Two series into the Big Ten season, IU baseball coach Tracy Smith has settled on most of his team’s lineup.
One spot that remains unsettled, though, is the Sunday starting pitcher.
Smith has shuffled among multiple pitchers, mainly freshmen, in the
third weekend slot and said he wants to get different players there as
the conference slate continues this weekend with a road series against
Iowa.
The Hoosiers (21-11, 4-2) might still deploy freshman Matt Dearden, who
has started the third games in each of IU’s last two weekend series.
Dearden has gone 2-1 in decisions, one win coming in his first career
start against Michigan, and has posted a 5.32 ERA in 23.2 innings
pitched. However, Smith said the job might not be closed for good.
Brian Korte, another freshman to have seen time this season as the third
weekend starter, still intrigues the coach as an option on the mound on
Sundays.
“The kid’s competitive, and quite honestly, he’s going to push some of
our current weekend guys,” Smith said. “So guys need to be on top of
their games this weekend or we’re going to throw the guy out there that
gives us the best chance to win. We feel really good about what (Korte)
is doing on the mound right now.”
The lefty from North Bend, Ohio, is 1-1 after making five starts, the
first of which was a complete 9-2 win March 14 against Pittsburgh in
Winter Haven, Fla. He also started the finale of IU’s home-and-home
affair with Evansville on March 27.
Korte said he felt good about his chances at the coveted weekend spot
following his most recent start Wednesday against Indiana State; he
pitched six shutout innings but also had an eight-inning no-hit streak
that lasted two games snapped.
“We have a great staff,” he said. “It’s nice when you can take somebody
out and get someone else right back in it that’s as good as you.
Definitely it’s competitive, but it’s good for our team.”
Korte’s closest observer Wednesday, senior catcher Wes Wilson, was impressed with the pitcher’s six shutout innings.
“He was locating,” Wilson said. “He was missing a lot of barrels,
locating the outer half of the plate and working in (when) he needed
to.”
While players still might rotate in and out of the third weekend pitcher
slot, Dearden appears the likely starter Sunday against Iowa.
He will face Trevor Willis, who has hit a Big Ten-leading five triples
and four .300-plus batters who have appeared in more than 20 games.
The Hawkeyes (12-18, 2-4) also deploy an aggressive third weekend
starter themselves. Matt Dermody, who stands 3-3 with a 5.36 ERA, ranks
second in the conference in strikeouts with 43 on the season.
The weather forecast in Iowa City might hinder; projections include lows in the 40s and rain.
“That’s not going to be fun, but I think that we’ll be fine,” Wilson
said. “We’ve played in enough games like that this year, so we’re ready
to get going and kick some Hawkeye tail.”
IU searches for Sunday starter
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