1000 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(05/14/14 1:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>LOUISVILLE, K.Y. – In a battle of top 10 teams, No. 9 IU defeated No. 10 Louisville 7-2 after Kyle Schwarber sealed the game in the top of the 9th with a three-run homerun that left his teammates speechless.The homer went over the batter’s eye in centerfield, which is approximately 50-60 feet tall. The fence in center field is 402 feet away from home plate, and the ball was one of the longest IU players have ever seen hit.“It’s just another homerun,” Schwarber said after the game.The Hoosiers swept the season series from Louisville, taking all three games this year. In the first two games, IU beat the Cardinals by a combined score of 15-5. Game three saw another strong Hoosier performance from the pitching staff coupled with timely hitting.IU jumped on Louisville starter Drew Harrington in the second inning. In a display of fundamental baseball, Scott Donley and Dustin DeMuth singled to right field and Brad Hartong laid down the sacrifice bunt to put the two Hoosiers on second and third with one out.Will Nolden lined a single over the first basemen’s head, scoring both Donley and DeMuth. Nolden advanced to second on the throw and IU took an early 2-0 lead.The Hoosiers added another run via a Hartong RBI sac fly, which brought home Donley. Donley had reached third base when he belted a ball to right field that Louisville right fielder Colin Lyman dove but missed.Louisville got back on the board via an RBI single by pinch hitter Kyle Gibson. The throw home by Brad Hartong was wide, allowing Alex Chittenden to score and reduce the deficit to 3-1. Another run, this one in the bottom of the 8th, chipped away at the Hoosiers lead and made it a 3-2 game.After Tim O’Conner’s infield single put the Hoosiers up 4-2, Schwarber unleashed the homerun in the top of the ninth, giving IU more than enough cushion to take the game. Evan Hoopfer
(05/12/14 1:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There was no excessive cheering, no team photo, no dogpile, no dramatic celebration when IU clinched a share of the conference title, giving them consecutive Big Ten titles for the first time in school history.“Coach walked in and said the locker room felt like we had just gotten swept,” first baseman Sam Travis said.The No. 9 Hoosiers (35-12, 19-2) completed the sweep of Penn State (17-29, 5-15) Sunday, outscoring the Nittany Lions by a combined score of 27-3 in three games.Even though the Hoosiers’ win clinched at least a share of the conference title, IU Coach Tracy Smith said the mood was not overly celebratory, and Travis called the event a “stepping stone.”“It’s nice to get it,” Smith said. “But we were pretty low key about it.”Both Smith and Travis said the team has bigger goals in mind, such as the school’s first-ever national championship.IU is projected to be a national seed for the playoffs, which means they’ll be able to play host to the first two weekends of NCAA tournament play.If they advance past the first two weekends — the regionals and the super regionals — the Hoosiers will play in the College Baseball World Series in Omaha, Neb.“We know we have more things we want to accomplish,” Travis said of the Big Ten title.IU leads both Nebraska and Illinois by three games, putting the Hoosiers in the driving seat for the conference title.With just one win against Minnesota next weekend, IU will clinch the outright Big Ten crown.Both the Hoosiers’ offense and pitching were dominant in the three-game sweep of the Nittany Lions. The offense averaged nine runs a game while the pitching staff averaged just one run given up per game.Coming into the series, no home runs had been hit in Medlar Field, home of Penn State, all year.Travis hit three this weekend.“Yeah, I was seeing the ball well this weekend,” he said.Travis went 5-for-14 with six RBI and recorded a home run in each of the three games. He now leads the Big Ten with 10 long balls on the year.Several of his other teammates also had prolific performances at the plate.Brad Hartong went 7-for-12 with five RBI, Kyle Schwarber went 5-for-11 with seven runs and Dustin DeMuth went 8-for-11, batting .727 on the series.As for pitching, Joey DeNato recorded his ninth win in his past nine starts.DeNato went six innings without giving up a run in his start Friday.He improved to 11-1 on the year with a 1.91 ERA. No other Big Ten pitcher has more than eight wins.DeNato is now just one win shy of tying the single season record for wins in a season in IU history.Both Eric Arnett and Brian Partenheimer in 2009 and 1997, respectively, recorded 12 wins in a single year.The Hoosiers got off to a cold start at 12-10 after playing a tough nonconference schedule.They are 23-2 in their past 25 games and are currently riding an eight-game winning streak in which they’ve beaten their opponents by an average of 7.1 runs a game.Smith and Travis said they thought scheduling a tough nonconference has helped the Hoosiers in Big Ten play, where their 19 conference wins is a school record.“But even with the rough start we had,” Travis said, “we knew what we had here as a team.”
(05/09/14 3:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In the previous three weekend series, IU had something to prove.Michigan State swept the Hoosiers in the 2013 season, and IU was out for revenge. Illinois was second in the Big Ten and IU was first — it was a battle for conference supremacy. And the last time the Hoosiers played arch rival Purdue, a brawl ensued.The Hoosiers got the best of the three teams, winning all of the series and going a combined 8-1 against the Spartans, Illini and Boilermakers.Now, IU will have to keep that same energy for one of the Big Ten’s lesser teams.“Every single game I pitch in I try to have the same mentality,” senior starter Joey DeNato said.No. 9 IU (32-12, 16-2) travels to State College, Pa., to play Penn State (17-26, 5-12) in a three-game weekend stint starting tonight. By record, the Nittany Lions are one of the weaker teams in the Big Ten. They are tied with Purdue and Northwestern for the least amount of conference wins: five. After a hot start winning their first two Big Ten series of the season — Purdue and Northwestern — Penn State has struggled as of late.In their past four Big Ten series, Penn State is 1-11 and hasn’t won a Big Ten game since April 11. In their past three series they have been swept by Illinois, Minnesota and Nebraska and been outscored by an average of 5.2 runs per game.While Penn State has been struggling, IU has found its stride.After a 12-10 start and falling out of the top 25 in most polls, the Hoosiers have gone 20-2 and vaulted back in the top ten in the latest Baseball America poll to No. 9. Both the losses IU suffered in the past 22 contests came by just one run.One big reason for the recent success is the pitching staff. After losing No. 2 starter Kyle Hart to Tommy John surgery and closer Ryan Halstead to a torn ACL for the remainder of their seasons, the Hoosiers haven’t missed a beat.“I think we’re very close as a staff,” senior starter Brian Korte said. “We hold each other accountable for whatever we do and never take shortcuts.”Starters Christian Morris and Brian Korte have filled in for Hart and struggling starter Will Coursen-Carr, who was pulled from the weekend rotation, and they have successfully led one of the best staffs in the nation.Morris and Korte have a combined ERA of 2.19 in 90.1 innings pitched this season. Their performances, coupled with that of ace Joey DeNato — who is 10-1 with a 2.06 ERA — have helped the Hoosiers become the best pitching staff in the Big Ten.“It’s awesome playing behind them,” shortstop Nick Ramos said. “You know they’re going to throw strikes.”IU has the best team ERA and has kept opponents to the lowest batting average in the Big Ten. The Hoosier offense has provided support as well, scoring the third most runs of any Big Ten team.Penn State ranks in the bottom third of the league in both team batting average and ERA, but IU said it must retain focus. During finals week, IU had no midweek game. This gave the team time to go to the facilities and get some extra work in between studying. It also gave the team more time to take a step back and relax before the end of the season rolls around, the players said.“You have a lot more off time,” Ramos said. “I love it. A lot more time to take naps.”
(05/05/14 2:26am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU baseball players remember the brawl that occurred the last time IU and Purdue met, a game in 2012. Junior pitcher Luke Harrison said the Hoosiers wanted to put Purdue in its place this season after Purdue had beaten the Hoosiers last year. Other players echoed similar thoughts, saying they wanted to make it known who was the best team in the state of Indiana.This weekend the Hoosiers got their revenge, sweeping the Boilermakers. They took the first game 6-0, the second game 7-3 and the third 12-3.No. 15 IU improved to 32-12, 16-2 on the season, while Purdue dropped to 12-32, 5-13. The Hoosiers have a three-game lead over both Nebraska and Illinois for first place in the Big Ten.“We just don’t look at it like it’s Purdue,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “It’s another team in the Big Ten and I thought we handled what we needed to handle this weekend to keep ourselves in contention to nail down a championship.”With the sweep, the Hoosiers have now won 20 of their last 22 games.On Friday, senior pitcher Joey DeNato picked up his 10th win of the season. He lowered his ERA to 2.06 with the shutout.Sophomore pitcher Christian Morris started and got the win Saturday, his third start of the season. His ERA dropped to 2.25 after allowing only one hit in five and a third innings.Senior pitcher Brian Korte went 2-0 with the win Sunday, pitching five scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 1.78.“The weather, the atmosphere, the whole old school thing, it was pretty cool,” Korte said. “Looking back I’ll definitely remember this game.”IU had an old school theme for Sunday’s game. The team wore its throwback uniforms, hired an organ player and the umpires were dressed in old fashioned uniforms.The players put on a show for two record-setting crowds, with 3,661 attending the game Saturday and 3,862 Sunday setting the all-time record for an IU baseball game, breaking Saturday’s record. The series marked the first time IU has drawn more than 3,000 fans in each game of a three-game series.“We are proud of that,” Smith said. “This is what we thought it could be. I love that we give the people of Bloomington and the surrounding community, and maybe other people drove in from greater distances, something to enjoy at this time of year. I was very excited to see that, and it’s nice that we have the support.”The Hoosier offense was firing on all cylinders yet again, with 25 runs and 42 hits in the series.Senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth played a great game Sunday, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and six RBIs to go along with a walk. He boosted his batting average to .381, the highest on the team.“I think everyone was locked in today,” DeMuth said. “We wanted to come out and get the sweep, especially against Purdue. I thought we got off to a good start.”Junior catcher Kyle Schwarber also had a good series, with seven hits, two of them doubles and one a rocket of a home run, to increase his average to .348.“I got some pretty good barrel on (the home run),” Schwarber said. “It was one you just watch.”The Hoosiers now have seven of their nine starters hitting at least .298.Sophomore pitcher Will Coursen-Carr, who was an important part of last year’s team, has struggled this season and came in to pitch in relief Sunday. He was pulled after hitting a batter and walking the next on four pitches.“We want to get him on track,” Smith said. “He is one of the best pitchers in this conference, whether he believes it or not. He’s just has to get his confidence back.”With finals this week, IU does not have a midweek game. The team will travel to Penn State this weekend.Schwarber said in his freshman year, when they played at Sembower, there were probably 50 to 100 spectators.“Now you have over 3,000,” Schwarber said. “It’s great to have people looking forward to coming to watch baseball and cheering us on. It adds an extra element to the game.”
(05/03/14 3:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Before the IU offense recorded an out, the Hoosiers had given enough run support for senior starter Joey DeNato.“Guys enjoy playing behind Joey,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “Because they have confidence in him.”For the first time since 2010, IU defeated Purdue. Behind 14 hits and another strong performance from DeNato, the No. 15 Hoosiers (30-12, 14-2) defeated Purdue (12-30, 5-11) in the game one of the three game stint 6-0.“It’s really nice to get those early runs for our pitching staff,” DeNato said.The Hoosiers offense got started early. Second basemen Casey Rodrigue led things off with a double to left, and Kyle Schwarber singled through the middle to score Rodrigue.Without an out recorded, IU had taken a 1-0 lead, which was more than enough for DeNato. His final line: 7 innings pitched, 5 hits, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts, 0 runs on 100 pitches.The last eight games DeNato has started, he’s won them all. The senior stands at 10-1 on the year with a 1.89 ERA. No other Big Ten pitcher has more than six wins on the year.“The kid’s a winner,” Smith said of DeNato. “I’d give him the ball any day of the week.”DeNato holds the all-time IU record career wins, strikeouts and innings pitched. He’s also been lights out at home this season. In four starts at Bart Kaufman Field, DeNato is 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA.His catcher for three years, Schwarber, said he always loves catching DeNato. He always knows what he’s getting from his consistent starter.“It’s always something special when you go out and catch him,” Schwarber said. “You know it’s gonna be around the zone.”Schwarber, named a first-team All-American last year, had a proficient day at the plate. He went 4-for-5 and raised his batting average to .355 on the year.He joined three other Hoosiers who had multiple hits. The Purdue starter, Connor Podkul, was knocked around by the IU bats and lasted only three innings while giving up 8 hits and 5 runs – all of them earned.“He was throwing his curve ball a lot, and he was just leaving it up,” left fielder Brad Hartong said. “That was what our hitters were hitting – the curveball.”Game two of the series will start at 2:00 tomorrow. Christian Morris will get the start for IU.
(05/02/14 4:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The last time IU played Purdue, a brawl ensued.It was the Big Ten championship game in 2012, and it all started with a violent ninth inning slide into then shortstop Michael Basil who was covering third base after a wild throw went into the outfield. Basil took exception, and the dugouts cleared.After the dust settled, Purdue came away with a 6-5 win. This weekend, the Boilermakers (12-29, 5-10) travel to Bloomington where they will face the No. 15 Hoosiers (29-12, 13-2) in a three-game series at Bart Kaufman Field.The players from that IU team haven’t forgotten about what happened last time.“There’s only a few guys on the team now that were actually there for the championship game, I think maybe half the team,” junior pitcher Luke Harrison said. “I think now we have the ability to come out and put them in their place a little bit and give it to them.”IU Coach Tracy Smith said he doesn’t believe this weekend is bigger than any other.“It’s not big because it’s Purdue,” Smith said. “I just do not get caught up in all that garbage. It’s big because we’re competing for a conference championship, we’re competing for a national seed, and I don’t care if it was Purdue or anyone else coming in here, we want to take care of business at home.”Smith said he expects large crowds this weekend and wants to give the fans a worthy performance on the field. He has maintained his goal of getting a national seed and with a strong finish, experts Kendall Rogers of perfectgame.org and Aaron Fitt of baseballamerica.com, say that is very possible.“I don’t give anyone that much credit,” Smith said. “It’s irrelevant to me because we play 56 games. If you get all emotional and jacked up for somebody, then you set yourself up to fail.”IU is coming off a 16-1 victory against Smith’s alma mater, Miami Ohio, where they put up the most runs and hits (20) that they have had all year.“With what happened last time I think it makes it even more exciting,” junior outfielder Will Nolden said. “We want to go out there and show them who the best team in Indiana is.”The Hoosiers will start senior Joey DeNato on the mound on Friday. He is 9-1 with a 2.26 ERA on the season. He will be followed Saturday by sophomore Christian Morris who is 2-3 with a 2.47 ERA. Senior Brian Korte, who is 1-0 with a 2.49 ERA, will take the hill Sunday.“I’d be lying to you if I said the guys aren’t going to remember how that all went down,” Smith said. “I don’t anticipate a mental let down from our team.”
(05/01/14 5:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It didn’t take long for IU Coach Tracy Smith to make his presence known again in Oxford, Ohio.Minutes after a pre-game ceremony honoring him for accomplishments during his nine seasons at the helm of Miami of Ohio’s baseball program, Smith’s IU squad had put the game away.“It was a nice little recognition of helping build their program,” Smith said. “I think that was the gist of it. It surprised me. I didn’t have any idea and I appreciate the gesture, but once the first pitch is made, it’s time to tee it up and square off.”Three runs in the top of the first inning were more than enough for the Hoosiers, who excelled both at the plate and on the mound en route to a 16-1 victory against their coach’s former team. IU got all the offense it needed in the top of the first inning when, after recording five singles, the game’s first six batters scored junior second baseman Casey Rodrigue, junior catcher Kyle Schwarber and junior first baseman Sam Travis. The three-run first inning set the precedent for a slew of runs on an evening that saw season-high totals in both runs and hits for IU.“I thought that was kind of key,” Smith said. “I was kind of shocked that we jumped out on them like that. It kind of put them on their heels a little and obviously they never recovered. It kind of set the tone.”IU scored in every inning but two as 12 Hoosiers recorded a hit. Reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Brad Hartong continued his form at the plate, scoring twice and driving in two runs on two hits, but the evening’s greatest production came from an unlikely source in junior outfielder Tim O’Conner.O’Conner, who entered the game batting just .171 with 9 RBI on the season, put together his best game in an IU uniform. He tallied four hits in four at-bats, driving in four runs and scoring another before being removed from the game in the seventh inning. He agreed that Wednesday’s game was his best since coming to Bloomington.“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I was seeing the ball well, just felt good at the plate.”Much of the Hoosiers’ outburst was made superfluous by a pitching performance that stifled the RedHawks’ offense.Sophomore left-hander Sullivan Stadler started on the mound, pitching three innings of no-hit baseball to lead a five-man group of pitchers that didn’t allow a run until the ninth inning. Stadler, who received the win to push his season record to 2-1, allowed just two baserunners: one on an error by sophomore shortstop Brian Wilhite and one via a hit batter.He was relieved by sophomore Evan Bell, freshman Thomas Belcher, freshman Kent Williams and sophomore Will Coursen-Carr. Throughout the night, the Hoosier pitching staff gave up just five hits, striking out 11 and walking just two RedHawks.“I’m very impressed,” Smith said of his pitching staff. “They pitched aggressively in the strike zone and allowed guys to make plays behind them, which I’ve been saying all year, if you do that, you’ve got a chance to win. I like what I saw.”The win leaves only one non-conference game on the schedule for IU, which has gone 14-10 outside of the Big Ten in 2014. With his team winning 17 of its last 19 games, Smith said the Hoosiers will continue to push as the season winds down.“I think if we take care of our own business, we’ll come out on the winning side more often than losing,” he said. “We’re going to focus on Indiana and just approach it one inning, one game at a time.”He paused.“One pitch at a time.”
(04/30/14 3:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Today, IU Coach Tracy Smith returns to his old stomping ground in Oxford, Ohio, home of the Miami University Redhawks. Smith was the team’s head coach for nine years, from 1997-2005, and led the Redhawks to eight straight 30-win seasons, their winningest season in program history and two NCAA regionals.Smith played baseball all four years and graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Miami. He also met his wife, Jaime, in Oxford.Now, Smith looks to beat the team he called home for so many years.“I love that place,” Smith said of his alma mater. “It’s a big part of my life, but I don’t see it as anything other than it’s another ballgame for us.”IU (28-12, 13-2), Smith’s home for the past nine seasons, takes on Miami (20-23, 10-8 MAC). Miami is 7-3 in its last 10 games and is coming off a series win against the Toledo Rockets.“I don’t want to say it’s a must-win,” Smith said. “It’s a must-play-well because I think if we play well, more often times than not we are going to come out on top.”The players recognize that Miami is an important game and are aware that it is a homecoming game for their coach, junior relief pitcher Luke Harrison said.“It’s huge,” Harrison said. “We play Miami every year, so it’s always fun to come back and see them. We see similar faces, so it’s always fun to compete.”A game between IU and Miami was scheduled in Bloomington earlier this season, but was canceled due to rain. No make-up date has been scheduled as of today.Sophomore lefty Sullivan Stadler will start on the mound for the Hoosiers. He is 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA this season.He stepped in as the fourth starter after the pitching staff suffered some injuries, and he has impressed his teammates.“He’s been phenomenal,” sophomore pitcher Christian Morris said of Stadler. “He attacks the strike zone, he gets people out, and when he’s on, he is really fun to watch.”Smith has said all year that attacking the strike zone and throwing strikes are the way to get on the mound. He said Stadler has done a good job of that and will continue to get opportunities.Smith said he is looking for Stadler to be able to keep locating his pitches and keep using secondary pitches for strikes.The starting rotation looks to be set for now with senior Joey DeNato, Morris, senior Brian Korte and Stadler. IU has a 2.51 ERA, good for the lowest in the Big Ten. Sophomore Will Coursen-Carr will still have a chance to earn his spot back, but his command and mindset haven’t been where it needs to be, Smith said.Coursen-Carr, a native of Fort Wayne, was slated to be a weekend starter at the beginning of the season, has struggled and is now working from the bullpen.“Our pitchers have been great all year,” junior Will Nolden said. “We’re just looking for another solid performance. Hopefully our bats will stay hot like they’ve been.”The Hoosiers have won 16 of their past 18 games and are coming off of a series win against Illinois, who is tied with Nebraska for second place in the Big Ten at 10-5. IU has a three-game lead on both teams. The three teams both have nine conference games remaining.“We don’t want to have any letdowns,” Morris said. “We just want to make sure we take care of business and play our game.”
(04/29/14 1:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior outfielder and catcher Brad Hartong was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday.Hartong hit .529 and recorded 10 RBI during the four-game stretch. IU went 3-1 during the week against Ball State and Illinois, and expanded their Big Ten lead to three games.Against Ball State last Wednesday, Hartong recorded five RBI in one inning.“It always seems like some people come up big with the bases empty,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “But (Hartong) always puts together good at-bats with guys on base. He’s a competitive kid.”Hartong, a junior college transfer, is playing his first season for the Hoosiers. At Hartong’s previous school, Cypress College, he was an All-American catcher. He is usually the 6-hole hitter in the lineup and has given junior preseason All-American Kyle Schwarber some valuable rest by playing games as catcher this year.But Hartong said he finally felt comfortable seeing the ball this week.“It’s nice to have a week like this,” Hartong said after the series win against Illinois. “Feeling good about myself, and we got another big week coming up.”This is the first time Hartong has won the award and the first time a Hoosier has won in three weeks.On the year, Hartong is hitting .296 with three home runs and 22 RBI. He is one of six Hoosiers hitting over .290 this season. Evan Hoopfer
(04/28/14 3:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Coming into the weekend series, IU and Illinois were first and second in the Big Ten, respectively.After taking 2-of-3 from Illinois (23-17, 10-5) IU (28-12, 13-2) left Champaign, Ill. with a three-game lead over both Illinois and Nebraska — who are tied for second in the Big Ten.“That’s what we had to do at a minimum to stay where we’re at in the Big Ten,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said.Though the Hoosiers have hopes of going back to Omaha, Neb., to play in its second straight College World Series, the team hasn’t lost focus on winning the Big Ten.“It is important to us,” junior outfielder and catcher Brad Hartong said. “We represent the Big Ten. So we want to make sure we win it.”Last season, IU won the outright Big Ten regular season crown for the first time in 81 years. This year, the Hoosiers are trying to win consecutive Big Ten regular season titles for the first time in school history.The Illini and Huskers are both 10-5 in the Big Ten. IU, Nebraska and Illinois, who are the top three teams in the Big Ten, each have nine conference games remaining.“Obviously we’d love to win the conference,” Smith said. “It’s something they can never take away from you. But our eyes are set on bigger things.”IU won games one and three of the series 9-3 and 11-3, respectively. The two IU wins sandwiched a 2-1 Illinois victory, which halted IU’s 10-game conference winning streak.IU senior starting pitcher Joey DeNato threw eight innings and gave up three runs, leading the Hoosiers to the win Friday. Despite giving up 11 hits, DeNato said he thought he pitched well.“I think they were getting some hits on some pretty good pitches,” DeNato said.With the win, DeNato stands at 9-1 on the year. No Big Ten pitcher has more than six wins.Another standout was left fielder Brad Hartong, who made his best case for Big Ten Player of the Week. Hartong — usually the team’s six-hole hitter — hit .529 and recorded 10 RBI in the four games the Hoosiers had this week. Hartong accounted for almost a third of the runs IU scored during the four-game stretch.“It always seems like some people come up big with the bases empty,” Smith said. “But (Hartong) always puts together good at-bats with guys on base. He’s a competitive kid.”Hartong, a 6-foot-5 junior college transfer, has been valuable in spelling junior preseason All-American Kyle Schwarber at catcher this year, to give Schwarber some rest. But this week, the offense finally came through for the Long Beach, Calif. native.“It’s nice to have a week like this,” he said. “Definitely was. Feeling good about myself and we got another big week coming up, hopefully it continues.”
(04/25/14 2:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The top team in the Big Ten will play the second place team this weekend when IU travels to Illinois.The Hoosiers (26-11, 11-1) boast the top record in the conference and will look to add to their five game winning streak. Illinois (22-15, 9-3) has taken advantage of a weak conference schedule and climbed ahead of Nebraska, which is third in the Big Ten at 8-4.“You can’t really be disappointed with how we’ve been playing,” IU junior closer Scott Effross said. “We’ve been throwing pretty well from top to bottom and getting great starts from our starters.”The Fighting Illini’s opponents in conference play — Michigan, Penn State, Purdue, and Northwestern — have combined for a record of 57-94-1 overall.They have also played several non-conference teams that the Hoosiers have faced, Western Kentucky, Indiana State and Xavier, and gone 4-4 against them, while IU went 3-1.Illinois has little power as a team, with only nine home runs, but has four starters hitting above .300. The series, which runs Friday through Sunday, is an important one, said IU ace Joey DeNato.“The one and two seeds are going at it this weekend, so it’s a big weekend for us,” DeNato said. “We’re just going to stick to our game plan, it’s been working for us for the past month or two. We’re not going to overlook them and will just play our baseball.”IU defeated Ball State 10-1 Wednesday. Illinois comes off of a loss to Missouri at the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium.“They’re always a good hitting team,” DeNato said. “They scrap it around. They also have a lot of good pitchers.” DeNato will start on the mound on Friday for IU. He is 8-1 with a 2.12 ERA this season. Sophomore Christian Morris will pitch Saturday. He is 2-2 with a 2.49 ERA in eight starts this year. Senior Brian Korte is expected to start on Sunday after starting two games last week. He stepped up to help the team after injuries created problems in the pitching staff. He is 0-0 with a 1.77 ERA this year. Sunday would mark his fourth start of the season.“It starts all the way back in the fall when we condition our arms,” Effross said. “Brian Korte and Luke Harrison are great pitchers, and it’s just a credit to how they work every day.”The bullpen has performed well lately, and a number of guys are making an impact, IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “I’m just not an excuse maker,” Smith said. “I make that clear with these guys, that regardless of your role, I haven’t found yet where the mound distance changes from 60 feet 6 inches. You still have to go out and throw strikes, and we have guys who’ve done that.”
(04/24/14 4:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was a 1-1 game heading into the bottom of the sixth inning Wednesday when Ball State traveled to Bloomington to play IU. By the end of the sixth, junior catcher Brad Hartong had five RBIs, and IU held a 10-1 lead.It was more than enough to seal the 10-1 win as IU improved to 26-11.“I got a lot of good hitters in front of me and behind me,” Hartong said. “Guys were getting on and when I came up I didn’t try to do too much and just hit the ball and it worked out.”Hartong drilled a 3-run home run to left field, and after the Hoosiers batted around, came up and drove in two more on a single in the big sixth inning.“I don’t want to count on innings like that a lot,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “For the most part, I was not pleased with our at-bats all night. I thought we gave a lot of them away.” IU had just two hits before the sixth, both coming off the bat of junior infielder Chad Clark.Sophomore Sullivan Stadler started on the mound for IU and pitched five innings, giving up one run on three hits with six strikeouts and just one walk.“Getting that first pitch fastball over for a strike worked out,” Stadler said. “My strikeout pitch was my curveball.”His performance was important for a team that has struggled to find a consistent fourth starter after sophomore Kyle Hart went down to injury for the season. “I thought (Stadler’s) breaking ball was very effective today,” Smith said. “If you can get that type of start in the midweek, and with the guys we have backing him up we are going to be in every ball game. I was very, very pleased with him today.”IU kicked off the scoring in the first inning on an odd turn of events. Junior designated hitter Scott Donley struck out, but the ball got by the Cardinal catcher, allowing Donley to reach base.Junior first baseman Sam Travis was on first and went to third on the play and came around to score after the throw to third went into left field.Ball State senior Kyle Raleigh hit a rocket of a home run in the second inning to tie the game, but the IU offense came alive in the sixth.IU junior Kyle Schwarber, senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth, sophomore infielder Brian Wilhite and junior outfielder Ricky Alfonso each had an RBI in the inning to complement Hartong.“If you put together good at-bats and consistent at-bats, your hits are going to fall,” Smith said.Senior Clay Manering started and threw three innings for the Cardinals, allowing one run on one hit and three strikeouts. The Cardinals’ bullpen gave up the damage. The Hoosiers are atop the Big Ten standings and will face the second place team in the conference, Illinois, this weekend.“Where we are sitting with the RPI nationally, every game is important.” Smith said.
(04/23/14 3:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Following a sweep at home this past weekend against Michigan State, the IU baseball team looks to continue its hot play when it plays host to Ball State Wednesday.IU (25-11, 11-1) is in first place in the Big Ten, two games over Illinois, who the Hoosiers face this weekend. But first they must play a Cardinals team that beat them in Bloomington last year.“We have some unfinished business with these guys,” IU junior catcher Kyle Schwarber said. “We can’t take them lightly. They aren’t going to just roll over for us. We’re going to take care of business.”The Hoosiers are 13-1 in their last 14 games and are looking to get in position to hold a regional at Bart Kaufman Field, a goal IU Coach Tracy Smith talked about all year.But IU is not the only team on a hot streak right now. Ball State (27-13, 11-4) has won 17 of their past 22 games.Sophomore left-hander Sullivan Stadler will start on the mound for IU. He is 1-1 with a 5.11 ERA this season. He will look to grab the fourth spot in the rotation, which has become open because of inconsistency from sophomore Will Coursen-Carr.“You want to pitch at Indiana University, you have to throw strikes and be competitive in the zone,” Smith said. “I expect to see that out of (Stadler) tomorrow.” Last week, senior Brian Korte started in the midweek game as well as pitching the Sunday game against Michigan State. Korte has impressed the coaching staff and seems to have a lock on the number three spot in the rotation after sophomore Kyle Hart was ruled out for the season with a torn UCL. Smith gave credit to his pitching coach for his staff’s resilience. “I don’t know how many programs could overcome losing certainly two pitchers out of your top five from last year,” Smith said. “(Pitching) Coach Higelin has done a fantastic job, he’s a very positive guy and keeps these guys on track physically and mentally.”The Hoosiers’ ninth-year coach said despite his team’s hot streak, it will continue to take every game seriously. “We’re not overlooking Ball State,” Smith said. “It isn’t going to happen. This is a very mature team. We don’t play the opponent, we just try to take one game at a time.”The Hoosiers’ offense is led by Schwarber, who is batting .338 with six home runs and 21 RBIs, junior first baseman Sam Travis who is hitting .362 with five home runs and 37 RBIs, and senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth, who has a team-high batting average of .371 with five home runs and 15 RBIs. “(DeMuth is) a guy that can hit doubles, hit home runs,” Schwarber said. “He’s a guy we need in the lineup every day, and he takes a really mature approach at the plate and doesn’t give any at-bats away.”Junior designated hitter Scott Donley has also come alive after a slow start and is batting .301 with four home runs and 31 RBIs.The Cardinals have some power of their own, as they have combined for 31 home runs as a team, more than the 25 by the Hoosiers. Seven of these home runs are from senior Sean Godfry.“We are just going to play our baseball,” senior Joey DeNato said. “Hopefully it works out.”
(04/22/14 8:44pm)
Senior
Joey DeNato won Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after setting another IU
pitching record in his start against Michigan State last Friday.
(04/22/14 1:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Casey Rodrigue stands on first base. His goal is simple — steal second.The junior is the team’s leadoff hitter. He gets things going for the offense and has two preseason All-Americans — Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis — hitting behind him. He leads the team this year with 10 stolen bases, which also ranks tied for seventh in the Big Ten.Rodrigue, a junior college transfer, stole 68 bases last year at LSU-Eunice. IU Coach Tracy Smith said Rodrigue doesn’t have great straight line speed. What attracted Smith was Rodrigue’s quickness and his initial burst off the base paths when trying to steal a bag. “It was kinda a manhunt,” Smith said. “ ... We just literally cold-called a lot of junior college programs in the country.”After time in various slots in the lineup in the beginning of the season, Rodrigue has cemented himself as the team’s leadoff hitter. When he’s on first base after a single or a walk, he said, he studies the pitcher’s tendencies to know the optimal time to steal a bag.Rodrigue will count how long the pitcher stands motionless on the mound. If the pitcher has a “tell,” or he does something different than what he normally does, Rodrigue knows the pitcher will probably try to throw to first and pick him off.“I’ll count, ‘one Mississippi, two Mississippi,’” Rodrigue said. “The better pitchers will vary their tendencies between holds and picks.”When a right-handed pitcher is on the mound, sometimes he moves his front foot forward before the back foot comes off the rubber, Rodrigue said. The move is technically a balk and should be penalized, but pitchers get away with the move most of the time, and they try to pick off the runner at first by confusing them with their footwork.“It’s kind of undetectable to an umpire that’s standing behind a runner,” Rodrigue said of the illegal move.When studying an opposing pitcher, Rodrigue said he is looking for variance in head motion, how long the pitcher takes in between pitches and whether he’s right- or lefthanded.He’ll also look for whether the pitcher will throw a fastball or an off-speed pitch. Rodrigue knows what counts are typically fastball counts and what counts pitchers throw curveballs or changeups. That difference in the speed of the ball getting to the catcher gives him more time to break for second base, even if it’s just a few mph difference.And that’s just for stealing second. Rodrigue said stealing third is more challenging. Instead of a catcher throwing 127 feet and 3.375 inches from home to second base, he only has to throw 90 feet.“On first and second, you’re more willing to take that gamble,” Rodrigue said. “You can’t live and die with being out at third. But you can take that chance at second. So you have to be 100-percent sure when taking third.”Rodrigue hasn’t been able to run as much as he did last season in junior college, because he has two all-American and MLB prospects hitting behind him — Schwarber and Travis. The risk of making an out when two big bats are behind him isn’t worth it.The speedster used to have more freedom in junior college when deciding whether to steal. Here at IU, Smith has taken that responsibility out of his hands. Rodrigue looks to Smith, who is also the third-base coach, when deciding whether to steal or not.“One of the things he did early was try to make too many plays,” Smith said. “So I’ve kind of taken some of that out of his repertoire there.”Rodrigue said he has never stolen home in his career. But he wants to.“A buddy of mine did it in junior college, did it in the World Series one time. Won us the game,” Rodrigue said. “That’d be pretty cool.”
(04/21/14 4:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Michigan State elected to intentionally walk preseason All-American Kyle Schwarber, which brought preseason All-American Sam Travis up to bat.The finale of the three-game series was tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth. Runners stood on first and second with one out for Travis. With a win, IU would complete the sweep of Michigan State.“It’s always a sign of disrespect when they walk someone to get to you,” Travis said after the game.He smoked a first pitch curve ball to deep left-center field. Rodrigue scored easily from second and Schwarber hustled around the base path to score from first. Another eighth inning RBI by designated hitter Scott Donley gave IU a three-run cushion going into the ninth.Junior reliever Luke Harrison closed out for a win for IU (25-11, 11-1) to beat Michigan State (20-17, 5-7) Sunday 4-1. The win gave the Hoosiers their third sweep of a conference foe this year.In their last 14 games, the Hoosiers are 13-1. And this latest sweep meant something extra for IU — last season Michigan State swept IU in three one-run games.“It’s a great rivalry,” said second baseman Casey Rodrigue, who scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. “Dating back to last year, all the games have been close.”For the past week, the IU offense has cooled down and had trouble manufacturing runs. Coming into the weekend, IU was averaging 5.6 runs a game. But during the three games against Michigan State, the Hoosiers averaged just 4.3 runs a game.That was in part due to the Spartan pitching staff. Michigan State’s three starters were the best trio of pitchers the Hoosiers have faced all year, Travis said. That meant the pitching had to step up.And it did.In the last 41 innings, dating back to the last inning against Morehead State April 13, IU pitchers have given up just two runs, giving Hoosier pitchers an ERA of 0.44 in that span.“Michigan State’s pitching staff I thought was outstanding,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “Ours was equally good ... I thought that was two quality pitching staffs going at it.”The latest in the recent trend of great Hoosier pitching came in the form of Brian Korte. The senior got the start on just three days rest, after a throwing against Western Kentucky last Wednesday.The role of third starter has been in flux for IU ever due to the injury of Kyle Hart and the struggles of sophomore Will Coursen-Carr. Korte learned the day before he would get the nod, and he delivered.His final line — 6.1 innings pitched, five hits, one earned run, four walks and four strikeouts.“To start two games in one week is ridiculous,” junior reliever Luke Harrison said. “It’s a crazy week, but (Korte’s) a great pitcher.”Harrison was also key in thwarting any potential Hoosier rally. When Korte came out of the game in the seventh inning, he struggled and left the bases loaded.Smith decided to put in the righty, Harrison, to try and kill the Spartan rally. The game was still in jeopardy, tied at 1-1.Harrison induced a soft ground ball that came right back to him. He threw home, getting the lead runner out. The catcher, Schwarber, then rifled a throw to first base to complete the inning ending double play.Harrison pumped his fist and the crowd at Bart Kaufman Field erupted. The play proved vital as Michigan State would not get another good scoring opportunity. Harrison allowed just one hit in his 2.2 innings of work. But when he came into the bases loaded situation, he said, he wasn’t thinking about getting a double play ball.“I was just thinking, ‘Get a fly ball, keep it low,’” Harrison said. “I was thinking about a strikeout also, but I got lucky. Well, not lucky. I got the pitch I wanted to and it came right to me.”Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.
(04/21/14 3:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Tracy Smith is always surprised how much people curse when playing video games.Smith, the IU baseball coach, plays video games to escape reality. After a tough loss, or if he’s just bored during the day, he’ll fire up his Xbox 360. He doesn’t have to think about if he should have pulled his starting pitcher earlier, or if he should have sent the runner home or not. He can just lose himself. But he’s selective in what he loses himself in.“I only play one game,” Smith said. “I play ‘Call of Duty Black Ops II,’ hardcore team deathmatch. That’s it.”He prefers to remain anonymous when he plays with other people online. He’s free to just be another random player and crack jokes with his famous sense of humor.“I definitely don’t tell them who I am,” Smith said about his online anonymity. “Because I crush ‘em.”But Smith is anything but anonymous in the world of college baseball. Smith has spent nine years building IU into what is now a legitimate national title contender. Last season, he won National Coach of the Year after taking IU to the College World Series. Smith has built several programs in his coaching career, only to leave for greener pastures each time. The question of whether Smith will stay in Bloomington has been brought up in the past. But as he proved last year, he can win a national championship in Bloomington.First, he’s going to take out his aggression on these damn kids playing “Call of Duty” with him. If they curse at him, sometimes he indulges and fires shots back.“If I’m feeling rowdy and I want to let go, I’ll let ‘em have it,” Smith said, wearing his “Call of Duty” T-shirt. “They’ll say, ‘Dude you sound like you’re 40. Get a job.’”***When Smith arrived at Miami University Middletown, there was no baseball program.Smith arrived in Middletown after he played with the Chicago Cubs organization for a few years. He enjoyed playing, but ultimately decided playing professional ball wasn’t for him. Instead, he had applied for a generic administrative job. He and Jaime — his wife since they were both 19 years old — would lead a normal life.The only problem is, he didn’t get the job. Smith had never lacked confidence before, Jaime said. He was used to getting what he wanted.That’s when Jaime’s father, the athletic director at Miami University Middletown, came to Tracy and asked if he wanted to coach basketball. Tracy had never thought of coaching as a profession. But he was from a small town in Indiana — Kenton, Ind., with a population of 1,748 — so basketball was in his blood.“God’s country,” Smith said. “Home of Alexander J. Kent. Whoever the hell that is.”He accepted the basketball coaching job, but wanted to coach baseball. The university didn’t have a baseball program at the time. So he started one from the ground up.After a few years in Middleton, Tracy came back to his and Jaime’s alma mater, Miami University, to be an assistant coach. He moved on to become an assistant coach at IU until he got the call to come back to Miami and become the head coach of the program.“The call came from the athletic director,” Smith said. “And he says, ‘Do you want to be our ne-’ and before he could even finish the sentence I said, ‘Yes!’ So there went my negotiations for salary right out the window.”But Smith wasn’t concerned about the money side of things. He had the opportunity he always wanted — to lead a program. The man who didn’t even fancy himself a coach had become the head of a program by age 30.***Smith said the baseball diamond was nothing more than a “glorified high school field” when he arrived at Miami University.Miami was historically a good mid-major team but had struggled. The Redhawks suffered four straight losing seasons for the first time in 29 years and finished 12-40 the year before he arrived.While Miami University was bigger than the first college he coached at, it still didn’t have all the resources Smith needed. His family was pulling weeds on the diamond, and Jaime’s father drove his tractor to the complex to tend to the dirt field. Smith would walk into the stadium and push the trashcans to the right places.“That was him,” Jaime said. “There wasn’t a detail that was overlooked.”He was able to turn the program around. During his nine seasons, Smith averaged 35 wins a season — the highest average by a coach in Miami baseball history. He eclipsed the 40-win mark twice, something that happened just once in the previous 81 years in Miami baseball, and appeared in two NCAA tournaments.Smith was instrumental in the building of a new stadium. He transformed the field into a legitimate complex.But it wasn’t enough.The only guaranteed bid for smaller schools to get into the NCAA Tournament is to win their conference. In smaller conferences like the MAC — Miami’s conference — usually only one team got into the NCAA Tournament.Miami was in the MAC championship one time, but lost in the bottom of the ninth inning. The cold reality set in for the Smiths.“That loss hurt. I cried,” Jaime said. “It felt like we had a ceiling. I felt like he couldn’t achieve something because it wasn’t possible.”During Smith’s last season at Miami, the program had one of their best seasons ever. The Redhawks went 45-18 — the most wins in school history. They beat Central Michigan 10-6 in the MAC championship game and were headed to the NCAA Tournament.Jaime remembers standing in the field after the game with her husband. One thought kept creeping into her mind.“I remember thinking — it will never get better than this,” Jaime said. “We can repeat this 10 times, but it won’t be better than this. This is what this can be. He did everything he could do at Miami.”***IU second baseman Casey Rodrigue was talking to the media, answering questions about the upcoming series against Michigan State.He started to laugh when Smith came up behind the reporters, making faces and trying to distract Rodrigue. When the reporters turned around, Smith rubbed his chin and looked at the ceiling. He tried to act nonchalant.The reporters turned to face Rodrigue, and Smith went at it again, making Rodrigue chuckle through the interview. “Sorry,” Rodrigue said at one point. “Skip’s over there making faces.” Smith tries not to take himself too seriously. His Twitter account is a mix of baseball comments, reviews of various TV shows, interactions with fans and selfies of his beard.“I don’t have a gazillion followers. I’m getting closer to 10,000 though,” he paused. “9,100, but who’s counting?”He’s still learning the nuances of social media. On Twitter, he used to respond to people in all capital letters, giving off the impression he was yelling. After being made fun of by everybody in his family, Smith finally stopped using all caps.“See, I didn’t know that was yelling,” he said. “It was my Twitter ignorance. I was a Twitter virgin. Or a tweet virgin.”Smith is always trying to come up with different ways to promote his program. Kyle Kuhlman, Smith’s media relations staff member for three-and-a-half years, said he thinks Smith is one of the best imaginative thinkers he’s met.Kuhlman and Smith used to do a weekly video called “Skip’s Scoop.” Kuhlman would shoot the video of Smith talking about the team’s upcoming opponent or whatever Smith felt like talking about at the time. One time, when the team was on a spring break trip in Florida, Kuhlman suggested jokingly they should do the video with Smith in the hot tub.Smith didn’t take it as a joke. They shot the video with Smith sitting in a hotel hot tub.“I won’t forget that,” Kuhlman said. “I don’t know another coach who would be willing to do something fun and out-of-the-box like that.”***“Breaking Bad” is the greatest TV show of all time, Smith said. “House of Cards” is number two. He also put “Lost,” “Dexter” and “Sons on Anarchy” in his top five.“Oh, but ‘Games of Thrones’ is good, too,” Smith said, questioning his own list. “Oh, and ‘Homeland.’” Sometimes after a hard loss, Smith will come home and watch Netflix for four or five hours. It helps keep his mind off replaying bad things repeatedly.When he was watching “Lost,” he found himself consumed by the show. He would catch himself thinking about the latest plot on “Lost” while coaching third base during games.“I was so into that series,” he said. “I have found myself actually wanting to be stranded on an island. I was like, ‘Wouldn’t that be cool?’”When Smith first arrived in Bloomington, he needed every escape from reality he could get. In his first two years, he went a combined 41-69.During his last year at Miami, he won 45 games and went to the NCAA Tournament. But he left that situation because of the resources IU had. He was promised a new stadium would be built.He wasn’t taking over a powerhouse, either. In the two years before Smith arrived at IU, the Hoosiers finished last in the Big Ten both seasons, going a combined 18-45 in the conference. “And what really clicked in my head was, ‘OK, Tracy Smith, you’re really that good? Let’s see you do it again,’” Smith said.All of Smith’s hard work culminated last year. He got the stadium he was promised — 2013 was the inaugural season of Bart Kaufman Field. He went from having one of the worst stadiums in the Big Ten to one of the best college venues in the Midwest.The team’s performance on the field also took off. For the first time in the program’s then 118-year history, they were ranked in the national polls. IU made the 2013 College World Series, another program first.Smith remembers being in shock for most of the time in Omaha, Neb. This was what he had envisioned for the IU program, and he was trying his best to take it all in.IU ultimately was defeated by Oregon State, ending the best season in IU history. But IU had climbed the mountain nobody thought they could. Not even Smith, when he came to IU in 2006, was positive he could ever make it to the College World Series.“I’ll be honest with you,” Smith said. “It always seemed like this distant thing. It always seemed like I was talking about something else. It always seemed like it was somewhere over there. Did I think we could do it? I mean, I gave us a chance. But realistically, the way college baseball is structured, I thought it would be tough.” ***IU opened up the season No. 3 in the preseason Baseball America poll, the highest-ever ranking for the program. In less than a decade, Smith built the worst program in the Big Ten into a national title contender. But since IU isn’t historically a baseball program, the question arises — will he stay in Bloomington?He has had the chance to leave. He interviewed for the head-coaching job at Ohio State in 2010 but turned it down. He said at the time that IU’s atmosphere and the “24 sports, one team” mantra was true. In Columbus, Ohio, he wouldn’t have that same feeling.And now he has a state-of-the-art stadium, facilities and one of the more talented teams in the country. But he also has his wife and three sons, his rural house, his four dogs, his two cats and a program he’s poured his soul into for nine years.“We’ll retire in Bloomington whether I’m coaching here or not,” Smith said. “Plus, we got a state-of-the-art facility and we’re winning. I see it as, ‘Is there anything better?’” Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.This story has been updated. An earlier version of this story referred to Jaime Smith as Jamie Smith.
(04/19/14 10:59pm)
Second basemen Casey Rodrigue was the hero, as his walk off single in the bottom of the 12th inning gave IU (24-11, 10-1) the 2-1 victory over Michigan State (20-16,
5-6).
(04/19/14 2:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Senior starter Joey DeNato now owns three of the most significant pitching records in IU baseball history.IU (23-11, 9-1) beat Michigan State (20-15, 5-5) in game one of their three-game stint Friday night 7-0. The Hoosiers combined timely hitting with another masterful DeNato – 8 innings pitched, 5 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts, 0 runs on 113 pitches.Already this season, DeNato broke a couple of IU records. His 32 wins and 261 strikeouts are most for any pitcher in IU’s 119-year history. Against Michigan State on Friday night, DeNato’s career innings count went to 324 – setting another IU record.“Actually I didn’t know about the innings pitched (record),” DeNato said.DeNato had a rocky start to the game. The Spartans had the bases loaded in the top of the first with just one out, but DeNato got a key strikeout to make it two outs.Then a Spartan batter tried to execute a suicide squeeze, but he whiffed on the bunt attempt. The runner on third, charging home, was caught in a precarious situation. Junior catcher Kyle Schwarber threw to third and senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth tagged out the runner, ending the Michigan State threat.In the first inning it took DeNato 25 pitches to ultimately get through the frame unscathed. Through the rest of the game, DeNato settled down and stymied all potential Spartan rallies.As for the difference between the first inning and the rest of the game, IU Coach Tracy Smith had a simple explanation as to why that happened.“That’s just baseball,” Smith said. “I don’t think there was anything major that I would attribute that to. The good part of it is: he doesn’t let that stuff bother him.”Only two Hoosiers gave DeNato run support, and it was two unlikely suspects.Junior outfielder Will Nolden went 2-for-3 with four RBI and sophomore shortstop Nick Ramos went 1-for-4 with a two-run homerun and a sac fly to total three RBI on the day.The bottom of the order came up big for the Hoosiers and picked up the slack of the top of the order. Hitters 1-through-5 went a combined 4-for-17 on the day.“I thought Will Nolden had one of the better games from him that I’ve seen,” Smith said. “Just in terms of focus at the plate … that was nice to see from him sitting down here in the seven-hole.”In Nolden’s first at-bat, he roped a line drive to right-center field – in between two Spartan outfielders. Nolden hustled around the base paths, and recorded a stand-up triple to score two Hoosiers.Nolden knew pretty soon he was going to round second and continue to third.“Right off the bat,” Nolden said. “I kinda knew I was going three because I saw both the outfielders with their backs turned, and that’s the biggest part of the ballpark.”The series continues tomorrow from Bart Kaufman Field. IU’s Christian Morris – 2-2 with a 2.61 ERA – will go against Spartan starter Justin Alleman – 4-1 with a 2.90 ERA.First pitch is scheduled for 2:05.
(04/18/14 2:26am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When IU traveled to East Lansing, Mich., for a three-game stint with Michigan State last season, the Hoosiers were hot.IU had just had its 18-game winning streak snapped by Illinois five days prior, but had still won 22 of its last 24 games and had vaulted to No. 12 in the national rankings.The Spartans swept the Hoosiers in three losses for IU. Two of the games went to extra innings, and all three losses were one-run affairs that featured a Spartan walk-off hit to beat the Hoosiers. The team expressed anger, but said this time around it will be more composed if adversity comes its way.“It definitely made us all a little bit angry,” senior ace Joey DeNato said. “Baseball’s a sport where you have to channel your anger. In football if you’re hyped up you can go hit someone. In baseball you can’t do that, you have to maintain your composure.”IU (22-11, 8-1) will get its chance at revenge when Michigan State (20-14, 5-4) comes to Bloomington for a three-game series starting at 7:05 p.m. today.DeNato will get the start for the Hoosiers today. The lefty became the winningest pitcher in IU history with his last start against Morehead State. DeNato now owns the record for most career strikeouts — 257 — and wins — 31 — in IU baseball’s 119-year history.Whenever DeNato plays the Spartans, it holds a little extra motivation for him. His father attended Michigan State and Joey — a San Diego native — grew up attending Michigan State football games.“It’s always good beating them,” DeNato said. “For bragging rights.”In the last two seasons against the Spartans, the Hoosiers are just 1-5. This year, the Spartans have had an up-and-down year. Back in February, the Spartans knocked off then-No. 1 Oregon State. But in their last six games, they are just 3-3 against weak competition.In their recent six-game stretch, the Spartans lost two games to Central Michigan and took two of three from Purdue, where they had an average run differential of just +1 per game. The Boilermakers are 8-24 this year.Michigan State leads the Big Ten in steals and steal attempts. IU has a speedster of its own — junior second baseman Casey Rodrigue — who leads the team with 10 stolen bags, which also ranks fifth in the Big Ten.Rodrigue is playing his first year for IU after transferring from LSU-Eunice and has cemented himself as the team’s leadoff hitter. He said he’s heard from his teammates how frustrating last year’s sweep was.“It kinda left a salty taste in their mouths,” Rodrigue said. “And they know there’s a little bit more of an importance on this series.”