Indiana Baseball: Looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament

Indiana baseball is back in the NCAA Tournament and looks to rebound from a disappointing Big Ten Tournament.

Hearing their name called for the sixth time in the last seven years, the Indiana baseball program  will play into the NCAA tournament.

Indiana’s ninth trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history, their best result came in 2013, a trip to the College World Series in Omaha.

Indiana, the Big Ten regular season champions, will begin play Friday as the No. 2 seed in Louisville as they will face No. 3-seeded Illinois State.

Illinois State, 32-24 on the year, will face off against the Hoosiers as the Missouri Valley Conference regular season co-champions, receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

To advance out of the regional, the Hoosiers will likely have to go through Louisville, the regional host, on their home field. Playing against Louisville earlier this season, Indiana lost to the Cardinals 8-7 in 12 innings on May 14.

For a team that led the Big Ten in home runs, with 90 on the year – a program record, Indiana’s offense will need to bounce back from a Big Ten tournament in which they struck out a grand total of 23 in the two Big Ten Tournament games.

Receiving multiple Big Ten Honors, Indiana had the Coach of the Year with Jeff Mercer, his first year in Indiana, the Pitcher of the Year in Andrew Saalfrank, another All-Big Ten First Team with Matt Lloyd, and multiple second and All-Freshman team members.

After two straight losses in the Big Ten Tournament, Indiana looks to rebound with a deep run in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Included in the Louisville region is Illinois-Chicago (29-21), who will face Louisville at 6 p.m. on Friday.

Joining the Hoosiers in the tournament from the conference are Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Illinois.

Below is the full regional list: