Hoosiers face coach’s former team in midweek contest

Fresh off the heels of two strong wins and a conference-opening series split with Minnesota, the IU baseball team returns home today to play a set of faces growing less and less familiar to IU coach Tracy Smith. The Hoosiers will welcome Miami (Ohio), Smith’s alma mater and former team, to Bloomington for a 3 p.m. midweek contest. \nHowever, Smith – who left Miami for IU three years ago – said he doesn’t really feel connected to his former team, nor does he feel a different sense of urgency playing them. \n“I’m good friends with the coach,” Smith said before practice Tuesday. “We’ve recruited some of the kids that are still upperclassmen, so it’ll be nice to see them, but there’s really no extra emphasis on that. There’s no rah-rah speech to go beat Miami.”\nThe Hoosiers come into the midweek contest after splitting a four-game series by rallying to win the last two games at Minnesota. Smith said he was pleased that his team kept its poise after losing its first two Big Ten games. \n“The guys knew their backs were against the wall, and came out and battled and took the last two on the road against a very good team, so that’s a positive,” Smith said.\nSophomore catcher Josh Phegley said on Tuesday he and his teammates “gave” a win to the Golden Gophers on Saturday, but rallied, despite some injury trouble on the pitching staff. \n“We split with Minnesota; they’re a pretty good team,” Phegley said. “I think a lot of us see that we probably \ncould have swept if we played the baseball that we’re capable of.”\nPhegley himself had a banner Saturday, capping off a three-run performance with a monster home run that landed 25-30 rows deep in the