Nine different Hoosiers have started for IU. However, the Hoosiers are still looking for a dominant No. 1 starter.
Now, in May, IU Coach Chris Lemonis believes he has found his ace — an ace who couldn’t throw more than 20 pitches in a game as recently as March.
This pitcher is junior Kyle Hart, who spent the majority of this season rebuilding his arm strength after undergoing Tommy John surgery last season. After his latest start, a win against Ohio State, Hart said he is back to full strength.
“It’s pretty much as normal as it’s been,” Hart said. “Earlier in the season, I had a little more serious repercussions as far as back soreness and forearm soreness, but I think my body’s starting to come around and get used ?to it.”
The win against Ohio State on Friday improved Hart’s record to 4-0 and lowered his ERA this season to 1.85, the second lowest on the Hoosiers. He pitched six scoreless innings, giving up one unearned run while striking out five Buckeyes and walking none.
“Kyle Hart’s been a guy we can really lean on,” Lemonis said.
Originally, Hart’s role in the rotation was minimal. An occasional mid-week start to build and regain his strength and maybe Hart could find a role in the rotation towards the end of the season.
But then IU struggled to find consistency with its starting pitching. Original Friday night starter junior Scott Effross is back in the bullpen, where Lemonis said he pitches more comfortably.
Original Saturday night starter Christian Morris has struggled all season and now is more present out of the bullpen than as a starter. However, Lemonis did praise Morris’ start in the final game of the Ohio State series, a 4.2 inning no-decision.
But for the most part, the Hoosiers have been without an ace after being able to rely on Joey DeNato for the past three seasons. But now, as the postseason is set to begin, Hart is stepping into the role of IU’s leader on the mound.
In many ways, Hart and DeNato are similar. In a purely physical sense, both are southpaws, but they also pitch similarly, starting with their ability to control opposing baserunners.
DeNato’s pickoff move was known around the Big Ten as one of the best. When opposing teams played DeNato, they mostly didn’t even bother trying to steal. Of IU’s 21 pickoffs last season, 12 came from DeNato.
Of the 11 baserunners who tried stealing against DeNato in 2014, two were successful. That translates to a success rate of 18.2 percent. Against all other IU pitchers, baserunners had a 75 percent ?success rate.
Hart isn’t as successful at holding runners on as DeNato, but he’s no slouch. Hart uses a combination of a slide step and a high leg kick to keep opposing baserunners guessing.
Friday, he made one of the best base-stealers in the country look foolish. Troy ?Montgomery, tied for fifth in the NCAA with 35 stolen bases this season, took his lead off first.
After two pitches to Connor Sabanosh, where Hart used his slide step, Hart started his stretch using his high leg kick. Montgomery saw this and assumed a pickoff attempt was coming and took a step toward first base.
But Hart went home. Montgomery still tried to steal but ended up turning back to first about halfway there, realizing he would be thrown out by 10 feet. But he couldn’t make it back to first in time, the fifth time he was caught stealing this season.
As for what happens once Hart delivers a pitch, he uses a fastball that touches 89 miles per hour, same as DeNato, a devastating change-up he uses to strike hitters out, same as DeNato, and a slider. Or maybe it’s a curve. Or possibly a slurve. Hart himself is not sure what to call the pitch.
What he does know is the pitch isn’t good enough. In fact, despite his impressive numbers, Hart isn’t all that impressed with himself.
He said he’s not locating his breaking pitch, whatever you want to call it, and the break is not consistent yet. He said he needs to locate all his pitches better.
“I think if I locate with the inside fastball more, I keep them off balance a little bit more,” Hart said. “I think that’s where some of those base hits are coming in.”
Those hits, the four singles and two doubles he surrendered Friday, weren’t all that impressive. The four singles consisted of two groundballs to second, a bunt single and a slow roller between the third baseman and the shortstop.
But aces are also perfectionists most of the time, even if Hart doesn’t want to call himself IU’s ace just yet.
“I just feel comfortable with pitching on my day,” Hart said. “I don’t know whether that’s going to be a Wednesday or a Friday or what, and I don’t really like to put a title on it either. ... But with that being said I’m really comfortable where I’m at. If I can continue to locate and mix pitches, I feel like I can be as good as anybody.”
