On to Tallahassee: Indiana defeats Austin Peay 6-1 to capture Bloomington Regional

Craig June 3, 2013 1

On Friday, Indiana had to come back from a four run deficit in the 9th inning to defeat #4 seeded Valparaiso 5-4 on a walkoff home run by second baseman Chad Clark. After the game, head coach Tracy Smith said that his team was tight, and that he hoped they could relax and play their game after getting that first win under their belt. In two victories over the #2 seed Austin Peay to earn the regional championship, the Hoosiers outscored the Governors 21-7.

Mission accomplished.

The Hoosiers looked like the team that deserved to host the Bloomington regional, capturing the championship Sunday night 6-1, as Will Coursen-Carr and Ryan Halstead combined to keep the Governors’ bats at bay, while Indiana’s offense continued to roll. Coursen-Carr, who was also the winning pitcher when the Hoosiers defeated Ohio State last week for the Big Ten Championship, earned the victory going 5 1/3 innings allowing only one run on five hits. “It’s been a process this whole season, getting my confidence up”, said Coursen-Carr. “The Big Ten Championship game brought my confidence up a lot, and I knew I could get the job done tonight.”

After Coursen-Carr pitched a scoreless first inning, Kyle Schwarber crushed a fastball over the right field fence for a solo home run to give his team the early lead. Michael Basil and Casey Smith would add RBI singles in the inning to give Indiana a 3-0 lead after one.

Then, the stage was set in the 2nd inning for what would be the play of the tournament, according to ESPN announcers.

With runners on 1st & 2nd with one out, Austin Peay catcher P.J. Torres blasted an offering from Coursen-Carr to the deepest part of the park. The ball would have cleared the fence and tied the game at three, but Indiana center fielder Justin Cureton had other ideas. Cureton leaped over the fence, caught the ball just to the left of the 400 sign in center field, then had the presence of mind to fire the ball back to the infield. Basil caught the ball from his shortstop position and fired it over to tournament MVP Sam Travis at first base to double the runner off and end the inning for the Governors. “I just had a good beat on the ball, and I made the play”, said Cureton.

“To me that was the ballgame tonight”, said Indiana coach Tracy Smith. “I’ve already referred to it as “the catch”. If that ball goes over, it’s a three-run homer and a tie game.” Austin Peay coach Gary McClure added “the guy came out of nowhere and made an unbelievable catch. In my opinion, he saved the game for them.”

Casey Delgado, who was the starter on Saturday and was removed after allowing 5 runs in just 1 2/3 innings, was brought into the game to start the 2nd in place of starter Kevin Corey, who allowed 3 runs on 4 hits. Delgado was much more effective in this one, as he pitched three shutout innings, before leaving in the 5th after giving up one run on an RBI double by Dustin Demuth. Indiana would tack on two more in the 6th as Will Nolden and Schwarber scored on a 2-out error by shortstop Reed Harper off the bat of Basil.

Austin Peay’s lone run came in the top of the 6th as designated hitter Michael Davis drew a bases loaded walk off of reliever Luke Harrison to score Jordan Hankins. Halstead relieved Harrison and struck out Matt Wollenzin to end the inning and get the Hoosiers out of the jam. Harrison pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out 4.

The win advances Indiana to the Super Regional round, where they will travel to Tallahassee, Florida to take on Florida State, the #7 national seed, in a best 2 out of 3 series. If Indiana wins that series, they will move on to play in the College World Series in Omaha.

One item of note: a typical ritual that occurs when a team wins a regional, especially a team like Indiana who is not accustomed to winning regionals, is to “dogpile”, where teammates jump on top of each other in celebrations. Coach Tracy Smith addressed that after the game. “One thing you may have noticed is that you didn’t see a dogpile. These guys believe they have a lot of baseball left to play.”

Indiana has burst on to the national scene now, especially with the play from Cureton that has gained national attention. They undoubtedly have the attention of Florida State; fans can expect this to be a very competitive series, and don’t be surprised if the Hoosiers play the way they have played of late to punch their ticket to Omaha in about a week and a half.

Austin Peay 5, Valparaiso 4

Designated hitter Michael Davis, who won the game for Austin Peay with a 3-run home run in the 8th inning to defeat Florida on Friday, delivered a solo shot to break a 4-4 tie in the 8th inning. The win for the Governors sent them to the regional championship to face Indiana. Valparaiso was led by Spencer Mahoney, who went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored.

“We were able to play all 3 teams to one run games, which I’m very proud of”, said coach Tracy Woodson. “It’s a family atmosphere here. Every year, we started a tradition when I got here that we line up the seniors and they say goodbye to the guys. It’s very emotional.”

Valparaiso finished their season with a 33-28 record.