Indiana Baseball: Hoosiers season comes to abrupt end

The Indiana Baseball season came to an end over the weekend after bowing out in the NCAA Tournament.

In what was a terrific regular season for Indiana Baseball, they just never seemed to put it all together come tournament time.

After winning the Big Ten regular season title, just their seventh in program history, the Hoosiers then went on to lose four out of their final five games of the season, including their two losses in the NCAA Tournament ultimately ending their 2019 season.

What was supposed to be the backbone of the team, the pitching just didn’t live up to the standards they set in the regular season, as the starters gave up 15 runs over 11 innings pitched this weekend.

Losing to Louisville 9-7 on Sunday, the Hoosiers’ postseason in which they had high expectations seemed to come to a close before it really got started.

On the season, Indiana finished with a 37-23 record including going 17-7 in the Big Ten. After starting the season just 7-8, Indiana went on to rip off10 out of their next 12 games including an eight game winning streak. Furthermore, Indiana lost just one Big Ten series the entire year and came from behind over the last couple of weekends in the regular season to end up on top.

Because of their performance on the field, they were rewarded off of it.

Jeff Mercer, his first season as the head coach for the Hoosiers, ended up winning Big Ten Coach of the Year in addition to the rest of the staff winning coaching staff of the year.

For the players on the diamond, they racked up multiple honors as well.

Andrew Saalfrank led the honors for Indiana as he was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten, and received All-American honors. On the year, Saalfrank went 8-1 with a 2.84 ERA, receiving only two no-decisions in Big Ten play.

In addition to his wins and losses, Saalfrank also tossed 98 strikeouts, including five games with double-digit outings.

Joining Saalfrank on the First Team was Matt Lloyd. The senior utility man played all over the diamond, hitting .280 with 17 home runs and 59 RBI’s. Not only did he get it done at the plate, he was also a crucial member of the bullpen. Appearing in 14 games on the season, Lloyd had a 2.70 ERA with five saves. In 16.2 innings pitched, he struck out 18 batters and gave up just five earned runs on the year.

Three Hoosiers were also named to the All-Big Ten Second Team in Matt Gorski, Cole Barr, and Scotty Bradley.

Gorski, one of the top pro prospects in the conference, hit .271 on the year with 12 home runs and 46 RBI’s. Despite missing some time early in the season, he finished third on the team in hits (61) and was first in steals (18).

Cole Barr hit .255 and added a team-high 17 homers and 51 RBI’s, while Scotty Bradley hit .258 and recorded 10 homers and 28 RBI’s.

Other Hoosiers to receive recognition were Elijah Durham, who was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team, and Grant Richardson named to the All-Big Ten Freshman team.

Another notable name who has been one of the backbones for Indiana throughout his career is Pauly Milto. The senior workhorse didn’t have the year that he was expecting, but was extremely consistent throughout the season at the start of the rotation.

Finishing 8-6 with a 3.95 ERA, he struck out 100 batters in 107.0 Innings pitched, one of the top marks in the conference.

Though it was a disappointing end to the year, they will have high expectations next year once again and look to make it to Omaha.