Indiana Strikes Early, Routs Southern Miss 10-4 in First Game of NCAA Baseball Tournament

Indiana got a great start from lefty Ty Bothwell and had three multiple-run innings in the first four in a 10-4 rout of Southern Mississippi in the first game of the Knoxville Regional in the NCAA baseball tournament,.

Tom Brew | Jun 1, 2024

Indiana's Brock Tibbitts (9) rounds the bases after hitting a 2-run home run against Southern Miss in the NCAA Baseball Tournament Knoxville Regional. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It's always a good thing to score early in postseason baseball games. Indiana did just that on Friday in itrs NCAA baseball tournament opener against Southern Miss.

Know what's even better? Scoring often, and Indiana did that, too. They put up crooked numbers in three of its first four innings and cruised to a 10-4- victory over the Golden Eagles.

It was a well-scripted start to the double-elimination Knoxville Regional, which also features Tennessee, the No. 1 overall seed, and Northern Kentucky.

"I thought we were excellent at the plate in following the game plan,'' Indiana coach Jeff Mercer said of the 10-run, 17-hit explosion. "We didn't chase bad pitches, and we hit the ball hard. And when you start a game like that, it does give you a little room to breath. It's a great way to get the ball rolling,''

As big a story as the hot bats were, Indiana starting pitcher Ty Bothwell might have been even more important. The veteran left-hander, who is in his sixth year with the Hoosiers, was spectacular. He pitched five scoreless innings before getting touched for three runs — two earned — in the sixth. He's now 7-3 on the season after throwing 103 pitches

The seven wins are a team-high. He also had nine strikeouts, matching that number from a week ago against Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament. He had a season-high 13 against Minnesota on April 20. It was a great outing for Bothwell, a Hebron, Ind., native who is running on fumes at the end of the season. His velocity is down, but he fights on anyway. He gave the Hoosiers a huge lift, and his teammates appreciated it.

"When we see Ty on the mound, we feel pretty comfortable, and that's even with everything he's been going through physically,'' said Indiana outfielder Morgan Colopy, who's been a teammate with Bothwell for nearly five years now. "He just goes out and battles, even when he's only probably about 80 percent.''

First baseman Brock Tibbitts said Bothwell gives his all ''even though he's hobbling off one leg and has half an arm,'' Tibbitts said. "He just competes for that name across the front of his chest, and that's all you can ever ask for (as a teammate).

Tibbitts got Indiana on the board in the first inning, hitting a towering home run to left field after Nick Mitchell scratched out a two-out infield hit. It was his fourth homer of the year.

The Hoosiers added three more in the second against Southern Miss starter Bill Oldham, who fell to 7-3 on the season. Morgan Colopy drove in a run with a double and then Josh Pyne followed with a two-run single.

In the fourth, Tibbitts was in the thick of things again. After a single by Devin Taylor and a walk to Mitchell, Tibbitts ripped a shot down the left-field line for a two-run double, making it 7-0. Taylor added an RBI single in the fifth to give Indiana an 8-0 lead.

The only threat Southern Miss could muster came in the sixth, and Indiana gave them a few gifts. Bothwell walked lead-off hitter Slade Wilks and then Nick Monistere hit a wind-aided homer to right to make it 8-2. Bothwell was taken out after allowing a single and hitting a batter, and the Hoosiers should have been out of the inning, but second baseman Jasen Oliver booted an easy grounder. A run scored to make it 8-3.

For good measure, Colopy added a two-run homer in the ninth. He hasn't been playing much lately, but he was ready to go, something that Mercer also appreciates. Colopy was ready to deliver — and he did,.

"The confidence to put Morgan in the lineup was easy,'' Mercer said. "Even though he hasn't been playing much, he's still always the first one in the cage, the first one doing his drill work. You know he's going to be ready.

"He works his tail off, and I told the coaches before the game that I thought Morgan would have a big day. He had a lot of good at-bats.''

The Hoosiers (33-24-1) advanced to Saturday night's winner's bracket final against Tennessee, a 9-3 winner over Northern Kentucky on Friday night. The game is at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPNU. Southern Miss and Northern Kentucky will play in an eliminaton game at Noon ET.

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