How Devin Taylor's voice — not his bat — sparked Indiana's series-clinching rout of Maryland

Devin Taylor has delivered plenty of big swings for Indiana over the past three seasons.

But on Sunday afternoon, in the final game of a pivotal home series against Maryland, the most important moment of his day didn’t come at the plate.

It came in the dugout — when Taylor, typically quiet, turned vocal.

In a game Indiana never trailed, he still sensed the urgency. The Hoosiers were leaving too many runners on base. Their body language was flat. Their coach’s energy wasn’t right. So Taylor spoke up.

“Your body language stinks,” he told head coach Jeff Mercer.

What followed was one of the most dominant individual performances in recent program history — and a defining moment in Taylor’s evolution from star player to team leader.

Statistically, Taylor’s Sunday was nearly perfect.

He reached base all six times he stepped to the plate — drawing three walks, collecting three hits and driving in five runs.

He ended the game with a no-doubt, three-run homer in the eighth inning that sealed a 15-5 run-rule win and clinched the series. He finished a triple short of the cycle.

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According to program records dating to 2005, no Indiana player had ever reached base six times in a game with at least three hits and three walks — until Taylor did it.

But the numbers didn’t define his impact. Taylor didn’t just produce. He led. And that, Mercer said, is what made Sunday so significant.

Despite the lopsided final score, the game wasn’t smooth early on. Indiana took a lead in the first inning and never gave it up, but the offense struggled to capitalize on opportunities.

“I was not pleased the first five innings,” Mercer said. “We left a bunch of guys on base. I know my body language wasn’t great.”

That’s when Taylor walked over.

“He walked up and told me, ‘Your body language stinks,’” Mercer said. “I love that stuff. I’m all about it. I can be held accountable. I’ve got thick skin.”

Taylor and Mercer go back years, their bond built through countless conversations — most of them not about baseball. Their relationship is rooted in trust, which is why Taylor’s words landed.

But Taylor didn’t stop with his coach.

“Then he busted everybody’s chops,” Mercer said. “He kept saying, ‘Look, let’s go score 10. Let’s go.’ Not only did he bust my chops — which I love — then he got everybody else’s attention.”

And then Taylor backed it all up.

Indiana, a team that starts five freshmen regularly, has leaned on Taylor for stability all year. He’s the program’s all-time home run leader. He’s one of the most disciplined hitters in school history, with more than 110 career walks. He’s an All-American, a projected first-round MLB draft pick and a player whose on-field production speaks for itself.

But Sunday was about something else. It was about leadership.

“It was a huge moment for him,” Mercer said. “We’ve really challenged him to do that, to step forward and be more vocal. When you’re starting five freshmen, they go where Devin Taylor tells them to go.”

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Usually, Taylor leads by example. That’s always been his style. But Indiana needed something different Sunday — and Taylor knew it.

“Growing is not just in swing adjustment. It’s not just running faster,” Mercer said. “It’s, ‘What does the game need from me? What does my team need from me to be successful?’ I’m just really pleased with the way he stepped forward today.”

Taylor’s weekend as a whole was dominant — he went 6-for-11 across three games, hit two home runs, drew three walks and reached base nine times. He became the program’s all-time leader in career home runs on Saturday in a blowout loss.

But even in the midst of all that production, the moment that stuck out to Mercer wasn’t anything Taylor did with his bat. It was what Taylor did outside the batter’s box.

Taylor will have more big days at the plate. He’ll hit more home runs, draw more walks and climb further into the record books. But what happened in the dugout on Sunday might end up meaning more than anything he did with a bat in his hands.

He saw what the team needed — and he gave it to them.

“He’s their friend. He’s their leader, and he’s the guy that’s in the fight with them,” Mercer said. “So when he steps forward and says, ‘This is where we’re going,’ it means a lot.”

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