IU to battle Eastern Kentucky at home

No. 17 IU went 5-0 against Miami (Ohio), Louisville and West Virginia. Eastern Kentucky, on the other hand, went a combined 0-5 versus the same teams.

The difference in run differential is significant. IU has a plus-32 run differential against the three teams, while Eastern Kentucky has a minus-37 run differential in the five games.

The Hoosiers (29-8, 8-4 Big Ten) will try and keep their three-game win streak alive when they welcome the Colonels (14-23, 10-8 Ohio Valley Conference) this evening to Bart Kaufman Field.

IU got back on track with a three-game sweep of in-state foe Butler this weekend. Before then, the team had lost five of its last six games.

“It just feels good to play well again and get those wins,” sophomore pitcher Aaron Slegers said. “Winning gives you confidence.”

First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. today, and freshman pitcher Christian Morris will get the start.

The Hoosiers also play Indiana State Wednesday, and IU Coach Tracy Smith is unsure of who the starting pitcher will be due to an injury to usual midweek starter freshman Will Coursen-Carr.

“Morris will go one of those,” Smith said. “We’ve got to see how it is with Will Coursen-Carr. He had a little tender shoulder last week, so that’s why we didn’t throw him this weekend. So we’ll just see where he is and just kind of play that by ear.”

In 17 and one-third innings pitched, Morris boasts a 3.63 earned runs average. He’s let opponents hit .314, allowing the highest opponents’ batting average on the IU pitching staff.

Morris made his first career start on April 17 against Ball state. The freshman went six innings, gave up two earned runs and struck out four.

However, he got little run support and picked up his first loss the season. After the game, Smith thought the freshman performed well and gave his team a quality start.

The Hoosiers will have to contain Colonel hitter Sean Hagen. The catcher leads his team in batting average and hits and is second on his squad with 27 RBI on the season.

Sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber started at designated hitter in the last game versus Butler on Sunday. He injured himself sliding to home against Illinois on April 6 and has seen limited playing time since then.

Schwarber will probably not see playing time at the catcher today. The Hoosiers are trying to hold him out until a showdown with Michigan this weekend, Smith said.

“His prognosis going forward is hopefully we can get him back for this weekend in a catching role,” Smith said. “But we’ll see — that’ll be game by game.”

Senior infielder Michael Basil said that his team was “sharp” these past three games, and Smith hopes the state of mind his team is will continue.

“Baseball, as much as any sport, is a mental game,” Smith said. “What we try and do is not focus on momentum, good luck or any of those crazy things. Just play good, sound, concentrated, focused baseball.”