KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The story of baseball, like life, is told with names and dates and numbers. That's what box scores and scorecards and the back of baseball cards are for.
There are a lot of dates and numbers attached to Ty Bothwell's name with Indiana baseball. Because he redshirted as a freshman in 2019 and the 2020 COVID year didn't count against his eligibility, he's been in Bloomington for six years. He's put up a lot of statistics. He's an important piece to the Hoosiers' pitching staff, and he was handed the ball for Game 1 of the NCAA tournament regional here in Knoxville.
The three hours of ball on Friday afternoon was no different. We kept track of Bothwell first five scoreless innings, his nine strikeouts and his 103 pitches, and where he departed in the sixth inning with an 8-2 lead. At the end of game, a 10-4 win for the Hoosiers over Southern Miss, we even added a win to his record in the box score, now a team-best 7-3 on the season. It was probably the last game he'll pitch in an Indiana uniform, but he's also prepared to fight you on that.
But this was a Friday unlike any other, and a day and game unlike anything else in Bothwell's career — or in his life, for that matter. He took the mound with a big secret. Well, check that. He had a secret, but his coaches, teammates and his mother, Mikki Bothwell, were all in on it.
The only one who wasn't? Literally the only one? That would be his girlfriend of four-plus years — ''and the girl I had a crush on since I was like eight,'' Bothwell said — McKayla Tucker. She was in the stands cheering on her guy, as she's done throughout most of his Indiana career. And when the game ended, McKayla and Mikki and the huge Indiana baseball family all went down on the field off the Indiana dugout.
When everyone was assembled, Bothwell went down on one knee and popped the question. Yes, THAT question. McKayla was surprised — "I got her,'' Bothwell said — but immediately said yes. She knew this day was coming, she just didn't expect it to be on Friday in Knoxville, Tenn., of all places.
A perfect game.
"Yes, it was perfect,'' MiKayla said Saturday during an interview. "There isn't a single thing I would have changed. Not one thing.''
That's what engagements are supposed to be about.
Bothwell hopes to play professionally, but his time at Indiana is coming to a close. He has his degree. Tucker does too. She's starting her career as a physical therapist in Michigan City, Ind., not far from where these two grew up in Hebron, Ind. They both went to Boone Grove, McKayla graduating in 2017 and Bothwell in 2018.
They've been dating for over four years, and they've talked about their future often. So McKayla figured they'd get engaged at some point, she just didn't have any precise idea when.
Bothwell did, sort of. His head coach, Jeff Mercer, has been in Bloomington all six of these years, too. They are all very close, as you'd expect after all this time. "They're like family to me,'' Mercer said of the Bothwells.
Bothwell has talked to Mercer about getting engaged a few times. Indiana was an NCAA Tournament bubble team, but Bothwell told Mercer that if they made a regional, it might be the perfect moment to pop the question. He had already bought the ring, so on Monday when the Hoosiers were all watching the tournament selection show, their name popped up in the first few minutes when they were assigned to the Knoxville region with No. 1 Tennessee.
Bothwell looked at Mercer and smiled. It was game on now.
"We had talked about it, and then we shook on it,.'' Mercer said. "I told him he couldn't turn back now.''
Bothwell had no intention of turning back. He picked up the ring on Tuesday and started putting all the plans in place. But a lot of things had to go right. First off, the Hoosiers had to win their game, and Bothwell had to do his part. It was up to everyone else to keep the secret, and it was up to Mom to get McKayla down on the field.
Check, check and double check. All the ducks were in a row.
But what if it hadn't? It was the very first — and most obvious — follow-up question to Bothwell. What if you had lost? No engagement?
"Probably not,'' he said. "I would have found another time to do it, another moment, but I just didn't see that as an option. Thankfully, it didn't come to that. Everything played out perfect. I've been waiting for this moment for four years.''
So, the second-most obvious follow-up question was for McKayla. How did she feel about her engagement pending on the outcome of a baseball game?
"Oh, I don't care because I was the one who didn't know anything about it anyway. I was just enjoying watching him play,'' Tucker said. "It was already a wonderful day. Getting engaged made it great, of course, but if it hadn't been Friday, it would have happened sooner rather than later.
''I seriously was completely surprised. Everybody knew but me. He had another plan. It would have happened anyway this summer, but it was so great to have it happen here in front of all of our friends. I'm just a big ball of emotions right now, but it's the next great part in our lives. I wouldn't have it any other way. What a great cap to his career at Indiana.''
Bothwell said the proposal thoughts weren't really on his mind all day on Friday. He was focused on the task at hand, pitching well and helping the Hoosiers get a victory.
"I was really focused on the game, but in the bottom of the first inning when Brock (Tibbitts) hit that two-run homer, I was thinking to myself, 'this is going to happen. We're winning this game.' ''
Bothwell pitched great and help Indiana stay comfortably ahead. Fighting some arm tightness the past few weeks, he's nowhere near 100 percent, but he battled through it anyway.
Getting the win was great. Getting the girl was even better.
Add that one line to the box score: Bothwell: Engaged to McKayla Tucker, May 31, 2024.
Love Story Years in the Making
Tucker and Bothwell grew up in the same northwest Indiana small town and spent a lot of time together as kids. Their fathers were team ropers in the International Professional Rodeo Association, and Bothwell's mom Mikki was a barrel racer. Weekends were often spent at the Bothwell's house, kids just being kids all summer long year after year.
They were just good friends in high school, too. They spent less time together as Bothwell's baseball career started to blossom, other than Bothwell helping out some of the time with the girls basketball team that Tucker was on ''and driving me crazy.'' Tucker said. He helped Boone Grove win a state baseball title as a senior and he threw a state-record five no-hitters that year. He went off to Indiana, and McKayla was already at the University of Indianapolis
It wasn't until college that they started dating, and it's been a fun four years.
"We reconnected in college, and it's been a great experience for both of us, I would say,'' Bothwell said. "And now we get to spend the rest of our lives together, so I guess everything worked out.''
Tucker was a junior at UIndy and Bothwell was a sophom*ore at Indiana when Tucker admitted ''it all started with me just commenting on some of his Instagram photos. We started talking and then when we were both home for Christmas, we started hanging out and the rest is history.''
Friday was a big day for Bothwell's mother, too. She thinks the world of her future daughter-in-law, and enjoyed every second of the full day as well.
"I had to make sure that I got her here and got her on the field. Those were my two important jobs,'' she said. "I've known her since she was little when we hung out in the summertimes. She's a good girl. I like her and she's going to make a great daughter-in-law.
"It meant the world to have all the Indiana baseball family here for all of it too. Coach Mercer and (pitching) Coach (Dustin) Glant have been great to him. It's all like a big family,. They've been wonderful to him and we're blessed to have (Mercer) as his coach for all these years. It really was the perfect day. I'm very excited for both of them.''
Bothwell has a pro future, because crafty left-handers are always a valued commodity. He's excited about all the great days ahead, too.
"I'm still going on adreniline from everything that happened yesterday. It all went perfect to plan,'' Bothwell said. ''We'll just see how everything goes after the season. She already has a (work) plan, and it looks like there's a pretty good opportunity for me this summer. Anything can happen and I'm excited to see how it all plays out. We'll probably know a lot more in July in regards to my future, but this was more about me committing to her. It's been a real blessing.''
And Bothwell wants to be clear on one thing. Despite the Hoosiers' underdog status here in this regional with the best team in the county, he doesn't think his IU career is over quite yet. He envisions coming out of the bullpen on Sunday night and closing out a win. There's always one more week, or so he hopes.
"I'm closing Sunday. I can picture that,'' Bothwell said. "But if that doesn't happen, I can't picture a better way to end my time at Indiana like it did on Friday. We got a win, and I get my girl for the rest of my life.''
Count that as a win in the box score, for sure.
