Three Indiana University Baseball Players earn Freshman All-American Honors
An Indiana University Baseball program-record three student-athletes earned Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The trio of outfielder Carter Mathison, third baseman Josh Pyne, and first baseman Brock Tibbitts each earned the honor the publication. Indiana was one of four programs with three-or-more student-athletes on Collegiate Baseball’s Freshman All-America team, joining Oregon State, Tennessee and UCLA. The Hoosiers were the only program in the nation with three position players named to the list by the publication.
Previously, Indiana had two Freshman All-America selections in back-to-back seasons during the 2011 and 2012 campaigns. Dustin DeMuth and Joey DeNato earned the recognition in 2011, while Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis garnered honors in 2012.
This trio became the first freshman trio in the history of Indiana baseball to each drive in 40 RBIs in the same season, while Mathison set or tied two IU freshman records and Pyne joined an exclusive freshman group. The trio each earned All-Big Ten Freshman Team honors from the conference coaches.
The freshman single-season home runs leader at Indiana, Mathison became the first freshman since Travis in 2012 to lead the team in home runs. His 19 long balls rank No. 2 all-time in Big Ten history among freshmen (21 – Brad Carlson, Iowa; 1999), passed Alex Dickerson’s freshman mark of 14 (2009) at Indiana and finished tied for No. 5 on Indiana’s single-season charts. The 19 home runs helped the left-handed hitter produce 58 RBIs on the season, which tied the freshman record set by Phil Dauphin in 1988. The 58 RBIs ranked No. 2 among Power 5 freshmen nationally and led all Big Ten rookies. Along with his team-leading 19 home runs, he also paced the team with 55 runs scored and was second on the team in RBIs.
Pyne was among the top hitters in the Big Ten with a .327 batting average, which was second among B1G rookies, while his 57 RBIs ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 7 nationally among rookies – No. 3 among Power 5 freshmen. That RBI total is also tied for No. 3 on Indiana freshman-only charts with Dickerson (2009) and Mike Sabo (1985). On the year, the right-handed hitter piled up 74 hits to become the sixth Hoosier freshman to reach the 70-hit mark and the first freshman to lead the team in hits since 2012 (Travis). That total led all Big Ten freshmen. The hit total included 20 doubles, which rank tied for No. 8 on the single season charts, one triple and six home runs.
Moving from catcher to first base in his first collegiate season, Tibbitts finished his freshman season ranked No. 5 on IU’s freshman-only home runs charts with nine and No. 12 on the freshman-only RBI list with 43. He was third on the team with 38 walks and his .382 on-base percentage was sixth on the squad.
Indiana University Softball to play in Florida tournament to open 2023 season
The Indiana softball team will participate in the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational Presented by EvoShield, February 16-19, 2023, in Clearwater, Florida. The 16-team field for 2023 includes: Indiana, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Duke, Florida State, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, UCF, UCLA, USF, and Virginia Tech.
In 2022 four teams that advanced to the NCAA Women’s College World Series participated in the Clearwater Invitational. The 2023 field feature three teams that advanced to the 2022 NCAA Women’s College World Series. The Clearwater Invitational will be played at Eddie Moore Softball Complex in Clearwater, Fla., and will be televised across the ESPN family of networks.
Indiana University Wrestling Alum Luke Sheridan earns spot USA National Team
Indiana University Wrestling alum Luke Sheridan earned a spot-on USA Wrestling’s National Team Wednesday afternoon. Sheridan, who competes for the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), defeated Hadyn Maley (Beaver Dam RTC) in a True Third National Team Wrestle-off at the 97 kg weight class in the Greco-Roman division. By winning the match, Sheridan clinched a spot on the national team. The match was held prior to Final X New York at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. Sheridan is currently a soldier-athlete with the United States Army’s WCAP and All Army Wrestling. He graduated from IU in 2015 and was a two-time NCAA qualifier at 184 lbs.
- True Third: Luke Sheridan (Army WCAP) def. Hadyn Maley (Beaver Dam RTC) 13-4
- Sheridan’s Results from USA World Team Trials (May 21-22):
- Quarterfinals: Luke Sheridan (Army WCAP) def. Brady Vogel (Dubuque Wrestling Club) 9-0, 1:28
- Semi-Finals: Braxton Amos (Wisconsin RTC) def. Luke Sheridan (Army WCAP) 7-4
Bedford North Lawrence and Indiana Junior All Star Basketball Player Karsyn Norman commits to Butler
Bedford North Lawrence Girls Basketball Player Karsyn Norman has verbally committed to play at Butler University in 2023. Norman chose Butler over Toledo, Stephen F. Austin, Davidson and North Florida. Norman led the Stars to the Class 4A regional final losing to Franklin for the second year in a row. As a Junior Norman averaged 15 points, 3 steals and 2.8 assists per game. Norman was named to the Indiana Junior All Star team and Supreme 15 by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Assocation. Norman has been a three-year starter at Bedford North Lawrence scoring 863 points with a 67-15 record and three sectional championships. She scored 30 points against Warren Central.
Butler hired Austin Parkinson who played at Northwestern High School in Kokomo and Purdue University in the off season. Parkinson coached at IUPUI for 12 years with a 244-141 record and took the Jaguars to the 2022 NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. He had seven 20-win seasons at IUPUI. Parkinson replaces Kurt Godleveske who was released after a 1-27 season in 2021-22. Godleveske guided Bedford North Lawrence to the 2013 Class 4A State Championship was 91-144 in eight seasons at Butler and 2019 Big East Coach of Year and WNIT Appearance that season.
Indianapolis Indians Coverage
Columbus Beats Indy 11-3 to Level Series
The Indianapolis Indians trailed from start to finish in an 11-3 loss to the Columbus Clippers Wednesday afternoon at Victory Field. Jared Oliva and Ji-hwan Bae smacked back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning, but the long balls weren’t enough as Indy fell back to .500. The teams play game three of the six game series this evening at 7:05pm.
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced before yesterday’s game that right-handed relief pitchers Nick Mears and Heath Hembree have joined Indianapolis on rehab assignments. They will be the sixth and seventh major league rehabbers to appear with the Indians this season, following outfielder Anthony Alford, infielder Kevin Newman, and pitchers Sam Howard, Max Kranick and Duane Underwood Jr. Right-Handed Pitcher Miguel Yajure has been reinstated from the 7-day injured list and Left-Handed Pitcher Trey McGough has been transferred from the 7-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.
Indians Record: 27-27 (LP: Miguel Yajure 0-1) / Columbus Record: 34-22 (WP: Tanner Tully 5-0)
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