IU Athletics
Indiana, Maryland Pushed Back Again in Big Ten Tournament
Indiana snuck into the Big Ten Tournament as the eighth and final seed after an 0-3 weekend at Iowa to finish the regular season. Anything can happen in postseason baseball, and the Hoosiers will try to pull off the upset on Thursday at approximately 6 p.m. ET from Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.
The Hoosiers and Terrapins were supposed to play Wednesday night, but the game was pushed back due to inclement weather. Indiana (25-30, 10-14) is one of three Big Ten teams to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament every year since 2014, and they'll face a Maryland team that has won seven straight games on its way to the No. 10 ranking in the nation.
Indiana owns a 12-7 record and has outscored Maryland 130-72 since the Terrapins joined the Big Ten, but Maryland is 3-0 versus the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Tournament. Maryland clinched the Big Ten regular season title this season by winning its final six conference games.
For Indiana, it will be Ty Bothwell taking the mound on Thursday morning. Bothwell won Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after tossing seven no-hit innings against Minnesota on May 15.
Bothwell had a shaky start to the season, but he's been one of Indiana's most reliable arms in the second half of the season. He enters the game with a team-low 4.03 ERA, and the redshirt junior from Hebron, Ind. has allowed just four runs over the last 23.2 innings.
The left-hander has been an invaluable piece to Indiana's pitching staff lately because of his ability to enter for short appearances or pitch deep into games. He's struggled a bit with walks lately – eight in his last 11.1 innings – but he's been an equally-lethal strikeout threat, fanning 18 batters and allowing just one hit since May 10.
Indiana will need a strong performance out of Bothwell in order to keep up with First-Team All-Big Ten starting pitcher Jason Savacool. The Maryland ace finished the season as the Big Ten's ERA leader, but Iowa's Adam Mazur took home Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors.
Savacool pitched to a 2.71 ERA across 93 innings of work in 14 starts. With an 8-2 record, Savacool struck out a conference-high 109 hitters while walking 24. Opposing teams bat .207 against Savacool, who is a sophomore right-handed pitcher.
In his most recent start on May 19, Savacool pitched seven innings and allowed four runs in Maryland's win over Purdue. He gave up one run across six innings in his previous start against Michigan, but lasted just one inning against Rutgers on May 8 when he allowed two runs. This start against Rutgers was an extreme outlier, though, as Savacool has pitched at least seven innings in 11 of his 14 starts this season.
Like Bothwell, Savacool is a big-time strikeout threat. Savacool has double-digit strikeouts in three separate outings this season, including 14 against Siena on March 20 and 13 against Penn State on April 3. Indiana had four freshmen make the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, and Matthew Ellis made Third-Team All-Big Ten, but the Hoosiers will need everyone at their best to score off Savacoo.
Indiana will have its hands full against the Maryland batting order, which includes seven Terrapins batting over .300. Maryland also has the Big Ten Player of the Year, Chris Alleyne, who enters the game with a .354 batting average and a conference-high 22 home runs and 73 RBI.
Maryland's deep and balanced lineup also features six hitters with 10 or more home runs, five with an OPS above 1.000 and four sluggers to reach 50 RBI. And when they reach base, the Terrapins like to test the defense with 69 stolen bases, which is tied for third in the conference.
Altogether, Maryland led the Big Ten in home runs, slugging percentage, walks and on-base percentage, while finishing second in batting average, runs, hits, RBI, total bases and batters hit-by-pitch. The Terrapins are a bonafide No. 1 seed, and Indiana will have to play close to its best game of the season to pull off the upset.
First pitch between the Hoosiers and Terrapins is on its way at approximately 6 p.m. ET on Thursday and can be seen on the Big Ten Network. The tournament begins on Wednesday and concludes with the championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
With a win, Indiana would play the winner of No. 4 Illinois versus No. 5 Michigan. Indiana won two of three games against both Illinois and Michigan this season. And with a loss, Indiana would still be alive in the double-elimination tournament, playing the loser of Illinois and Michigan. The updated tournament schedule can be seen here.
Stories related to Indiana baseball:
- FOUR FRESHMEN, ELLIS, DOANES EARN BIG TEN HONORS: Josh Pyne, Carter Mathison, Brock Tibbitts and Evan Goforth were named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team on Monday. Catcher Matthew Ellis earned third-team All-Big Ten honors, and Tyler Doanes was Indiana's recipient of the Sportsmanship Award. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA SWEPT, QUALIFIES FOR B1G TOURNAMENT: Indiana was swept at Iowa this weekend, losing its first series in over a month. The Hoosiers finished with a 10-14 record in Big Ten play, which was enough to sneak into the Big Ten tournament as the No. 8 seed. CLICK HERE
- FOLLOWING WHALEN'S LEAD: Leadoff hitter and center fielder Bobby Whalen has started every game for Indiana this season, leading the Hoosiers with toughness and a "win at any cost" mentality. They'll continue to follow his lead into the final regular season series at Iowa beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.