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Facing elimination from here on out, Indiana baseball ready to ‘show up and compete’ once again, leaning on veteran leadership

Indiana baseball fell to No. 1 Tennessee on Saturday and now face elimination from here on out in NCAA Tournament.

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3 weeks ago

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Indiana baseball
Indiana baseball fell to No. 1 Tennessee on Saturday and now face elimination from here on out in NCAA Tournament.

Just as Indiana baseball did in Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener, top-ranked Tennessee gave the Hoosiers some of their own medicine as it jumped out to an early lead that would be too much to come back from. Despite a late surge by the Hoosiers, Tennessee came away with a 12-6 win on Saturday night. Now, it’s off to the elimination bracket for Indiana.

Coming into Saturday, Indiana baseball and head coach Jeff Mercer knew it would be a challenge. Tennessee was the top- ranked team for a reason.

And despite the Volunteers being the better team on Saturday, Indiana didn’t help itself by any means.

“You kind of look at that game holistically, and obviously Tennessee is a great team, Mercer said postgame. “They’re number one for a reason. The difference really is the free bases on our part, and we left guys on bases offensively, so the game is decided in that way.”

Those ‘free bases’ Mercer is referring to are the 11 walks the IU pitching staff surrendered. Seven of those were given up by starting pitcher Connor Foley — one of the top pitchers in the Big Ten.

“Connor (Foley) is a terrific talent and has been wonderful for us, but it’s an issue that he’s battled throughout the course of the year. That’s not the first time he’s had some free bases,” Mercer said of Foley’s struggles. ” … Connor, it wasn’t that he wasn’t competitive. I didn’t think he was sped up or anything. It’s just something that he has to continue to battle and get better at, and you’re playing a great team, and they’ll make you pay for those mistakes.”

Foley lasted just 2.1 innings and gave up seven earned runs.

“Anytime that you’re running through an offense like that where multiple guys are on base consistently, someone is going to do damage,” Mercer added. “Solo home runs don’t typically win and lose games. It’s the three-run homers and five-run innings.”

Now, Indiana turns its attention to a Southern Miss team it beat on Friday night.

Indiana set a program record in the NCAA Tournament with 17 hits, something they’ll try to emulate once again.

And, despite the poor pitching performance on Saturday, Mercer was pleased with the offensive production once again.

“I was really pleased offensively. I didn’t think that we got discouraged. I didn’t think that we gave any at-bats away,” Mercer said. “Their pitching staff is really good, really competitive and tough. Put balls in play, using the whole field, and so I thought we did a good job overall.”

Indiana took down Southern Miss on the back of its bats, 10-4. But as Jeff Mercer knows, just because you had success one night, doesn’t mean you’ll be able to replicate and duplicate it just 48 hours later.

“I think it can go both ways,” Mercer said. “They’ve seen your hitters, and so they have an ability to matchup. Their shifts I’m sure will be better, and they’ll adjust on their defensive shifts. It does help us to be able to know an opponent a little bit, but they also know you.”

At the end of the day, all of that is thrown out the window. Talent, records, head-to-head. None of that matters.

Indiana baseball will get back to work and do what it’s done all year — compete.

“We’ll show up and compete, whether we’re successful or not. I don’t worry about the group being ready to go on a short turnaround. That’s a mature group that’s been through the battles, been through the pacing of these things.”

First pitch is set for around Noon ET with the winner advancing to play No. 1 Tennessee on Sunday night.

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Alec Lasley is the owner of Hoosier Illustrated, a comprehensive site covering news, updates and recruiting for Indiana University athletics. Alec has covered Indiana for six years and is a credentialed media member. He has previously worked for both Rivals and 247Sports.

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