New-Look Hoosiers Ready to Start 2022 Baseball Season This Weekend at Clemson
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It didn't last long, but spring was in the air in Bloomington for a couple of days, and Indiana's baseball team practiced outdoors at Bart Kaufman Field in 60-degree weather on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It was a great chance to get ready for Opening Day. The Hoosiers begin their 2022 season on Friday, starting with a three-game series at Clemson. There are a lot of new faces up and the down the Hoosiers' roster this spring, and that's brought plenty of excitement, too. They're ready to get rolling, especially after all the stops and starts with COVID-19 that have interrupted and/or cancelled the past two seasons.
"It's been a lot of fun (getting ready). We've had a few hiccups here and there, nothing like last year with COVID or anything like that. It's nice that your only worries this year are a rolled ankle or things like that,'' Indiana coach Jeff Mercer said Wednesday. "Opening Day is great, but as a coach, it doesn't even resonate, the hoopla of all of it. But I am looking forward to the road trip, being around the kids. and watching them grow. Those are things I look forward to the most.''
Indiana will spend most of the next four weeks on the road in warmer climate, taking advantage of playing a loaded nonconference schedule after being forced to play only Big Ten games a year ago because of pandemic restrictions. They will play weekend series at Clemson, Missouri State and Troy, and next weekend they are playing in a showcase event in Texas against perennial powerhouses Arkansas, Stanford and Louisiana.
It's all great preparation for the 24-game Big Ten schedule, and the postseason the follows. The Big Ten Tournament will return this year, taking place for the first time since 2019 in Omaha, Neb. from May 25-29.
The tough early schedule is challenging, but that's exactly the way Mercer likes it. It helps expose strengths and weaknesses more quickly.
"When you go on the road to big environments early, it helps you prepare for what it's going to be like in the last five, six weeks of the season when there's so much on the line,'' Mercer said. "This tough schedule, it gives us a tremendous opportunity to learn about us and what we need to work on. I'm looking forward to the road trip, and getting on the bus. We've had a good year (for offseason work) and I'm looking forward to watching them grow.''
There has been a lot of changeover on the coaching staff as well, Dustin Glant replaces Justin Parker as the pitching coach, and Derek Simmons has been promoted to an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Zach Weatherford has also joined the staff as a volunteer assistant. He played for Mercer at Wright State and has professional experience as well.
"Any time you have new faces and new coaches, it's very exciting because it gives you a chance to ask questions,'' Mercer said. You can ask guys, 'what did you like when you played?' and go from there. It's nice to have fresh ideas.''
There are a lot of new players as well, and this time will have a new look when it starts things up on Friday. The Hoosiers lost four pitchers to the major-league draft last year, and there are only two everyday players — outfielder Morgan Colopy and first baseman/designated hitter Kip Fougerousse — who played regularly a year ago. There are several veterans returning, and a few younger players are ready to step up, and Indiana also did well adding pieces in the transfer portal.
Starting positions really aren't locked in yet, and Mercer will get a good feel for things once they get a few games under their belts.
"We've had a few little injuries, but we've been getting guys comfortable with different groups,'' Mercer said. "Especially as a northern team, when you're putting together a lineup, it's a lot of just best-guess. We haven't been outside, so we really don't know what guys can do right now. We'll need some game action to figure all of that out.''
John Modugno, a 6-foot-5 junior from Upper Saddle River, N.J., will get the start on Friday. He was 3-1 with a 2.09 earned run average last year, pitching out of the bullpen in 12 games and starting four others. He was tough to hit, posting 40 strikeouts in 29 innings, and opponents hit only .207 against him.
"We'll go Modugno on Friday, (Jack) Perkins on Saturday and to be determined on Sunday. No one really stepped up to grab that (Sunday) spot, so we'll play it by ear and see where we stand on Sunday. I don't play on that being a long-term thing, but for this week, we'll see how that plays out.
'John's a competitor and he will battle, and you like that in a Friday starter, a lot like we've had with Tommy (Sommer) the past few years. He's really been throwing the ball well and I'm looking forward to watching him compete.''
Perkins is a redshirt junior from Kokomo, Ind., who transferred to Indiana from Louisville in the offseason. The 6-foot-1 right-hander appeared in 27 games at Louisville, with five starts. He has a 4-1 career record, and opponents have hit just .208 against him.
Indiana has several arms returning in the bullpen, and it should be a strength of the team once again. Ty Bothwell, Nathan Stahl, Reese Sharp and Brayden Tucker are all back. Roles are still to be determined, Mercer said.
Friday's game starts at 4 p.m. ET. The Saturday game will start at 3 p.m., and the Sunday game starts at 1 p.m. All games can be streamed online from the Indiana athletics website at iuhoosiers.com.
- COMPLETE BASEBALL COVERAGE: Sports Illustrated Indiana will provide full coverage of all three games this weekend. To follow all the baseball action this season, following Tom Brew on Twitter @tombrewsports and like our Facebook page at Facebook.com/SportsIllustratedIndiana
- CLEMSON COVERAGE: Our sister site at Sports Illustrated/FanNation, AllClemson.com, also covers baseball and has several stories on their site on Clemson's team. To read their stories, CLICK HERE
Related stories on Indiana baseball
- INDIANA BASEBALL SCHEDULE: Here is the complete 2022 Indiana baseball schedule, with game times and locations, starting with Friday's season opener in Clemson, S.C. CLICK HERE
- HOOSIERS PICKED SIXTH: Big Ten coaches released their preseason poll on Thursday and Indiana was picked to finish sixth in the league. Nebraska was the choice to repeat as league champions. CLICK HERE
- CLEMSON SETS STARTERS FOR WEEKEND: Clemson head baseball coach Monte Lee has announced a starting rotation ahead of the Tigers season opening series against Indiana. CLICK HERE
- MEET DUSTIN GLANT: Dustin Glant was on the fast track in the New York Yankees' organization as a pitching coach, but coming home to Indiana to be the pitching coach in Bloomington was an easy decision. Family comes first for this native Hoosier and his family, and he's thrilled to be here. CLICK HERE
Indiana 2022 baseball roster
- NO. — NAME — YEAR/POSITION — HOMETOWN
- No. 1 — Phillip Glasser, senior infielder, Tallmadge, Ohio
- No. 2 — Luke Hayden, freshman pitcher, Bloomington, Ind.
- No. 3 — Carter Mathison, freshman outfielder, Fort Wayne, Ind.
- No. 4 — Jessee Hunter, junior outfielder, South Lebanon, Ohio
- No. 5 — Tyler Doanes, graduate infielder, Fayetteville, Ga.
- No. 6 — Peter Serutto, senior catcher, Short Hills, N.J.
- No. 7 — Ethan Vecrumba, junior outfielder, Bloomington, Ind.
- No. 8 — Evan Appelwick, freshman infielder, Madison, S.D.
- No. 9 — Brock Tibbitts, freshman catcher, New Albany, Ohio
- No. 10 — Morgan Colopy, redshirt-sophomore outfielder, Centerville, Ohio
- No. 11 — Max Johnson, freshman infielder, Mason, Ohio.
- No. 12 — Craig Yoho, redshirt-junior pitcher, Fishers, Ind.
- No. 14 — Nathan Stahl, junior pitcher, Akron, Ohio
- No. 15 — David Platt, redshirt-sophmore pitcher, Quakertown, Pa.
- No. 16 — Bobby Whalen, redshirt-sophomore outfielder, Camp Hill, Pa.
- No. 17 — Scott Pitts, redshirt-freshman pitcher, Clarendon Hills, Ill.
- No. 18 — Grant Holderfield, freshman pitcher, Oak Park, Ill.
- No. 19 — Evan Goforth, freshman infielder, Borden, Ind.
- No. 20 — Brennan Rowe, sophomore infielder, Powell, Ohio
- No. 23 — Jack Perkins, redshirt-junior pitcher, Kokomo, Ind.
- No. 26 — Tucker Schank, redshirt-sophomore outfielder, Huntingburg, Ind.
- No. 27 — Reese Sharp, redshirt-sophomore pitcher, Noblesville, Ind.
- No. 28 — Sam Murrison, sophomore outfielder, Boca Raton, Fla.
- No. 29 — Ryan Kraft, freshman pitcher/outfielder, Mokena, Ill.
- No. 30 — Kip Fougerousse, sophomore infielder, Linton, Ind.
- No. 31 — Jack Walker, redshirt-sophomore pitcher, New Palestine, Ind.
- No. 32 — Josh Pyne, freshman infielder, Bloomfield, Ind.
- No. 33 — Joe Moran, graduate pitcher, Anderson, Ind.
- No. 34 — Braydon Tucker, senior pitcher, Brazil, Ind.
- No. 35 — Matthew Ellis, redshirt-junior catcher, Waddy, Ky.
- No. 36 — Alexander Ogg, redshirt-sophomore pitcher, Bedford Corners, N.Y.
- No. 37 — Ryan Gilbert, freshman outfielder, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
- No. 38 — Jake Skrine, senior infielder, Longmont, Colo.
- No. 39 — Blayne Deaton, redshirt-sophomore pitcher, Lexington, Ky.
- No. 41 — Ty Bothwell, redshirt-junior pitcher, Hebron, Ind.
- No. 42 — Costa Sirounis, redshirt-freshman pitcher, Munster, Ind.
- No. 43 — Tyler Nelson, redshirt-freshman infielder, Crown Point, Ind.
- No. 44 — Bradley Brehmer, senior pitcher, Indianapolis, Ind.
- No. 45 — John Modugno, junior pitcher, Upper Saddle River, N.J.
- No. 48 — Bryan Gaffney, freshman pitcher, Greenwood, Ind.
- No. 51 — Alec Bolanowski, redshirt-sophomore catcher, Lakewood, Ill.
- No. 52 — Matthew Lerner, redshirt-sophomore catcher, Atlanta, Ga.