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(03/31/14 4:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>COLUMBUS, Ohio – Coming into the weekend, IU and Ohio State were tied for the lead in the Big Ten, and the Buckeyes had the best overall record in the conference.The Hoosiers (15-10, 5-1) outhit the Buckeyes (16-10, 2-4) 42-19 during the weekend, en route to a three-game sweep of Ohio State.“We just went out with that demeanor of ‘We’re better then you,’” junior catcher Kyle Schwarber said.IU won 6-4 Friday behind senior pitcher Joey DeNato’s performance coupled with 15 Hoosier hits. DeNato threw seven innings and gave up just one earned run.Saturday’s game was rained out, sending the teams into a doubleheader in chilly conditions Sunday. IU outscored Ohio State 15-3 during the doubleheader. In game one, junior pitcher Kyle Hart — reigning back-to-back Big Ten Pitcher of the Week — came out before the fifth inning due to an injury.Hart would later be diagnosed with a strained forearm, according to the team’s official Twitter account. Sophomore Will Coursen-Carr was called on for relief.“I really had no idea what was going on,” Coursen-Carr said. “At that moment I was relaxed in the dugout. And then it was like, ‘Oh, I’m in.’”Despite the short notice, Coursen-Carr shutout the Buckeyes in his five innings of relief work. He native has struggled recently, and IU Coach Tracy Smith said he was impressed.“That’s huge,” Smith said. “At that time it was colder than the dickens. And to be sitting there, bundled up in jackets, having no idea you’re going into the game — I thought that was an outstanding job by him.”Smith said he didn’t want to comment about Hart’s status. He said he doesn’t know if the injury is serious or not, and Hart will be evaluated in the coming days.In game two of the double header, the Hoosier bats came alive again and the pitching stymied the Buckeyes.Starting pitcher Christian Morris’s line was 7.2 innings, three hits, one earned run, one walk and four strikeouts.“Kudos to him,” Schwarber said. “He did a hell of a job.”IU added 14 hits in support of Morris, including an inside-the-park home run by senior infielder Dustin DeMuth that scored two runs.The home run extended DeMuth’s hitting streak to 14 games. The Hoosier offense was strong all weekend. Schwarber went 6-for-12 during the series, leadoff man Casey Rodrigue scored in every game and designated hitter junior Scott Donley had five RBI.“We finally put it together for a weekend,” Smith said. “I don’t want to say I’m surprised on that because I’ve seen it before.”IU put together its finest weekend of the season thus far, Smith and the players said.Players said the mentality of the team was different.“We were aggressive, we were confident and a little bit arrogant,” Coursen-Carr said. “Arrogant in a good way, not a bad way.”
(03/30/14 7:32pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>COLUMBUS, Ohio – IU’s 13 hits coupled with a strong relief performance from Will Coursen-Carr allowed the Hoosiers to take game one of the doubleheader 8-2 against Ohio State.Starting pitcher Kyle Hart went four innings and gave up two earned runs. After coming out in the fifth inning and throwing a few warmup pitches, the coaching and training staff surrounded Hart at the mound. He was removed due to injury. According to the team’s official Twitter account, Hart suffered a “forearm strain.”Replacing him was the sophomore Coursen-Carr. The Fort Wayne, Ind. native stepped up to the challenge, throwing five scoreless innings of relief.After not scoring in the first four innings, the Hoosier offense posted three and four runs in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively. Both Kyle Schwarber and Scott Donley homered and Dustin DeMuth went 3-for-5.IU broke the game open in the sixth when Travis stepped up to the bat with the bases loaded and two outs.Travis singled and initially scored two. Then Travis tried advancing to second but the Buckeyes caught him in a pickle. This allowed Schwarber to score before Travis was tagged out in the pickle. Three Hoosiers ended up scoring on the play, making it a five-run game.Game two of the double header will start at 4:00 p.m. as the Hoosiers go for the sweep of the Buckeyes.Evan Hoopfer
(03/29/14 1:49am)
Joey DeNato picked up his fifth win of the season behind a 15-hit performance fromt he Hoosier baseball offense as IU defeated Ohio State 6-4.
(03/28/14 3:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The last time IU and Ohio State played a weekend series, the Hoosiers were trying to accomplish a feat 81 years in the making.In the final Big Ten series of the season last May, IU was in contention with three other schools — including Ohio State — for the Big Ten crown.The Hoosiers took two of three game from the Buckeyes to capture their first outright Big Ten regular season championship since 1932.“I think everybody understands what this series means,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said.IU (12-10, 2-1) travels to Columbus, Ohio, for a rematch with Ohio State (16-7, 2-1) this weekend for a marquee three-game stint.“Our guys are smart — they know how to turn on a computer and read the Internet, and they see that Ohio State is hot,” Smith said.According to the coaches’ preseason predictions, both of these teams are expected to finish near the top of the conference. The Hoosiers were picked to win the Big Ten and Ohio State was predicted to finish third.Coming into the year ranked No. 3 in the preseason Baseball America poll, IU has struggled and is no longer ranked.“I tell the guys, you’ve seen the light, so it can’t get much worse,” Smith said.Smith said he expected the offense to make up for any shortcomings the pitching and fielding would have coming into the season. “It’s been totally reversed,” he said.The Hoosier pitching staff has been one of the Big Ten’s best. They lead the Big Ten in team ERA by more than .3 runs a game. But the offense has struggled compared to last year.Last season, IU led the Big Ten in batting average, on base percentage, slugging, hits, runs, doubles, home runs and total bases.This year, the Hoosiers have seen a drop off of almost two runs per game. They averaged 6.6 runs per game last year, compared to 4.5 this year.“We were one of the best offensive teams in the country and had guys coming back,” Smith said, pointing to a picture of preseason All-Americans Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis hanging on his office wall. “You’d never think we would be struggling the way we are offensively.”Meanwhile, 220 miles to the east, the Buckeyes are on a hot streak. Ohio State owns the best overall record in the conference and has won eight of their last nine games.They’ve been led by their pitching staff, which has kept opponents at a .248 batting average — a Big Ten best.Senior Joey DeNato, junior Kyle Hart — who’s won two straight Big Ten Pitcher of the Week awards — and sophomore Christian Morris are projected to start Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively for IU.The three Buckeye pitchers they’ll face are a combined 9-1 this year.“We’ve been pressing all year,” Smith said. “And look what pressing has got us. It’s got us inconsistency. So let’s just be who we are, and get back to that.”
(03/27/14 3:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An early deficit and a big seventh inning doomed the IU baseball team Wednesday afternoon as it fell 12-8 against Indiana State.The Sycamores jumped on Hoosier starter Sullivan Stadler early, pushing across five runs in the first two frames. The sophomore left-hander made it through just 3.1 innings in his second career start, striking out two batters and issuing two walks.IU was able to cut the deficit to 6-5 by scoring four runs in the top of the seventh inning, but a disastrous bottom half of the inning put the game out of its reach.With one out and runners on first and second base, sophomore shortstop Nick Ramos fumbled a potential double-play grounder, allowing the inning to continue. The Sycamores went on to score six runs in the inning, and the Hoosiers were unable to close the gap, despite a three-run ninth inning.Errors have been a continuing problem for the Hoosiers in 2014 — three against the Sycamores brought their season total to 27 in just 22 games. Last season, IU committed 90 errors in 65 games.Junior first baseman Sam Travis and senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth carried the offensive load for the Hoosiers, collecting five hits and three RBI between themselves.IU (12-10) will next take the field against Ohio State for a three-game series in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend. Alden Woods
(03/26/14 3:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After taking two of three against Michigan last weekend, the IU baseball team (12-9, 2-1) advances to play Indiana State (15-5) at 3:30 today.Hoosiers offense has not lived up to IU Coach Tracy Smith’s expectations, but designated junior hitter Scott Donley said the team should bounce back soon.“It’s just execution,” Donley said. “When we have runners on third base we need to put the ball in the air, hit a sacrifice fly... we have to be able to lay down bunts.” The start time of the game was moved to 3:30 because of expected cold weather in Terre Haute.“It’s a really big game,” Donley said. “We have to come out and play well against them. Indiana State’s proven themselves this year and have quite a few big wins. It’s going to be a good game.”Sophomore left-handed pitcher Sullivan Stadler will start on the mound for IU. It will be his second start of the year, as he started against Louisville last week where he picked up his first win. He is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA and three strikeouts. Opponents are batting .241 against him this season.“He did a good job for us,” Smith said. “I think he has earned the opportunity to follow that up with another performance.”Smith also said he is looking for another outing where he competes aggressively in the strike zone. The Hoosiers have a team ERA of 2.55, which is the best in the Big Ten.“There is not an issue with the way we’ve been pitching the baseball,” Smith said. “These starters, midweek included, have given us a chance to win the game every single time. That’s their job, that’s their role.”The Sycamores are No. 22 in Ratings Percentage Index, or RPI, meaning the game will play a big part of where IU ranks next week.“They’ve always been a good test for us, being a neighbor and in-state,” Smith said. “The RPI implication is a big part of it, but we’re not going to go over there and think about RPI. We’re going to go over there and think about playing good, standard, quality baseball.”IU is led on offense by junior catcher Kyle Schwarber, who is batting .313 with three home runs and 11 RBIs, junior first baseman Sam Travis who is batting .325 with six doubles and 17 RBIs, senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth who is batting .343 with one home run and five RBIs and by junior second baseman Casey Rodrigue who is batting .326 with nine steals and 12 RBIs.“(We need to) hit balls hard, not far,” Smith said. “I think once we focus on that and swing at pitches in the zone and pitches we can handle, and recognize pitches in the zone and pitches we can handle, I think our results will turn around.”
(03/25/14 2:59pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After defeating No. 14 Louisville and taking two of three from Michigan this past weekend, two IU baseball players were recognized by the Big Ten.Second baseman Casey Rodrigue was named co-Big Ten Player of the Week, and Kyle Hart was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week.During the four-game stretch, Rodrigue hit .444 with seven RBI, scored five runs and stole three bases.Rodrigue transferred from LSU-Eunice and has played in all of IU’s 21 games, starting in 20 of them.The speedster stole 68 bases last year in Louisiana and has stolen nine bags this season.After being demoted from the weekend rotation earlier in the season for struggling, Hart has turned his season around to win two straight Big Ten Pitcher of the Week awards.The lefty from Cincinnati regained his weekend spot and led IU to a 5-1 victory over Michigan on Saturday. His line was 7 innings pitched, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks and 7 strikeouts.In his last three starts, Hart has given up just one earned run in 22 innings pitched.Evan Hoopfer
(03/24/14 4:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior catcher Kyle Schwarber leaned against the gray fence just outside Bart Kaufman field after doing interviews with reporters. The IU baseball team had just lost the final game of the three game series against Michigan on Sunday, but Schwarber was out signing autographs for young Hoosier fans.Despite taking two of three in its conference opening series, the IU team was not happy with its performance.“Words can’t really describe how mad and upset we are with ourselves,” Schwarber said. “That’s a game that we easily should’ve had. We made mental mistakes and physical mistakes, and it was just all around not a very well-played game by us and we need to figure out what this team is going to be about.”IU (12-9, 2-1) had its chances, stranding runners in scoring position with no outs in the eighth inning, and left the bases loaded with one out in the fourth inning. IU left a total of 32 base runners on base in the series. Junior Chris Suika was on third with no outs in the eighth when he was picked off, following a failed bunt attempt that IU Coach Tracy Smith said was not supposed to be a suicide squeeze. IU then had runners at first and third with two outs. Junior outfielder Will Nolden hit a deep fly ball to the right field corner that was caught by a diving Jackson Lamb, a 6-foot-6-inch freshman for Michigan (9-14-1, 1-2).“The kid made a great catch in right field,” Smith said. “That ball flies, and maybe we’re sitting here with a different mood.”The Hoosiers won game one 5-3 on Friday, and took game two 5-1 on Saturday before the 4-3 loss on Sunday.“If we win every Big Ten series I think we will be feeling pretty good about ourselves,” Smith said. “But I’m a little stung with the way we played here, and it’ll probably be a good three weeks before I forget about it.”Senior pitcher Joey DeNato picked up his fourth win of the year for the Hoosiers in game one, going five and one third innings with five strikeouts. He also walked five batters and gave up three earned runs on four hits. He currently has a 2.39 ERA. Junior pitcher Kyle Hart pitched game two for IU and went seven innings, giving up no runs on two hits and seven strikeouts. He is now 3-1 on the season with a 2.01 ERA.Sophomore pitcher Christian Morris started game three and went five innings, giving up four runs, only one earned, on eight hits, and a career-high five strikeouts. He took the loss for IU and goes to 0-2 with a 2.43 ERA.“We can’t ask more from what our pitchers are doing right now,” Smith said. “They are giving us a chance to win every single baseball game. My frustration is with us offensively. We are too good of hitters to be doing what we are offensively, and we need to pull together.”Smith said the team was playing with a lack of focus, and too many players were trying to do too much in their at-bats.“At the end of the day, if I have to lose a battle to win the war with this group I’m okay with that,” Smith said. “My message to them was we’re an average baseball team (when we are giving at-bats away). If we want to be special and a championship caliber team, then we need to make some adjustments.”
(03/14/14 2:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU will play some Dirtbags this weekend.The No. 16 Hoosiers (8-6) travel to California to face the Long Beach State Dirtbags (8-7) in IU’s final non-conference series.IU was ranked No. 3 in preseason polls but started the year 2-5. They’ve turned it around by winning six of their last seven games, including knocking off two ranked opponents.“I think we’re starting to figure it out,” junior first baseman Sam Travis said. “Slowly.”IU comes into the series against Long Beach State fresh off a 7-2 home win against No. 20 Kentucky.Several players and IU Coach Tracy Smith said the win was important because of a lackluster showing the previous weekend.Despite beating Jacksonville in two of three games, Smith was not proud of how his team played.Smith said the team didn’t pay enough attention to what they needed to do, but addressed these issues after the games.Long Beach State also started the year 2-5 and has fought back to currently sit above .500. The Dirtbags boast wins against Arizona State and USC this year, and swept a two-game series against Arizona.The projected IU starters are senior Joey DeNato (3-1 with a 1.37 ERA) and sophomore Will Coursen-Carr (1-2 with a 4.12 ERA). Sunday’s starter has yet to be announced.In the first-ever meeting between the Dirtbags and Hoosiers at 9 p.m. March 14, Long Beach State will have a special promotion. Fans with moustaches, real or fake, will receive tickets for $5.The moustache-laden crowd will see DeNato, making a return to his home state, pitch against Long Beach State’s Nick Sabo. Sabo has gone 2-1 this year with a 1.67 ERA.Coursen-Carr will face Andrew Rohrbach, who is 2-1 this year with a 3.04 ERA, during the 5 p.m. game March 15.The Dirtbag pitcher and the Hoosier pitcher for March 16’s game at 4 p.m. have yet to be announced.This series will be the only time this season the Hoosiers venture to the Golden State. They’ll see a dramatic difference in the weather from what they’ve experienced at home.Just nine days after IU’s home opener against Xavier, where snow had to be removed from Bart Kaufman Field, IU will finish the series against Long Beach State Sunday with a projected high of 87 degrees.After the three-game stint in California, IU comes back for a home rematch against No. 17 Louisville before Michigan comes to Bloomington the following weekend.Smith stressed the importance of getting in sync during the non-conference portion of the schedule to gear up for Big Ten play.“If we have her nailed down by the time we start the conference, that’s kind of the purpose of what we’re doing,” Smith said.
(03/11/14 10:26pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With a big swing, junior catcher Kyle Schwarber launched a solo home run to straight-away center field.It was his third of the season and it gave the Hoosiers a 5-2 lead in the fifth inning, putting the game out of reach from the Kentucky Wildcats.“It was just a fastball,” Schwarber said. “I didn’t have very good at bats before that and was kind of getting sick of it.” No. 16 IU improved to 8-6 on the season with the 7-2 victory. The No. 20 Wildcats fell to 13-4.The home run was not the only one of the game. IU senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth whacked his first of the year, a two-run homer to right field in the fourth inning. Junior third baseman Max Kuhn hit a solo home-run in the fourth inning for Kentucky.“It’s always good to get one under your belt,” DeMuth said. “Hopefully there are more to come.”Junior left-hander Kyle Hart got the start on the hill for IU and went eight innings, getting the win. He gave up two runs — only one earned — on five hits and struck out eight batters, walking none and also hit one batter. “We’ve been looking for that consistency out of him,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “It was a big win not just for the team, but also for him to get him back on track.”Sophomore Dylan Dwyer got the start for Kentucky and went 7.1 innings, giving up seven earned runs on five hits, no walks and nine strikeouts.“It was a big win,” junior first baseman Sam Travis said. “We needed to come out how we did today, and I thought we did a great job.”The scoring started for the Hoosiers in the first inning when Schwarber got on base with a double, a ball that the center fielder lost in the sun. Then junior second baseman Casey Rodrigue hit a double to right field, driving in Schwarber. Rodrigue scored on a groundout by junior designated hitter Scott Donley.IU picked up its next three runs on the home runs before tacking on two more in the ninth inning, when Travis hit a two-out single, driving in both Schwarber and Rodrigue.“Generally in baseball when you get the two-out RBI, you have a good chance of winning,” Smith said. “I thought our guys that needed to hit in crucial situations did a good job of it today. If you draw it up that’s what it’s supposed to look like.”The warm temperatures brought 2,746 people to Bart Kaufman Field, something Smith said gave IU energy.“I think that’s what people fail to realize is that when you’re a team from the North, you’re playing a lot of baseball on the road, and you’re playing in that environment when they’re rooting against you,” Smith said. “It’s nice for our guys to come back and have people pulling for them.”
(03/11/14 3:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The two schools didn’t play in basketball this year, but IU rival Kentucky will come to Bloomington today to take on the Hoosiers baseball team at 4 p.m.The Hoosiers enter the week as the No. 16 team in the country, while the Wildcats are slotted at No. 20.This past weekend, IU took 2-of-3 in a series against Jacksonville. Senior pitcher Joey DeNato took his first loss of the year in game one, as IU fell 4-3. The Hoosiers offense came to life in the last two games when they totaled 16 runs en route to victories.“Hopefully, we’ll get a little more consistency (with the offense),” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “I’m hoping that we’ll see more improvements there.” IU (7-6) has its first winning record of the season and will have to calm the Kentucky offense, which scored 58 runs in just three games against Ball State during the weekend. The Wildcats are 13-3 on the season and have a win over now-No. 3 Virginia.“They’re an SEC team, they’re always solid,” junior first baseman Sam Travis said. “They’re going to play to win and bring their A game. We just have to go in ready to play, treat it like another game, come in with a lot of energy and keep the bats going.”Kentucky is led by Indiana native A.J. Reed, a junior who has eight home runs and 28 RBIs to go along with a .436 batting average this season. He is helped by junior Austin Cousino who is batting .443 with one home-run and 10 RBIs. Kentucky has six starters batting .343 or above.“They’ve always been good,” Smith said. “We’ve struggled to get the win against them. It’s certainly going to be a challenge and we look forward to the challenge. “If we have good approaches and throw strikes, we’ll have a chance to win the game.”It will be junior left-hander Kyle Hart on the mound for IU. He is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA this year, and he got the win in IU’s home opener against Xavier last week. He also pitched the ninth inning in the last game against Jacksonville for the second time this season.“I don’t care if I throw mop-up innings, I don’t care if I’m throwing Friday, Saturday, Sunday or midweeks,” Hart said. “I’m happy to do anything to get more wins on the board for us.”Hart said he prepares as if the Hoosiers aren’t going to score each game, and he has to go out and give up no runs.“That’s kind of how you want to go about it,” Hart said. “If we score 10 runs, that’s great, and if you score one, that should be fine, too.”He will be opposed by left-hander Dylan Dwyer, who is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA. The sophomore threw a complete game shutout against Cincinnati earlier this year.IU is led by junior catcher Kyle Schwarber, who is batting .333 with two home-runs and seven RBIs. Junior second baseman Casey Rodrigue is batting .321 with four RBIs, and Travis is batting .320 with 11 RBIs.“We have to be ready to play,” Smith said.
(03/10/14 4:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With its senior and all-time saves leader sidelined for the season with a knee injury, the IU bullpen put together a resilient effort to capture a series win against Jacksonville this weekend.The absence of senior right-hander Ryan Halstead, who injured a knee attempting to field a ball in Wednesday’s win against Xavier and will miss the rest of 2014, allowed unsung members of the Hoosiers’ corps of relievers to shine in the weekend series, which saw IU take wins Saturday and Sunday after a Friday loss.“Obviously with the loss of Ryan Halstead, that forces us to do some things a little bit differently with our bullpen,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “But it was good to get some guys in some pressure situations, some opportunities to pitch with the game on the line.” Smith called upon six different relievers in Jacksonville, Fla., with sophomore right-hander Scott Effross submitting the most notable performance.Called into action in the fourth inning of Saturday’s contest, Effross pitched 4 and 1/3 shutout innings in relief of sophomore left-hander Will Coursen-Carr, whose start lasted only 3 and 2/3 innings. Effross allowed just four hits and two walks, striking out three as IU took a 9-2 lead that would stand as the final score.“I watched (senior left-hander) Joey DeNato on Friday, looking at what he did against them,” Effross said of his approach Saturday. “A lot of fastballs, trying to get ahead early in the count. I went out there with the mentality that if my fastball’s working, I can get ahead and get some outs.”Redshirt freshman Thomas Belcher closed out Saturday’s victory in his first collegiate appearance, and IU returned to its winning ways after a 4-3 defeat in Friday’s game.In that series opener, IU received another strong outing from DeNato and a home run from junior catcher Kyle Schwarber but could not overcome a Jacksonville fifth-inning rally that took the lead for good. With the series knotted at one game apiece, the two teams headed to Sunday’s game, where Smith again had to rely on his bullpen to overcome a short day from his starter. Sophomore right-hander Christian Morris made it through just three innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs, before turning it over to a group of five Hoosier relievers to control the damage.Junior Luke Harrison, Belcher, redshirt freshman Jake Kelzer, sophomore Evan Bell and junior Kyle Hart combined to close out the game’s final six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.They stifled Jacksonville’s bats enough to allow IU to make a ninth-inning comeback, with junior first baseman Sam Travis and junior second baseman Casey Rodrigue scoring in the top of the inning to give IU, and Hart, a 7-6 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.The left-hander retired the first three batters he faced to earn his first career save and take the series victory for IU.The two victories raised No. 17 IU’s record above .500 for the first time since Feb. 14, but Smith said he has yet to see what he wants out of his team going forward.“We’ve got some things we need to fix,” he said. “I still don’t think we’re playing great baseball. Moving forward, that’s got to be the focus of the coaching staff, is to make sure we’re playing baseball the Indiana way and staying focused on good baseball.“I wish I could say I’m sitting here feeling great.”Follow reporter Alden Woods on Twitter @acw9293.
(03/09/14 7:16pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU baseball raised its record over .500 for the first time since its Feb. 14 season opener with a 7-6 victory over Jacksonville on Sunday.The win gave the Hoosiers, now 7-6 on the season, a 2-1 series victory over the Dolphins (4-9) in Jacksonville, Fla.Sophomore right-hander Christian Morris started on the mound for the Hoosiers but lasted only three innings, giving up seven hits and three earned runs before being pulled. IU used five pitchers in relief of Morris, with sophomore right-hander Evan Bell getting the win and junior left-hander Kyle Hart picking up his first save of the season. IU will return to Bloomington for a day off before squaring off with No. 23 Kentucky on Tuesday at Bart Kaufman Stadium. Alden Woods
(03/08/14 10:32pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The offense came alive today for the IU baseball team as they beat the Jacksonville Dolphins 9-2, improving to 6-6 on the season. Behind 13 hits, including three each from junior second baseman Casey Rodrigue and senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth. Junior catcher Kyle Schwarber and senior designated hitter Scott Donley both had two hits. Donley knocked a double and had three RBIs, while Rodrigue, junior first baseman Sam Travis, freshman outfielder Craig Dedelow, and junior outfielder Will Nolden all had one RBI. Sophomore Will Coursen-Carr was the starting pitcher for the Hoosiers and went 3 2/3 innings and gave up two earned runs on five hits. Sophomore Scott Effross pitched 4 1/3 innings in relief giving up no runs on four hits and got the win. Freshman Thomas Belcher, a Jacksonville native, got his first collegiate action when he closed out the Dolphins in the ninth. IU will play Jacksonville again tomorrow at noon to determine the winner of the series. Andrew Vailliencourt
(03/08/14 2:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In the first of a three-game series, the IU baseball team fell to Jacksonville 4-3 on Friday. Both teams scratched across a run in the first inning, with junior second baseman Casey Rodrigue scoring the Hoosiers’ run on an RBI fielder’s choice by junior outfielder Ricky Alfonso. After Jacksonville responded with runs in each of the first two frames, junior catcher Kyle Schwarber knotted the score with a home run deep over the right field fence, his second of the season. An RBI single from Sam Travis allowed Schwarber to score again in the seventh, but it was not enough to overcome the Dolphins’ strong fifth-inning performance. In that inning, a throwing error and two doubles scored two Jacksonville runs. Senior left-hander Joey DeNato started on the mound for IU, giving up three runs on four hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked five in the 101-pitch performance.The two teams will face off again tomorrow at 2 p.m. Sophomore left-hander Will Coursen Carr is expected to start for the Hoosiers.Alden Woods
(03/07/14 6:23pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Senior closer Ryan Halstead will undergo season ending surgery. He has the most saves in IU history with 23.Last season the 6-foot-5 senior from Rancho Cucamonga, Calf. recorded 11 single season saves, another IU record.Halstead was drafted in the 26th round of the MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins last year, but opted to come back to IU for his senior season.It is unknown yet if Halstead will receive a medical redshirt. IU Coach Tracy Smith said via Twitter, “Ryan Halstead is a strong individual. It’s a set back for him for sure, but something tells me this won’t be the last time you hear his name.”Halstead injured his knee in the eighth inning with two outs in the Hoosiers’ last game against the Xavier Musketeers. Halstead went to field a ball barehanded, and that’s when the injury took place.IU plays its next game today against Jacksonville University at 6:30 p.m. in Jacksonville, Fla.Evan Hoopfer
(03/07/14 6:22pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior catcher Kyle Schwarber was named the to midseason watch list for the Johnny Bench Award. Each season, the honor is bestowed upon the nation’s best catcher.So far this season, Schwarber is batting .317 with a .404 on base percentage. He has 13 hits – six of them being for extra bases. All of these figures are team highs for IU.The 6-foot, 240 pound catcher, who was recently made the leadoff hitter, also leads the Hoosiers in runs scored, total bases and slugging percentage.Schwarber was named the best catcher in Division-I baseball by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association in December when he was tabbed as a first team All-America by NCBWA.He was also named a first team All-American by Perfect Game, and was second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.Schwarber is one of 72 catchers to be named to the list. The three semifinalists will be announced on June 3, with the winner announced on June 26.Evan Hoopfer
(03/07/14 4:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Joey DeNato was having the game of his life.On June 15, 2013, IU was playing Louisville in IU’s first ever College World Series. Through seven innings, DeNato had given up no runs and IU led 2-0.Now it was the bullpen’s turn. That’s what everybody thought, except DeNato and IU Coach Tracy Smith. Matt Chess was DeNato’s high school coach at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego. When DeNato texted him that he was starting against Louisville a few days prior, Chess wanted no distractions. He drove two hours north to Palm Desert and watched the game on ESPN at a friend’s house to get away from everything.Upon the conclusion of the seventh, Chess said “‘Atta boy,” and switched the television to Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. DeNato, he thought, was done.Joey’s mother, Amy DeNato, also thought her son was done. Amy is always a nervous wreck when her son pitches. When she and her husband, Steve DeNato, listen to Joey’s games on the radio — they still live in California, so they only see about half of Joey’s games in person — she has to leave the room because of nerves. She makes Steve tell her what happened afterward.One time when Joey pitched in high school, Amy was taking pictures but she had to stop. Her hands were shaking too badly to hold the camera.When she sees her son pitch in person the nerves are worse, she said. That’s why she made herself the team’s “unofficial” photographer. The distraction helps calm her nerves.But she had never seen her son pitch in this type of atmosphere. Thousands of people in the stands all had their eyes on her and Steve’s only child. At the end of the seventh inning, she kept looking over to the bullpen to see who Smith had warming up to replace her son.It was empty.Nobody was coming to relieve Joey. This was his game.“I just wanted him to be done pitching,” Amy said with a laugh, recalling the nerves.Despite throwing 115 pitches through seven innings, in the bottom of the eighth Joey trotted back out to the mound.DeNato didn’t even talk to Smith before the inning. In fact, the two never spoke the whole game. “I was just going in and out of the dugout,” he said.He wasn’t supposed to be out there. He had thrown too many pitches.But nothing about DeNato’s journey to that mound was conventional. DeNato wasn’t supposed to be the winningest pitcher in San Diego high school history. DeNato wasn’t supposed to be an ace pitcher in Division I baseball. The pitcher who lacked elite size and velocity on his fastball was overlooked by California colleges. He was overlooked by the MLB, which didn’t draft him last year despite his 10-2 record.For more reasons than his pitch count, Joey DeNato wasn’t supposed to be on that mound in the eighth inning in the College World Series.***When DeNato came to Torrey Pines High School as a freshman, he was among a group of seniors.The first thing Chess thought when he saw DeNato was, “He’s a little guy.”DeNato is listed at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds on the IU roster. But he was significantly skinner when he was 14. Chess had heard good things about DeNato, and his plan was to start him on junior varsity each week and then pitch relief for varsity. “We already had three solid starters,” Chess said.But DeNato kept getting better. After the game when everybody was leaving, he would run the stairs of the stadium and do his crazy workout, Chess said.Chess said he had to give DeNato a chance on varsity.It was the playoffs. Torrey Pines was playing Poway High School in the semifinal game. Poway beat Torrey Pines the previous season, ending Torrey Pines’ year. The staff ace had already pitched, so Chess couldn’t pitch him again against Poway.Chess had a choice: go with his No. 2 starter Jerrud Sabourin — who went on to play at IU — or his No. 3 starter Kevin Vance — who is now in the Chicago White Sox farm system — or freshman Joey DeNato.He went with the little guy.When Chess asked DeNato if he wanted to pitch, DeNato was too nervous to even speak. DeNato had only started one game earlier that year.But Poway had trouble hitting against DeNato. So to distract Poway, Torrey Pines used Vance, the No. 3 starter, as a decoy in the bullpen before the game began. When DeNato started, it was a surprise to everyone. Chess had made a deal with the frightened DeNato.“I said, ‘Just get me around the lineup one time. Just get me around the lineup one time and I’ll put Jared or Kevin in,’” Chess said.DeNato ended up throwing a complete game. Torrey Pines won 6-2.***Even though DeNato had cemented himself as one of the premier pitchers in Southern California, he wasn’t getting interest from local schools.“Out west,” Amy DeNato said, “They like those players that are over 6-feet and throw about 100 miles an hour,” DeNato, standing at 5-foot-10, has a fastball around 85-89 miles an hour. He wasn’t a flamethrower but rather a craftsman, Chess said.But the craftsman had no offers that interested him until IU. Hoosier Coach Tracy Smith went to see DeNato pitch in person. IU and the DeNato family were in talks about how big a scholarship Joey would get and Smith told Joey if he wanted more scholarship money, he needed to strike out more people.“And then he goes out and punches out 14 guys,” Smith said. To Smith, it showed the competitive nature that Joey possessed.“It was pretty much the best game that Joey pitched that I saw,” Chess said. “Other then the game last year against Louisville.”Then it was Joey’s turn to visit Smith and his program. Steve DeNato and his son decided to visit IU in January. Steve remembers it being bitter cold.“I played devil’s advocate and said, ‘Well Joe, you know its cold back there,’” Steve said. “He’s been in Michigan for a weekend. So he’s been cold for two days and then came back to California.”The two stayed at the Biddle Hotel. The next morning Steve made his son get out of the car and scrape the ice off the windshield. He wanted to make sure this was what his son wanted.“He never blinked,” Steve said.***DeNato went 7-3 in both his freshman and sophomore year at IU. He had a 2.80 and 3.22 ERA each years, respectively.But his junior year, the ace broke out. He finished 10-2 with a 2.52 ERA. DeNato finished with more than double the amount of strikeouts than walks given up.Smith gave DeNato the nod against Louisville in the College World Series. DeNato had given IU seven strong innings and then everybody thought DeNato’s 115-pitch performance would go down as a gem in Hoosier lore.But it was more then a gem. DeNato went through the eighth inning unscathed.Chess had flipped the channel back to the IU-Louisville game to check the score. He was shocked to see DeNato still pitching.“I was like, ‘What is this? Is this replay? What’s going on?’” Chess said.Once again, to everybody’s amazement, DeNato trotted back out to the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning. He had to finish the masterpiece he had spent eight innings crafting.Six pitches later, DeNato, the guy nobody thought would amount to much of anything, finished the complete-game shutout in the College World Series. His final line: 9 innings pitched, 4 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks and 8 strikeouts on 136 pitches.His mom was just glad it was over. “I can’t even describe how I felt,” Amy said.His father, watching from the stands, felt relief as IU right fielder Will Nolden caught the fly ball to end the game.“I can’t imagine that experience ever being matched,” he said. “I know it’s imprinted on his life forever. And I know it’s the same for Amy and I also.”When the team bus arrived at the hotel, Hoosier players filed into the lobby like a parade, Joey said. Amy and Steve stood waiting to meet their son who had overcome all the doubt to shine on the biggest stage in IU baseball’s 118-year history.They were at a loss for words.“What do you say, ‘nice game?’” Steve said. “It seems like anything you could say would be an understatement.”They don’t remember the exact conversation. They just remember being with their son.“When I talk about it, I start getting choked up,” Amy said. “It was one of the most amazing moments in our life.”***DeNato saw three of his teammates selected in the MLB Draft last year. Not him, though.“He’s probably not the sexiest guy from the professional perspective,” Smith said. He always jokes with DeNato and calls him everything from 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-5. “But the guy just wins. I look for him to get his chance professionally.”Chess said he wouldn’t be surprised to see DeNato make it big-time.“An organization that wants to win would have a kid like that on their team,” he said.By the time DeNato graduates, he could be the most decorated pitcher in IU history. So far in his senior season DeNato is 3-0 with a 0.47 ERA in 19 innings pitched. IU is 3-0 in games he starts and 1-4 when he doesn’t.“Joey’s been phenomenal,” his catcher Kyle Schwarber said. “Joey’s Joey. I’ve said it for three years now, Joey’s gonna be Joey.”In his last outing he faced a familiar foe: Louisville. He went 7 innings, gave up 5 hits and 0 earned runs. This time he only threw 97 pitches en route to a 6-2 IU win.Even though Joey wasn’t pitching, when the Cardinals tallied a run in the ninth to make it a four-run game, Amy was a ball of nerves.Steve took a picture on his cell phone of Amy on the floor with her hands over her head. He sent it to Joey after the game.“She was basically in the fetal position,” Joey said. “It was pretty funny.”The MLB draft falls on June 5, 6 and 7 this year. DeNato will wait, and hope, for his name to be called.“He’s really a once-in-a-lifetime kind of athlete,” Chess said. “I’ve never had another kid like Joe.”
(03/07/14 4:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Despite seeing his team shake off a string of early-season losses with three consecutive wins, IU Coach Tracy Smith said he still has yet to see a complete performance from his squad.“I still don’t think we’re firing on all cylinders,” Smith said. “I’d still like to see us play a little bit better than what we’re doing. More competitive at-bats for the lineup all the way through.”The No. 17 Hoosiers, who started the season 2-5 before rattling off victories against Toledo, No. 19 Louisville and Xavier, will put their newly acquired .500 record on the line with a three-game series against Jacksonville (3-7) in Jacksonville, Fla., this weekend.Their resurgence has been powered by a series of strong pitching performances that have allowed opponents to score only six runs in the past three games after giving up 5.4 runs per game in 2014’s opening seven contests.Smith will give the ball to senior Joey DeNato and sophomores Will Coursen-Carr and Christian Morris to continue the Hoosiers’ pitching success.It will be the third different group of weekend starters for IU as Smith looks to solidify the rotation.“We’re going to try to start getting it set,” he said.The Hoosiers will be bolstered by the full return of senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth, who missed two games with a hamstring injury before playing a full nine innings during Wednesday’s win against Xavier.DeMuth, a 2013 third-team All-American, is one of only two Hoosiers batting over .300 this season. He has bat from the No. 6 position in Smith’s new-look lineup, which features junior catcher Kyle Schwarber in the leadoff position the first time in his career and junior first baseman Sam Travis hitting third.Slotting in between the two Hoosier sluggers has been junior Casey Rodrigue, who said he has settled into a rhythm at the plate.“Yeah, I feel very comfortable at the plate,” he said. “My approach right now is not to try and do too much. I’m just getting up there ... get on base for the big bats in our lineup with Travis, DeMuth and Schwarber.”In Jacksonville, the Hoosier lineup will be tested by the Dolphins’ rotation of left-hander Josh Baker and right-handers Alex McRae and Justin Russell, who have allowed 16 runs in 47 combined innings this season.Smith, who said he would take his first look at the Dolphins on Thursday, said his team has stayed focused despite faltering early in the season.“We’re a mature team, just trusting the guys,” he said. “We battled back to .500 now, but we got a lot of questions early on, about ‘What’s wrong with you?’ Nothing’s wrong with us.“They hit, they do well,” Smith said. “We just weren’t hitting. So we’re going to keep being who we are, and I’m going to trust in the players and hopefully they trust in what we’re doing. If we do that, we’ll come out on the winning side more than not.”
(03/06/14 5:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In the seventh inning of Wednesday’s home baseball opener, the Hoosiers were able to push across two runs after maintaining a scoreless first six frames. Sophomore shortstop Nick Ramos hit a sacrifice fly to drive in freshman outfielder Craig Dedelow and, two batters later, junior Casey Rodrigue doubled to drive in junior Tim O’Conner, giving IU a 2-0 lead.It was enough for the victory as the Hoosier bullpen was able to finish off the Musketeers, solidifying a 2-1 win. No. 17 IU improved to 5-5 on the season, while Xavier fell to 5-4.The win didn’t come without sacrifice, however. IU lost senior closer Ryan Halstead to an injury in the eighth inning. Attempting to field a ball hit to the left side of the mound, Halstead reached down with his bare hand, but twisted his knee and fell to the turf.“It’d be a terrible loss,” Kyle Hart, junior starting pitcher said. “I hope to God that he’s alright because I can’t imagine not having him in the dugout, and I know everyone else feels the same.”Halstead screamed out in pain and was attended to by training staff before being helped onto a cart and taken off the field. IU Coach Tracy Smith said you could hear a pin drop in the dugout, and Hart echoed him.“I walked into (the dugout) and it was like a morgue,” Hart said.Junior Luke Harrison closed out the game in Halstead’s place. Hart said that Harrison was running down to the bullpen to warm up when Halstead went down but Smith yelled at him to warm up on the field.“That was unbelievable,” Hart said. “That’s what we got on this team, a bunch of competitors.” Hart started on the mound for IU, and went seven innings, giving up no runs on four hits with three strikeouts.“My curveball was working a lot better than usual,” Hart said. “Usually I’m more fastball changeup — changeup wasn’t there. That was not my best today. Usually I don’t walk people, I don’t know why I’ve been doing that this year, I have some things to work on these next couple days.” He was matched by Xavier’s starting pitcher Trent Astle who went five scoreless innings and gave up just two hits, striking out two.In order to play the game, the Hoosiers and the grounds crew staff had to shovel off loads of snow. Smith stressed the importance of this game by talking about Xavier’s high seating in the national Ratings Percentage Index, and that this was an important game to play for numerous reasons.“This was a game we needed to play,” Smith said. “Not just because you want to play because you’re a competitor, but implications of RPI.”Smith says he was proud of the way the team got ready for the game, but also voiced his displeasure with the offense.“Frustrating is an understatement,” Smith said. “It’s tough. The competitive part of you wants to say we’ve got to be so much better than that, but the reality of it is it’s 20-something degrees outside, and tough hitting conditions.”