OMAHA, Neb. - As Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer likes to say, "baseball is a silly game."
No. 3 Indiana's 14-7 win over No. 7 Ohio State on Thursday in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament was just that, a silly game.
For starters, both teams combined to score 21 runs on 20 hits, there was no shortage of offense. There were also five errors committed in Thursday's contest and 19 walks issued by both pitching staffs.
Even with all that offense, there were still 25 runners left on base combined between both squads. The Buckeyes had the bases loaded in four separate innings, yet they still failed to convert -- Ohio State went 1-9 (.111) with the bases loaded on Thursday.
Again, Thursday's affair was a silly game of baseball.
In a game that wasn't pretty for either competitor, it was Indiana that came out on top, advancing to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
The Hoosiers' 14 runs came on 14 hits on Thursday afternoon. All nine of Indiana's starters tallied at least one hit. Four starters had multi-hit days at the plate.
"We were just looking at hitting balls in the middle of the plate, and getting (Ohio State pitchers) in the zone," center fielder Carter Mathison explained postgame. "We stuck to the plan and it worked out well."
Mathison led the offensive attack for the Hoosiers, he had a team-best three-hit performance. The junior outfielder drove in two runs in the contest on a pair of RBI singles.
"I never go up (to the plate) trying to hit home runs," Mathison remarked. "I'm just trying to hit a line drive to the middle of the field. If I get a hold of one, my power takes over. For the most part, I'm just trying to hit line drives through the middle of the field."
While maybe not pretty throughout the entirety of the game, Indiana's performance at the plate was impressive in a ballpark not known for being hitter-friendly.
For Indiana, the job isn't finished. The Hoosiers entered the Big Ten Tournament likely needing to claim 10th conference championship in program history for a spot in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
As the Hoosiers may be inching closer to a potential at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, the cream and crimson know that an ugly win such as Thursday's win over the Buckeyes is par for the course this time of year.
"Everyday is a battle when you get to the (Big Ten) tournament," first baseman Brock Tibbitts said. "It's all about surviving and advancing. It doesn't really matter how it happens."
Indiana's season long roller coaster of ups and downs has prepared the team for moments like this week.
The weather has been all over the place, it's already tough enough for hitters at Charles Schwab Field -- the site for the Big Ten Tournament -- and the Hoosiers have their work cut out for them to reach a second consecutive NCAA Tournament.
Nonetheless, the hardships and struggles that Indiana has endured throughout a difficult season has fortified this Indiana squad into a team that's built for anything that may come its way.
"When you've gone through it and you've gone through the tough stuff, you create an identity and you harden yourself," Mercer said. "We've been playing playoff baseball for six weeks."
"We struggled, and we had to win and win and win to get ourselves even in a position to do this," Mercer continued. "It's just a continuation for what we've done for the last six or seven weeks."
Two wins away from securing an automatic bid to this season's NCAA Tournament, the Hoosiers may finally be reaching those greener pastures after a regular season filled with ebbs and flows.
Indiana will face the winner of Friday night's bout -- an elimination game -- between No. 2 Nebraska and No. 7 Ohio State at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. A win in that game would send the Hoosiers onto the conference championship game at 3 p.m. the following day.
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