Smith shuts out former team 5-0

One year ago yesterday, Tracy Smith was managing Miami of Ohio to a shutout win against the Butler Bulldogs in Indianapolis, his 297th win as Miami's skipper.\nFast-forward exactly one year to the day to Sembower Field Wednesday, where Smith picked up win No. 15 as the head baseball coach at IU with a shutout victory in his first meeting against his former team.\nSmith faced a team he still has strong ties to and an opposing coach that is one of his best friends.\n"Once the game starts, you're trying to beat their rear ends," Smith said. "(Miami) coach (Dan) Simonds is one of my best friends in the world. Any time we square off, it's just baseball, and we'll laugh about it after the game." \nSimonds, an assistant under Smith for five years at Miami, said he was disappointed with the loss but enjoyed the opportunity to coach against his former colleague and good friend.\n"Tracy is one of the closest people I have in baseball and in life," Simonds said. "When we compete against each other, I don't want that outcome, but I'm always cheering for him other than when we play him."\nSmith used five pitchers to hold Butler scoreless a year ago but needed only one to record IU's first shutout since May 22, 2005, when the Hoosiers beat Purdue 6-0 at Sembower Field.\nSophomore starting pitcher Doug Fleenor (2-1) surrendered only one hit and one walk in nine innings in his first career start, striking out four. Fleenor had a no-hitter with two outs in the seventh when Miami catcher Jon Franzese looped a line drive into right field just over the head of a leaping Keith Haas at second base.\n"A lot was working today. My fastball had good movement, and I was getting a lot of ground balls," Fleenor said. "I was in a good rhythm all day."\nAfter allowing the hit in the seventh, Fleenor settled down and allowed only one base runner to reach the rest of the game. Miami left fielder Ryne Robinson reached on an error in the ninth.\nFleenor's complete-game shutout is the first for IU since the 2003 season when Chris Behrens went the distance against Northwestern.\nIU jumped on the board early, plating a run in the first inning on a single by junior designated hitter Ben Greenspan. The Hoosiers didn't score again until the sixth when Greenspan drove in his second run of the game.\nGreenspan finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs.\nAfter scoring a run in the seventh, junior third baseman Steve Head hit a sharp ground ball off the pitcher in the eighth. The hit allowed Haas to score his third run of the game as senior center fielder Reggie Watson scored all the way from second.\nAll of the Hoosier runs came against Miami starter Sam Shorts (3-2), who allowed nine hits and five runs in seven innings of work, striking out one.\nAfter losing three of four to Ohio State last weekend, the Hoosiers needed a win to get back on track as they prepare for a four-game series against Penn State this weekend. There was also an added desire to beat their head coach's former team.\n"(Coach) wanted it to be no different from any other game, but yeah, we really wanted to beat them," Greenspan said.