum unless a change is made. This is the ceiling at best and program is capable of far better in a weak league.

Just wandering did you happen to see the back to back bunts. That does not happen with a lack of coaching