No. 13 IU tops Evansville in run-heavy game

EVANSVILLE — Sitting on a fastball, junior right fielder Casey Smith got a pitch up and in, and his home run to right field in the top of the seventh inning provided the game-winning run a little over two-and-a-half hours into a three-and-a-half-hour contest.

No. 13 IU (26-4, 8-1) narrowly evaded Evansville’s upset bid, prevailing 10-8 Tuesday night at Charles H. Braun Stadium.

Inefficient pitching and a season-high-matching three errors nearly enabled Evansville — a team with as many home runs as injured sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber — to send IU to its second consecutive loss, something that has not happened all season.

IU Coach Tracy Smith said he is happy to escape with a win, one that came with caveats.

“We’re really disappointed in our lack of concentration, the number of mental mistakes (and) the poor execution on the mound,” he said. “We’ve got to straighten out how we’re playing. That’s some of the worst baseball we’ve played all season.”

After taking an early 4-0 lead after the top half of the first inning, freshman starting pitcher Will Coursen-Carr labored through the shortest start of his young career, one-third of an inning.

The Fort Wayne native fell behind 2-0 against right fielder Jason Hockemeyer, the Aces’ four-hole hitter, and Smith brought the hook mid at-bat because he has stressed that his pitchers, especially with a four-run lead, must attack the strike zone.

Freshman Evan Bell relieved him, and threw two more balls to walk Hockemeyer, a free pass charged to Coursen-Carr. Aces catcher Chris Pearson delivered a sacrifice fly to center field, and senior center fielder Justin Cureton’s throw came in to second base.

First baseman Kyle Pollock, the next hitter, hit a ground ball that bounced just over the left shoulder of junior third baseman Dustin DeMuth. Aces’ center fielder Kevin Kaczmarski scored, unearned, and the Aces cut their deficit in half as the 33-minute first inning drew to an end.

Freshman Brian Wilhite replaced DeMuth at third base in the bottom of the second inning. Tracy Smith said that DeMuth did not execute the certain style of play Smith expected.

“Dustin’s a great player, a good player,” Smith said. “We’re going to run him out there on Friday, but we’re too good to take plays off defensively, we’re too good to take plays off at the plate and we’re too good not to be focused on the mound.
“If guys don’t bring it every single day, they’ll find themselves on the bench. It’s that simple.”

Nevertheless, the Hoosiers’ Big Ten-leading offense carried them early. Sophomore first baseman Sam Travis’s two-run home run to left field in the top of the fourth gave IU an 8-2 lead. The Orland Park, Ill., native’s fifth home run also knocked in Cureton, who scored his third run of four on the night.

But it was almost insufficient, as the Purple Aces erased a six-run deficit with consecutive three-run efforts in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, they did it with two men retired. Designated hitter John Day ripped a grounder to Travis, and the ball ate him up, deflecting into foul territory. Bell went to cover first base, but Travis’s underhand toss flew softly behind Day.

A single and a hit-by-pitch, respectively, loaded the bases. A failed pickoff play by sophomore catcher Chad Clark brought home Day, as Clark’s throw to first caromed off left fielder Andy Lasher, sliding back to first. Runners standing on first and second at the time each advanced 90 feet. Leadoff hitter, third baseman David Patton, delivered a two-run single up the middle under the glove of senior shortstop Michael Basil, diving to his left.

Shortstop Shain Showers, who broke up a no-hitter two batters previously, scored, unearned, as did Lasher.

In the fifth, Pollock hit a two-run triple that had sophomore outfielder Chris Sujka turned around and unable to complete the catch. Day picked up his teammate against new IU relief pitcher, freshman Christian Morris, with an RBI single. Morris struck out Patton on a breaking ball to end the frame.

Sophomore relief pitcher Luke Harrison entered with two runners on base in the sixth, and stranded both. He recorded his third win, throwing a sterling two and one-third innings and allowing no runs on no hits or walks, striking out two.

“I think our problem early was we weren’t throwing strikes,” the Glenview, Ill., native said. “We just needed a guy that throws strikes, so I just went out there, threw strikes and let my defense help me out. They did help me out.”

In the eighth inning, Travis notched his fourth RBI of the night with a sharply hit grounder through the left side to give IU a 10-8 lead.

Junior relief pitcher Ryan Halstead entered the game with Hockemeyer on first. The Aces right fielder led off the inning against junior Joey DeNato with an infield hit.

Halstead came in relief and then walked Pearson, struck out Pollock and walked John Day to load the bases with one out. He struck out Showers and Lasher to end the game and notch his sixth save.

Harrison said the Hoosiers’ ability to win this game shows a lot about this team.
Smith said there are too many games in the season to not have lulls, but he said the biggest question he has is, suddenly, his team’s maturity.

“That was an inexcusable mental game today.”