Indiana made a run to the Massive Ten Match semifinals this weekend, and beginning pitcher Bradley Brehmer was an enormous cause why.

The senior right-handed pitcher took the mound for the Hoosiers on Friday in opposition to the Illinois Combating Illini. After shedding a heartbreaker in further innings to top-seeded Maryland on Thursday, Indiana wanted a win over Illinois to advance within the match.

Brehmer was making his 14th begin of the season after being Indiana’s Saturday starter for almost all of the yr. He entered the sport with a 5.89 ERA and was coming off a four-inning, one-run efficiency in opposition to Iowa on Could 21.

Brehmer’s Friday did not get off to a really perfect begin after strolling the primary batter and permitting a single to the second. However he started to dwell down within the zone, forcing Illinois’ Justin Janas to floor right into a double play. Brehmer compelled one other floor out to finish the inning and escaped the primary body unscathed.

From then on, Brehmer was working shortly and effectively. He struck out two batters within the second, and posted one-two-three innings from the second inning to the fifth inning. Brehmer struck out six batters on Friday, however he additionally discovered to belief his protection. He compelled 12 Illinois groundouts, together with a pair of inning-ending double performs.

Brehmer’s first signal of actual bother got here within the sixth inning when he allowed a single and a hit-by-pitch to the primary two batters. Illinois executed a sacrifice bunt to maneuver the runners to second and third, and Branden Comia drove in Illinois’ first run with a groundout to the correct facet. Brehmer struck out Janas to finish the inning, after which, it was time for Indiana to get the bats shifting.

Indiana freshman Carter Mathison collected his first RBI of the sport with a sacrifice fly to offer Indiana a one-run lead within the sixth. And due to Brehmer’s dominance, that was the one run the Hoosiers would wish the remainder of the way in which. Brehmer compelled weak contact to publish a scoreless seventh inning, and he was fired up after putting out Comia in a one-two-three eighth inning. 

Indiana would blow the sport open with a six-run eighth inning behind RBI from Josh Pyne, Mathison, Tyler Doanes, Peter Serruto and Phillip Glasser. This gave Brehmer some room to breathe within the backside of the ninth, as he capped off his full sport with a strikeout, floor out and come out. 

It was clearly Brehmer’s finest begin of the season in Indiana’s 8-1 win over Illinois, pitching all 9 innings whereas permitting 4 hits, one run, two walks, one hit-by-pitch and 6 strikeouts. Throwing 112 pitches on Friday, Brehmer saved the ball down all sport and compelled 12 Illinois groundouts.

This pitching gem led to Brehmer being named to the Massive Ten All-Match Crew. It was Brehmer’s second full sport of his profession, along with his first coming in opposition to UIC within the 2021 Horizon League Match when he pitched for Wright State.

Brehmer is the primary Indiana pitcher to earn all-tournament honors since Christian Morris in 2014. He is additionally the primary Indiana hurler to throw an entire sport within the Massive Ten Match since Will Coursen-Carr did so within the 2013 championship sport. 

With this effort, Brehmer completed his senior season with a 5-4 report throughout 14 begins. He posted a 5.30 ERA over 74.2 innings whereas putting out 77 batters and strolling 33. Opposing hitters batted .254 in opposition to Brehmer, who completed with the fourth-lowest ERA amongst Hoosiers, behind Ty Bothwell, Jack Perkins and Luke Hayden. 

Brehmer performed his first three seasons of collegiate baseball at Wright State, the place he was named an All-Horizon League participant throughout his freshman and junior seasons. He graduated from Decatur Central Excessive College in Indianapolis, Ind., the place he was an All-State pitcher throughout his junior and senior seasons with 19 profession victories, a 1.88 ERA and 192 strikeouts.

Tales associated to Indiana baseball:

• INDIANA’S RECORD-SETTING CINDERELLA RUN FALLS SHORT IN SEMIFINALS: Indiana turned the primary No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed within the Massive Ten Match, however the Cinderella run ended round 3 a.m. Sunday morning with a 14-2 loss to Rutgers. The Hoosiers are the second crew in Massive Ten historical past to strike out over 600 batters in a season, and set the Massive Ten Match single-game report at 18 strikeouts. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA LOSES IN EXTRAS TO MARYLAND: Indiana overcame a 4-0 deficit to pressure further innings within the first spherical of the Massive Ten Match in opposition to top-seeded Maryland. The Hoosiers set a Massive Ten report with 18 strikeouts, and freshman Carter Mathison hit his 18th dwelling run of the season. CLICK HERE
• FOUR FRESHMEN, ELLIS, DOANES EARN BIG TEN HONORS: Josh Pyne, Carter Mathison, Brock Tibbitts and Evan Goforth had been named to the All-Massive Ten Freshman Crew on Monday. Catcher Matthew Ellis earned third-team All-Massive Ten honors, and Tyler Doanes was Indiana’s recipient of the Sportsmanship Award. CLICK HERE