Three Takeaways From IU Baseball's Opening Weekend Vs. No. 12 Duke, No. 18 Coastal Carolina, And George Mason
Hoosiers Go 2-1 Over Three Days In South Carolina By Beating Coastal Carolina And George Mason After Losing To Duke To Begin The Season
IU’s home field Bart Kaufman After Indiana’s 2019 Big Ten Championship
Hoosiers Get Long Ball Going Early
After hitting just two home runs in their opening weekend last season when losing two of three to Auburn, the power was plentiful to open 2024. The Hoosiers belted seven this weekend including two each from Carter Mathison and AJ Shepard. Also, Brandon Burckel hit the clutch bomb on Saturday to go ahead in the eighth inning against No. 18 Coastal Carolina in Indiana’s eventual victory. The other two dingers were by Tyler Cerny and Morgan Colopy.
The long ball became a regular as 2023 went on, with 77 leaving the yard. The fact that IU is already five ahead of last year’s pace early on is a great sign. The Cream and Crimson hit 95 in IU coach Jeff Mercer’s inaugural season when winning the 2019 Big Ten Championship. Given the performance in this trio of games, that number looks like it could be approached again.
Pitching Was Great But With A Small Caveat
With ace Luke Sinnard out for the season after elbow surgery, the Hoosiers have no proven pitchers to provide length, despite a really good depth of arms. This was on full display this weekend.
Starters Brayden Risedorph, Conor Foley, and Ethan Phillips were all excellent. However, none made it through five innings. The question is if these three or any others can be stretched out as the year goes on. If this does not happen, can IU’s unorthodox approach of throwing each pitcher several innings at a time work? While it did to a certain extent last season, it does have drawbacks if a given arm has an off day.
Whether this unconventional strategy is successful will go a long way in determining if Indiana can meet its lofty preseason expectations. This is especially true on Fridays when the opposition will likely have an elite workhorse who can throw most of a game
This Weekend Was One Of The Few Opportunities For High-Quality Wins And IU Took Advantage
Indiana took on two ranked opponents this weekend and split those decisions by losing to no. 12 Duke and no. 18 Coastal Carolina. The victory against the Chanticleers was especially important. This is because it was a triumph in a true road contest against a southern team that will look excellent come NCAA Tournament time. Also, losing to the Blue Devils on a neutral site will not be a problem on the resume. Most importantly, beating George Mason on Sunday avoided a bad loss.
With the Big Ten not quite as strong in baseball as in most sports, racking up wins before league play is of the utmost importance. The Cream and Crimson did that with the signature win over Coastal.
Also, upcoming games against Alabama, Dallas Baptist, Arizona, Troy, Vanderbilt, Indiana State, and Louisville coming up soon and later in the year are of great value. Indiana also needs to avoid slipping up much against the rest of their schedule versus inferior squads. This is very much within reach but something that still needs to be accomplished despite the strong signs to begin 2024 so far.