Peoria, Ill. —
Most baseball fans know that the baseball season — even a college baseball season — is a marathon, not a sprint.
It’s not like basketball, and certainly not like football, where one loss can deep-six a season and NCAA Tournament aspirations. It’s all about how a team does over the grind of a near-60-game season.
The instant gratification or disappointment of a big win or loss in an isolated game inevitably gives way to the grind of compilation.
For a college baseball team, the primary week-to-week goal is to win its conference series. The little disappointments along the way really don’t matter so long as those two-out-of-threes and sweeps continue to be compiled.
Given that standard, Indiana State’s 28-9 overall record is great, but it’s not the most impressive achievement. ISU’s four Missouri Valley Conference series wins — three of which have come on the road — are.
ISU’s series wins over Evansville, Illinois State, Creighton and Bradley have carried the Sycamores into a first-place tie with conference favorite Missouri State. And with two of the three remaining MVC series to be played at Warn Field, the Sycamores are in great shape.
ISU’s close losses to Indiana on Wednesday and Bradley on Saturday were disappointing in the moment, but their effect may not live beyond those moments. And that’s how the Sycamores want it.
“It’s not make or break every single day. When you set your goals at the beginning of the season, you want to win every series. In the grand scheme of things, if you win every series, you’ve got a great chance at winning the conference. You have to keep your eye on the big picture and not get caught up in the ups and downs of each single game,” ISU junior infielder Koby Kraemer said.
It helps that ISU overflows with veterans who can keep the team on an even keel. ISU returned all of its position players and most of its bench from the 2011 season.
ISU starting pitcher Ryan Torgerson is one of the few newcomers to the team. He noticed right away that the Sycamores had the makeup to have a special season.
“The thing I noticed right away is the team chemistry we have. A few of us might get down, but there are 30 guys behind us keeping us up. We don’t let one loss stop us. The team chemistry I have here is like nothing I’ve ever had,” Torgerson said.
That team chemistry is forged in experience. The Sycamores have mastered the hardest of tricks — to not let a single loss knock them off-kilter for the seasonal goal.
ISU applied that attitude to Sunday’s 14-3 laugher over Bradley. ISU’s fall-from-ahead loss to the Braves on Saturday put it in a position to lose the series and could have sent them back to Terre Haute with lingering doubt.
With an eight-run second inning, ISU left no shadow of a doubt that it’s in it the MVC race for the long haul.
“After yesterday’s loss, it was over as soon as we walked out of the park. We were focused on today. We don’t dwell on games of the past,” ISU first baseman Jon Hedges said.
“Stuff like yesterday’s game and the loss at IU [on Wednesday], those games happen. Whenever we have a close game, if it doesn’t turn out our way, that’s just baseball, that’s our attitude. We have a ballclub that can push us into June and our record reflects that,” Hedges added.
ISU completed a 5-3 road swing that encompassed the first half of April and there are some enticing apples to be picked as ISU embarks on a 12-game homestand.
The biggest nonconference series in several years starts Friday against Dallas Baptist.
The Patriots may not have name recognition for casual fans, but they were an NCAA Tournament super-regional team in 2011 and are currently in the top 50 in college baseball RPI. ISU lingers just on the outside of the top 50 and a series win over Dallas Baptist would do wonders for the Sycamores’ at-large hopes.
“Dallas Baptist is a quality squad. It’s a good series to start the homestand. I think we’re all looking forward to getting home and to get off the road for a while,” Torgerson said.
While the opportunity in front of the Sycamores is exciting, its unlikely ISU’s players will get caught up in it.
The Sycamores are keeping their eyes on the prize — one series at a time.
Todd Golden is sports editor of the Tribune-Star. He can be reached at (812) 231-4272 or todd.golden@tribstar.com. Please follow him on Twitter @TribStarTodd.
From the Press Box
Related Photos
-
Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Optimist: Indiana State newcomer Ryan Torgerson understood ISU's potential from the start.
Discussion
TODD GOLDEN: ISU eyes prize one game at a time
- From the Press Box
-
-
TODD GOLDEN: Don't give up on ISU baseball just yet
If you had to pick one word that would describe the 2013 Indiana State baseball season, it would have to be frustration.
-
FROM THE PRESSBOX: Content McKenna has enjoyed seeing ISU's progress
It all happened so fast in June 2010.
One minute, Kevin McKenna was head coach of the Indiana State men’s basketball program. Then — poof! — he was gone.
McKenna resigned from his head coaching position at ISU on June 13, 2010 to take an assistant coach position on Dana Altman’s then-burgeoning University of Oregon staff. -
MVC can't wait on Crieghton to move forward
Will they go or not? That’s been the question that the Missouri Valley Conference and Creighton have been faced with since rumors of the Bluejays’ potential exit went public in December.
-
FROM THE PRESSBOX: Can Sycamores reverse fortunes heading into MVC Tournament?
Mastery of a basketball season comes in many forms. Mostly, it comes in forms that involve avoidance of turnovers, anemic scoring and poor defense.
The mechanics of X-and-O success in basketball are obvious, but what’s often overlooked in building a successful campaign is managing the rhythm of the season, which is the hardest thing of all. -
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Accountability isn't Lansing's alone in ISU's recent struggles
Taking ownership has always been one of Indiana State men’s basketball coach Greg Lansing’s strengths.
When ISU has lost games in his three seasons at the helm that it was expected to win, Lansing has always been willing to fall on the sword and take blame for it. -
TODD GOLDEN: Indiana State has far more occasions to rise to
Rejoice, Indiana State basketball fans. The Sycamores’ 68-55 victory at No. 15 Wichita State on Tuesday is worthy of celebration.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Big plays in last 10 minutes story of the season for Indiana State
You’d think I’d have learned by now.
It’s 20 games into Indiana State’s men’s basketball season and I still expect the Sycamores’ offense operate like a well-oiled machine from the opening tip. -
Sycamores blossom on Hawaii trip
Quick quiz … what’s the state flower of Hawaii?
Don’t worry. I can’t just rattle state flowers off the top of my head. I had to look it up too, even though I’ve seen them all over the place in Honolulu.
I didn’t even know that Indiana’s state flower is the peony, which replaced the apparently unloved zinnia in the 1950s.
Hawaii’s flower, and they’re ubiquitous in Waikiki tourist shops and in actual flora on Oahu, is the yellow hibiscus.
The yellow hibiscus is big, bold and bright. I’ve never seen one blossom, but I imagine it has to be a beautiful sight.
What I have seen blossom — and it’s the only reason flowers would be brought up in my column — is the Indiana State basketball team at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. -
TODD GOLDEN: ISU needs to have its realignment head on a swivel
Have you ever driven past a cow pasture during a severe thunderstorm? If it’s really bad, the cows will congregate in a herd to protect themselves from the tumult.
-
TODD GOLDEN: ISU AD Prettyman keeps it close to the vest
Do you want to know who’s on the short list to become Indiana State's next football coach?
-
TODD GOLDEN: Trent Miles leaves Sycamores with giant legacy
To glean perspective on Trent Miles’ time as Indiana State’s football coach, I went back into the Tribune-Star’s archives to remind myself of what the football program was like when Miles arrived to rebuild it.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Scoreboard watching and the threat matrix for ISU
Indiana State football coach Trent Miles reaffirmed his belief Tuesday that a victory over Youngstown State on Saturday will propel the Sycamores into the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the first time since 1984.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Twists and turns, but Luck passes eye test
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck made his much anticipated Lucas Oil Stadium debut Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Looking back and forward at ISU athletics
It started in State College, Pa., and ended in Eugene, Ore. Few Indiana State athletic seasons have spanned the nation in as many sports as 2011-12 did for the Sycamores’ athletic teams. And from coast-to-coast there was glory and heartbreak alike.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU progresses under Prettyman
He didn’t say a word, but it was as clear as Indiana State Director of Athletics Ron Prettyman sat in the PK Park dugout and watched the Sycamores take batting practice prior to their NCAA Regional at Oregon last Thursday, he beamed with pride.
-
TODD GOLDEN: MVC pitching helped prepare Sycamores for regional
Nick Petree, Pierce Johnson, Ty Blach.
These aren’t just elite-level starting pitchers Indiana State’s baseball team faced this season. They comprise three of the last five pitchers the Sycamores faced period. -
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU baseball has pluses, minuses for tourney bid
Last Thursday, when Indiana State’s baseball jumped around in a celebratory dogpile after clinching the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship at Bob Warn Field, no one thought that a little over a week later, the dreaded NCAA Tournament bubble would fly over Terre Haute. -
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Subtle switch has fostered MVC baseball parity
When Indiana State was crowned as the regular season baseball champion of the Missouri Valley Conference last Thursday, it marked the fifth different regular season champion the league has had since 2005.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU has done enough to be in NCAAs
When you get older, you’re supposed to get wiser. I don’t know if I qualify, but I’m trying.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: TH’s Murans back in the Derby … this time with favorite
When Terre Haute native Paul Murans experienced his first Triple Crown horse racing run as part-owner of Mucho Macho Man in 2011, the experience was — to borrow a phrase from one-time Marquette coach Al McGuire — seashells and balloons.
-
TODD GOLDEN: IHSAA debate interrupts more pressing issues
State Senator Mike Delph has sowed a 15-year-old wind and put the emotional class basketball debate back on the public’s mind.
-
TODD GOLDEN: ISU eyes prize one game at a time
Most baseball fans know that the baseball season — even a college baseball season — is a marathon, not a sprint.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Grass is green enough for Indiana State in Missouri Valley
Take a look around the Missouri Valley Conference landscape and it would be easy to assume that a significant portion of the league membership is searching for perceived greener pastures.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Sycamores are Odum’s team now
Soooo … who wants to talk about the 2012 Indiana State men’s basketball season?
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU will face uphill climb in MVC in 2013
The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals are always scintillating. No more so than Saturday when Illinois State upset 15th-ranked Wichita State 65-64 and when No. 25 Creighton took care of business with a 99-71 victory over Evansville.
Arch Madness indeed. -
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Effort, heart, concentration are fleeting for ISU
Every time Indiana State’s men’s basketball wins a game, you think to yourself, OK, now is when these Sycamores live up to their potential.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Peyton’s place belongs to Eli
The good people of Indianapolis justifiably puffed out their chests throughout Super Bowl week as the city received deserved rave reviews for the job it did as hosts of Super Bowl XLVI.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Teammates, colleagues express their loyalty to Weatherford
Sometimes you worry whether someone is stopping to smell the roses when they smell rosiest.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Does melted ice reveal Belichick's heart of gold?
If you’re into Youtube — and who isn’t these days? — there’s a vintage television profile of then-Cleveland Browns coach Bill Belichick posted on the popular site.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Indiana State men caught between expectation, reality
The Missouri Valley Conference is hush-hush on how it puts together its matchups for the annual conference schedule.
- More From the Press Box Headlines
-
TODD GOLDEN: Don't give up on ISU baseball just yet
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Raw: House Burns After Massive Oklahoma Tornado
Raw: Walking in a Flattened Okla. Neighborhood
Raw: Witness Describes Scene After Okla. Tornado
Split-second Choice Ended With NY Student Dead
White House Backs 'Shield Law' for Media
RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado
Raw: Swarm of Tornadoes Slams Plains
Raw: Suspects Butt Dial 911, Lead to Arrest
Oklahoma Gov: 'Hearts Are Broken' After Tornado
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
Raw: Okla. Tornado Aftermath 'Like War Zone'
Raw: Rescuers Pull Tornado Survivors to Safety
Commuters Face Delays After Conn. Train Accident
Pug Life on Display at Wisconsin Festival
Analyst: Tumblr Fills Void in Yahoo's Offerings
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident in Turkey
RAW: Moore, OK tornado touches down near school
Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
Robert Pattinson Moves Out
RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air
Oklahoma tornado survivor: "Everything is gone"
Khloe Lashes Out at Kim Kardashian's Critics
Couple Argues As Woman's Lover Crawls Out Window
RAW: Brad Paisley Forgets Lyrics To His Own Song
Justin Bieber Gets Booed
New 'Anchorman 2' Trailer, Drake Joins List of Rumored Cameos
Eva Longoria's Wardrobe Malfunction
Heat Star Dwyane Wade Surprises Coral Gables Teen At Prom
Steak n' Shake waitress scores huge tip
Singer Miguel Accidentally Lands on Fan At Billboard Music Awards
Celebs Celebrate the Rise of the Side Butt
Grizzly bear gets up close and personal with camera
Justin Bieber Gets Booed After Winning at the Billboard Awards
Singer forgets lyrics, makes up words to National Anthem
