KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Indiana's season came to an end on Sunday at the hands of Southern Miss in a win-or-go-home game at the Knoxville Regional.
Throughout the 2024 campaign, the Hoosiers' young pitching staff battled control issues on the mound. Walks have plagued Indiana's arms all season long.
On Sunday, in an elimination game against the Golden Eagles, those control issues reared their ugly head once more in a 15-3 loss, ending the Hoosiers' season.
Despite the disappointing end to Indiana's season, Hoosier skipper Jeff Mercer wants to make sure his players know how much he appreciated them for a season that resulted in a second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
"It will be centered around the message of appreciation and thanks," Mercer said postgame regarding what the end-of-season message to his team will be. "Guys playing through injuries, battling through and how much they've invested in the program and to each other. That will be the message when we get a chance to talk."
Before Indiana took its first at-bat of the game in the home half of the first, the Hoosiers found themselves in a deep whole on Sunday.
RHP Brayden Risedorph surrendered five runs on four hits in the first inning, needing 53 pithes to collect the only three outs of his brief start. Risedorph walked two Golden Eagle hitters and hit another in his lone inning of work.
Following the game, Mercer noted the Hoosier righty had been dealing with a hernia for the last six to eight weeks.
"Credit to (Southern Miss)," Mercer said. "They forced us to be in the zone and then they did damage when they got a pitch in the zone."
After Southern Miss hitters saw 53 pitchers in the first inning, Indiana saw just eight pitches in the Hoosier half of the frame. The first inning was a sign of things to come, as the affair wore on.
If the game wasn't out of reach following that first frame, it probably was by the end of the third inning. If it wasn't done and dusted through three innings, then it certainly was after four.
Six more runs for Southern Miss in the top of the third, as well as a four-spot in the fourth thrust Indiana into an insurmountable deficit early in the win-or-go-home contest.
"To take a snapshot of a two day window, I think is a bit unfair to how well the pitchers performed there for the last six to eight weeks," Mercer said of his pitching staff. "Obviously the last few days were disappointing, but that doesn't take away from what (the pitchers) did in totality."
WIth the Hoosiers' 2024 campaign coming to a close on Sunday, Mercer doesn't want his team to hang their heads.
This is an Indiana squad that went into selection Monday unsure if it would even hear its name called as part of the NCAA Tournament's field of 64.
"We were dead in the water there about a month or six weeks into the season," Mercer stated. "We were in a tough spot, we were struggling. We didn't cave, we didn't quit and back down. We put ourselves in a position to compete on the biggest stage."
Indiana battled injuries up and down the roster throughout the season, yet the Hoosiers still managed to return to the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season.
As a season rich with many ups and downs comes to a disappointing close for the Hoosiers, Mercer will always remember this team for its continued resilience in the face of adversity.
"The best things in life are the hardest things," Mercer said. "When you look at how hard it was at times and how we persevered through those things, that's what I'll remember the most."
"It's hard to get back up and continue to fight," Mercer continued. "That's what this group did and that's what I'm very proud of. That's why I'll remember them for being a resilient and tough group that refused to quit."
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