IU ready for No. 15 Louisville

IU Coach Tracy Smith said that one of the primary goals of his No. 19 Hoosier baseball team is to secure an at-large NCAA Tournament berth prior to the Big Ten Tournament.

The Hoosiers’ game at 4 p.m. today against the No. 15 University of Louisville Cardinals presents an opportunity to clinch the season series against a regional rival.

It is also the first game at IU in which both teams are ranked.

Hoosiers’ sophomore infielder and catcher Chad Clark said a win could enhance the level of national respect the program receives.

“We know Louisville’s a top-ranked team, and that’s more motivation for us to get up there and get our name on the map,” he said.

The Hoosiers opened their season with a 2-0 win against then-No. 4 Louisville on Feb. 15 in Dunedin, Fla.

“They are a very, very good baseball team,” Smith said. “We won that game because (junior starting pitcher Joey) DeNato was solid, but our defense was outstanding.”

The Hoosiers have committed one error or fewer in 14 of their 21 games.
Freshman Will Coursen-Carr will make the start for the Hoosiers (18-3, 3-0 Big Ten), Smith said Saturday.

For IU to win the season series against UL, he will need to show improved command. In his last start, March 19 at Miami (Ohio), he hit two RedHawks’ hitters and walked one.

Though Coursen-Carr threw first-pitch strikes to 13 of 17 hitters he faced, he cannot afford to hit Cardinal hitters the way he did against Miami’s Chad Sedio. He jumped ahead in the count 0-2 but hit the RedHawks’ right fielder with his next offering.

“He wasn’t sharp,” Smith said after the game on March 19. “(He was) getting ahead of hitters and hitting guys with breaking balls, (but) he didn’t really have the sharp put-away pitch. The last straw was going 0-2 to a lefty. The game was still pretty close, and he hits a guy with another hanging breaking ball.”  

IU will enter this game on an 11-game winning streak featuring a run differential of +68.
The Hoosiers have won three games by three runs or fewer.

On the season, IU has outscored opponents 158-60, including a 22-3 advantage in the first inning. DeNato said it is huge for his teammates providing run support in the first inning because it sets the tempo for the rest of the game.

The game against the Cardinals (19-4, 1-2 Big East) is the fifth at Bart Kaufman Field, and Smith said he is ready for the novelty to expire.

“I’d like to get back to reality a little bit, which is just playing baseball,” Smith said. “Let’s settle in now. We’ve got one more dedication day, which we’re thrilled about. I want the newness to wear off a little.”