Is that Jimmy Chitwood Coming in to Pitch?

Today marks the outset of the culmination of the college baseball season, the College World Series. This year, unlike some in the recent past, the eight team field is dominated by the traditionally elite (LSU, UCLA, UNC, Oregon State) and those who have performed well all season (NC State, Louisville). Mississippi State is a strong team from the SEC, so we know they are battle tested and capable. And then there is Indiana.

Indiana represents the first team from the Big Ten to make it to the College World Series since...wait for it...1984. Thats almost 30 years. 30 years since a team from one the biggest and baddest conferences in the country has even sent a team to Omaha. To do so, the Hoosiers went down to Tallahassee, FL and beat national seed Florida State on their home field two times in a row. They knocked the ball all over the park en route to eliminating the most underperforming postseason team in college baseball (a winning percentage of .730 during the regular season and .600 in the postseason. They have been to the CWS 21 times, 11 times under current coach Mike Martin, and never won). Despite the laser show they put on last weekend, the Hoosiers are going to need to channel, well, their inner Hoosier.

Indiana's first matchup is with the Cardinals of Louisville, who come in somewhat on fire, having won 21 of their last 23, and sporting some of the freshest uniforms around.

Don't assume that just because they play in the conference of Legends and Leaders that they are lacking  in baseball skill. Indiana is led by Dustin Demuth, a doubles machine hitting nearly .400, and Kyle Schwarber, he of 18 home runs (that is really good in college baseball these days). The real strength of the Indiana team however is their pitching staff. As a group they have an ERA of 2.67, and WHIP (Walks + Hits/Innings Pitched) of 1.25. They are going to need to continue to pitch this well and get some timely hitting from their best hitters if they want to hang around longer than a couple of days in Omaha. If there is anything we have learned over the past decade of college sports though, its not to count out the team who seems like they might not belong. And if you do, do so at your own peril.

However improbable it is that Indiana might navigate the brackets all the way to the championship, the underdog roll, combined with momentum, seems to carry disproportionate weight in the performance of a team. Just look at the LA Kings last year in the Stanley Cup playoffs (the topic of an upcoming post). When a team starts to irrationally believe in their own abilities theres no telling where or when the train stops. So heres to you, Indiana, the bases are still 90 feet apart, and the mound is still 60 feet 6 inches from home plate, lets see where this goes.