'Too Tough To Quit': Hoosiers Weather Sinnard Injury, Beat West Virginia 12-6 in NCAA Tournament
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Indiana lost its grip for a moment, but the resilient squad did not panic. They're too tough to quit, said coach Jeff Mercer.
It would have been easy to let the regional opener against No. 2 West Virginia slip away when starting pitcher Luke Sinnard exited with an injury in the third inning. Instead, the Hoosiers worked deep at-bats, capitalized on errors and found a few relievers to step up in clutch moments.
The result was a 12-6 win over the Mountaineers at Kentucky Proud Park, a victory Indiana had to have. It's also Indiana's first NCAA Tournament win since 2019 and the first regional opener that Mercer's won in both his coaching and playing career. Winning Game 1 can go a long way in regional play.
"I'm not going to give you the cliché talk, say it's another game. It's not," Mercer said. "It's a big deal, and I'm very proud for the kids. I'm really proud of the program for sustaining itself and being able to go back and compete at this level."
Things looked up for Indiana early on as Sinnard, the Hoosiers' workhorse ace, struck out five batters through two innings. By striking out the first batter of the game – his 110th of the season – Sinnard broke an 89-year-old record for single-season strikeouts. His fastball touched mid-90s, and his off-speed pitches kept West Virginia guessing. Sinnard's only blemish was a solo home run in the first, which carried over the fence with some help from the wind.
Through two innings and 25 pitches, his performance had the building blocks of a deep outing. And with a shaky bullpen at times, Indiana needed length from Sinnard as the regional's No. 3 seed. As Sinnard dealt, Indiana took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the third, scoring on a clutch two-out, two-RBI single from Phillip Glasser and a wild pitch.
Indiana senior shortstop Phillip Glasser sprints to first base against West Virginia during the NCAA Tournament regionals at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, Ky. on Friday.
Indiana Athletics
Sinnard took the mound in the third inning, but he pointed to his arm after allowing a leadoff single on his first pitch. He received medical attention on the mound, threw one practice pitch, then decided to shut it down. After the game, Mercer said Sinnard expressed discomfort, and they took him out of the game for precautionary reasons.
"Obviously in that moment, you're emotional for him to see him go down like that," Glasser said. "But we had the guys come up together and say, at the end of the day, we have a ball game to win. And we were all rallied behind Luke. And just playing with that emotion and just rallying with the guys we were able to pull it out."
Mercer turned to right-hander Brayden Risedorph in relief, a tough spot for a freshman in the NCAA Tournament. Indiana's lead was quickly in jeopardy. Risedorph hit the first batter, allowed runners to advance to second and third on a bunt, then hit another batter. He walked in a run, then a sacrifice fly from Caleb McNeely tied the game at 3-3. Indiana botched a first-and-third situation in the fourth, allowing West Virginia to grab a one-run lead through four innings.
Risedorph settled in nicely to keep the Hoosiers in the game, though. He earned the win, allowing four hits and three runs with two strikeouts in three walks across 3 2/3 innings.
"Honestly, I didn't think a whole lot at all," Risedorph said. "I'm just happy to be out here. I'm just enjoying everything I can. Anytime I get to go out on the mound, it's still a game at the end of the day. And to be here to be able to compete with all these guys behind me, it's just a fun time."
Peter Serruto and Glasser set the table for a big inning in the fifth with back-to-back singles. Bobby Whalen laid down a bunt, which brought in a run after an errant throw from West Virginia starter Blaine Traxel. Indiana added two more runs on a sacrifice fly from Big Ten Freshman of the Year Devin Taylor and another wild pitch.
When faced with the adversity of Sinnard's injury, Mercer was proud of his team's response. After taking a 6-4 lead in the fifth, the Hoosiers didn't look back.
"It's really easy to panic in that moment," Mercer said. "[Sinnard] is an all-conference guy. He's going to strike out 15 today and give us seven [innings]. And now you have to switch gears. Credit to the kids, to Risedorph, a freshman coming in at that moment. And the boys staying the course. Stay the course and stay the course. And just be too tough to quit. Just be too tough to quit. Too tough to roll over and feel sorry for yourself. There's problems in the world. Gotta get up and go to work every day. The boys did a good job."
West Virginia added runs in the sixth and eighth innings, but Indiana fended off the Mountaineers with a timely sacrifice-fly RBI from Hunter Jessee and an emotional effort from senior Ty Bothwell out of the bullpen.
Bothwell replaced Risedorph in the sixth, immediately after West Virginia cut Indiana's lead to one. With a well-executed breaking ball, Bothwell struck out his first batter to end West Virginia's rally.
Indiana senior left-handed pitcher Ty Bothwell celebrates a strikeout against West Virginia during the NCAA Tournament regionals at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington, Ky. on Friday.
Indiana Athletics
After allowing a leadoff double, Bothwell made quick work of the Moutaineers in the seventh. With every inning-ending out, Bothwell gained momentum and confidence, pumping his fists in excitement. He finished the game with five strikeouts and one walk, while allowing one run and two hits in 3.1 innings.
Bothwell has experienced ups and downs this year, entering the NCAA Tournament with a 7.03 ERA, but he saw Friday's outing as a step forward and a return to his 2022 self when he had a team-low 4.47 ERA.
"It's definitely been a big confidence booster to be able to go out there and compete like I did last year," Bothwell said. "And just finding a way to attack hitters with my stuff and be able to put guys away now has just been very big. And it's definitely helped with the confidence and being able to go out there and compete for my teammates.
As Bothwell maintained the lead, Indiana's lineup of young sluggers blew the game open. Veterans Glasser and Whalen started the inning with a pair of walks, and sophomore Brock Tibbitts drove them home with a triple to right field. Sophomore Carter Mathison lined a single to left, and sophomore Josh Pyne delivered the dagger with a towering home run to put the Hoosiers on top, 12-6.
With this win, Indiana advances to play the regional host and No. 1 seed Kentucky on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. Kentucky earned the No. 12 overall seed this season after going 36-18 overall, 25-6 at home and 16-14 in SEC play.
After using Sinnard, Risedorph and Bothwell on Friday Mercer said he's unsure who will start on the mound for Indiana on Saturday. He and pitching coach Dustin Glant will run through the possibilities, but most of all, they're happy to start NCAA Tournament play with a win.
"We've got enough guys to go and do it," Mercer said. "It's just going to be young, and we're going to have to fight it out and we're going to have to chop it up. But you've got to win today. You can't leave it on the field. That would be great to have a starter tomorrow, like Ty or Risedorph or what have you. But if you have an L next to your name, it doesn't matter too much."
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