My Two Cents: Regular Lineup is Nice, but Great Depth Even Better

Indiana coach Jeff Mercer likes have a set lineup and defined roles, but two guys who lost their starting jobs – Jordan Fucci and Jeremy Houston – had big hits for the Hoosiers this weekend.

Tom Brew | May 11, 2021

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Jordan Fucci and Jeremy Houston are two of the gristled veterans on Indiana's baseball team. They both lost their starting jobs about a month ago, but they provided great proof over the weekend that they were still around, and still ready to help the Hoosiers win when needed.

Gone, but not forgotten.

Indiana had four games in three days over the weekend in the swamps of Jersey, and many players called it the most important weekend of the year leading up to it. They wound up winning three of four games, beating Rutgers twice and splitting with Nebraska, keeping their lead in the Big Ten.

And they got it with a total team effort. Oh sure, the starting pitching was great all weekend – the four starters combined for a 1.35 earned run average – but there were a ton of big hits and baserunners all weekend, too, further proof that this team is playing at its best in the final month of the season.

And no hit was bigger than the two-run homer on Saturday from Jordan Fucci, the redshirt senior from Lexington, Ky. His blast in the 11th inning gave Indiana a 5-3 victory.

It was the highlight of Fucci's season, to be sure, because it's been a struggle. The every-day first baseman all of 2020 and the first five weekends this season, Fucci lost his starting job after the Ohio State series, when he went 2-for-13 and struck out a whopping eight times. Strikeouts have been an issue all season. He's gone down 34 times in 73 at-bats and is hitting just .233.

T11 | WHAT. AN. AT-BAT.@JordanFucci | #IUBase pic.twitter.com/5QobeJ3Vcw
— Indiana Baseball (@IndianaBase) May 8, 2021

But that didn't matter Saturday when the Hoosiers really needed a win, and got it on his dinger. It was a great win to steal, because the Hoosiers were trailing 1-0 in the ninth when Collin Hopkins tied the game with a single. The Hoosiers then took the lead in the 10th on a Jeremy Houston single – more on him in a minute – but then gave away that two-run lead in the bottom of the 10th.

Fucci eliminated all doubt, and no one loved it more than all his teammates.

"Jordan has played a lot of baseball, and he knows the deal,'' Indiana left fielder Drew Ashley said. "Same with Jeremy. Those guys always work hard, and the best thing I can say about them is that they continued to work hard – maybe even harder – even when they weren't playing.

"They're veteran guys and they knew there was going to come a time when we would need them. That was this weekend for sure. When Jordan hit that homer, the bench was electric. We were so happy for him and, of course, that homer meant a lot for all of us.''

Houston, who lost his starting job at shortstop to James Espalin, is the consummate teammate, too. He adds a lot to this team, even when he's not playing. That hit in the 10th was big, and he started and walked four times in Sunday's big 4-2 win over Nebraska that keep the Hoosiers in first.

Mercer is a big believer in having a set lineup and everyone knowing roles when they show up at the ballpark every day, but roles get expanded, too.

"Depth is vitally important, especially at this time of year,'' Mercer said. "You always want to have as many people as possible ready to help you win a game, and even when you settle on a rotation, you're still working hard every week and still evaluating every position.

"What's great about guys like Jordan and Jeremy, they love to work and they compete at a high level every day. Baseball is just like the rest of the world, you know, you have to earn what you get every day. But those guys show up, and they want to win. They helped us win games this weekend, and they'll help us win more games the rest of the way, too.''

Mercer said Fucci and Houston have also been big supporters of the guys who've replaced them, helping the freshmen find their way. College baseball at this level isn't easy.

"When you're a freshman, there's a lot going on and the game is really fast,'' Mercer said. "They can have great attitudes, but when they hit stretches where they're struggling, how do they handle it emotionally? The games pile up, and it gets fast. So it's nice to be able to turn to someone else when the matchup is better late. It paid off this weekend, for sure. Having so much depth is a wonderful luxury.''

Fucci and Houston were rewarded with starts later in the weekend, and it will be interesting to see what Mercer does going forward. Fougerousse and Espalin have bright futures at Indiana, but it's not like they've been tearing it up lately themselves. Espalin is hitting .158 with six errors at shortstop, and Fourgerousse is hitting .192 with just one homer and three RBIs since entering the starting lineup a month ago.

That's all the more reason why having that quality depth is important. The freshmen are going to be great players, but the hot hand should win out now. And Mercer has plenty of choices when it comes to that.

It was a great weekend of Big Ten baseball. Indiana and Nebraska both went 3-1 in New Jersey and Michigan won two of three against Michigan State, so the league race is still very tight. Indiana, Nebraska and Michigan all have 23 wins, with Indiana (23-10) in front, Nebraska (23-11) a half-game back and Michigan (23-12) one game back.

The intensity continues this weekend for the Hoosiers when they travel to Ann Arbor for three games with Michigan. The Hoosiers moved up two notches this week in the D1Baseball.com top-25 rankings, checking in at No. 21 this week.

Indiana to make up Illinois game on May 18

Indiana's baseball team will host Illinois on Tuesday, May 18 at 3 p.m. ET at Bart Kaufman Field in Bloomington, Ind. The game is a make-up of the previously scheduled contest on April 11 that was postponed due to weather.

The Hoosiers are also home that following weekend, with games at Bart Kaufman Field on Friday through Monday against Nebraska and Ohio State. No fans are allowed at Indiana baseball games, outside of family

Indiana to make up Illinois game on May 18

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