COLUMBUS, Ohio — Senior right fielder Chris Hervey couldn’t imagine in his freshman year that the downtrodden Indiana baseball program would be playing for the Big Ten tournament title during his career.
But the arrival of coach Tracy Smith his first season marked the start of a turnaround that was capped Saturday when Hervey had four RBI as the Hoosiers defeated Minnesota 13-2 to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996.
“If you had asked me four years ago if we would be in this position right now I would have laughed,” Hervey said as the conference championship trophy sat next to him at a postgame press conference. “I’ve seen the worst of the worst and the best of the best now.”
Starter Matt Igel limited Minnesota to two runs in five innings, and the third-seeded Hoosiers (32-25) scored 47 runs in winning all four games in Huntington Park.
Igel, who pitched 2/3 of an inning in relief Friday against Ohio State, allowed four Minnesota hits and left the game with a 7-2 lead.
Chris Squires gave up two hits over the final four innings.
The No. 2 seed Gophers (38-17) had scored 34 runs in their previous three games over two days. Earlier Saturday they defeated top seed Ohio State 9-6 to advance out of the losers’ bracket.
Minnesota coach John Anderson said he was proud of his players’ effort.
“We basically played four nine-inning games in the last 24 hours,” Anderson said. “That’s not an easy task. For what our kids accomplished, I’m impressed.”
Indiana took a 2-0 lead in the second on a Jake Dunning sacrifice fly and Hervey’s single. Jerrud Sabourin made it 3-0 when he hit the first pitch of the third into the right-field foul pole.
Minnesota got a run back in the bottom of the frame when Derek McCallum hit a two-out, towering home run near the 405-foot sign in dead center.
The Hoosiers went ahead 7-1 in the fourth on a two-run throwing error by third baseman Kyle Geason and RBI singles from Hervey and Sabourin.
Indiana catcher Josh Phegley said he and his teammates were “as relaxed as we’ve been all year in this tournament.”
Indiana pitcher Matt Bashore was named the most outstanding player of the tournament.
College Sports
Indiana tops Minnesota, makes first NCAA since 1996
- College Sports
-
-
Trio of Ravens honored
Anderson University’s Katie Lee has been named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Central Region Team on Tuesday. Senior Monica Crowe and freshman Yardley Collett were named to the NFCA All-Central Region third Team.
-
Carthage ends AU’s season
Anderson University’s sudden scoring woes continued Saturday and it led to the Ravens’ elimination from the NCAA Division III softball tournament.
-
Anderson falls to Manchester in final
Manchester College defeated Anderson University 5-0 to claim the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament and claim the automatic bid for the Division III National Tournament.
-
Ravens' road rougher
Defending NCAA Division III national softball champion Linfield scored six runs in the first inning and blanked Anderson University 8-0 on Friday.
-
Ravens rough up Reds
Carthage College got to see up close and personal both barrels of the shotgun the Anderson University softball team used to dominate conference foes all year.
-
Crean defends decision to end Kentucky series
Indiana coach Tom Crean says the Kentucky series will end because the Hoosiers didn't want to play another game in Indianapolis.
-
AU set for power struggle
Keeping the ball in the park when the Carthage College Lady Reds are at the plate will be a key element for the Anderson University Ravens softball team this afternoon.
AU will play today at 2 p.m. at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Ill., as it tests the NCAA Division III tournament waters in this double-elimination event. -
Former Arabian prepares for Pac-12 championships, cheers Luck
Stanford sophomore Ellie McCardwell was in the training room with some of the Cardinal’s football players two weeks ago when the Indianapolis Colts selected university legend Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.
A two-time state champion in the pole vault at Pendleton Heights, McCardwell said she’ll never forget the reaction as Stanford athletes around the room cheered one of their own. -
Rick Teverbaugh: Ravens deserve attention
Perhaps it is akin to the “too close to the forest to see the trees” syndrome.
But for whatever reason, I suspect there is some extent to which the monumental accomplishments of the Anderson University softball team have gone underappreciated by area sports fans in general. -
Ravens learn softball draw
The Anderson University softball team learned the location and first-round foe for its entry into the NCAA Division III tournament on Thursday.
- More College Sports Headlines
-
