Underdog status still nothing new to Smith, Hoosiers

OMAHA, Neb. — IU Coach Tracy Smith has dealt with people doubting his team all year.

The Hoosiers surprised many at the beginning of the year when they took two of three games from Florida, an SEC team, in Gainesville, Fla.

Now they get another SEC team in their second College World Series game.

IU will play Mississippi State at 8 p.m. Monday in Omaha.

“SEC teams, the two traits I would say is they’re good and they’re very good,” Smith said.

Being ranked last, or near last, of the eight College World Series teams in several categories doesn’t really bother him.

Baseball America had IU as the worst defensive team of the eight remaining in college baseball, the second worst in starting pitching, the worst bullpen and the worst on experience and intangibles.

“I read all the stuff,” Smith said. “Everyone grades us out. We’re not supposed to be able to pitch it, our defense is terrible, blah blah blah blah blah. But we’re still here, and that’s kind of the way we’re going about it.”

But, IU’s total cumulative score from Baseball America, 56.4 on a scale from 20-80 with 50 being average, is the same as Mississippi State’s.

The Bulldogs are the one team graded lower than IU’s 50 in starting pitching, receiving a 40.

While Smith said he doesn’t read too much into those numbers, being ranked near the bottom in pitching is different.

He suddenly started to talk softer and more direct, looking reporters directly in the eyes when answering.

“I understand defensively, but the pitching thing kinda got me a little bit because these guys have pitched it pretty consistently, been in the top 10 all season,” Smith said. “So I don’t get it.”

Is it motivation?

“I hope so, ‘cause it motivates me,” he said.

Smith said he made sure that his pitchers saw the rankings so they were aware of how people felt about them.

“I look at some of the national breakdowns,” he said. “Yeah, I like to read that stuff just to see. And I saw that they had our pitching rated down below — how can you rate a pitching staff — when it all goes back to, ‘well, they play in the Big Ten.’”

The geographic location has biased some people against IU all year.

Going into the Bloomington regional, Smith talked about how he felt it was IU’s job to carry the torch for the northern schools.

They’ve taken that torch all the way to Omaha.

“I guess if you want to knock the northern (schools) you can,” sophomore designated hitter Scott Donley said. “But we’re out here. We’re going to prove ourselves.”

After defeating Louisville 2-0 Saturday behind a dominant, complete game shutout from junior pitcher Joey DeNato, it reiterated Smith’s point about the team’s pitching.

And for junior outfielder Casey Smith, it sent another message to the doubters.

“I think last night was the stamp on it like, ‘Hey, we’re here,’” he said Sunday. “We play so much better with a chip on our shoulder. We need those doubters.”

IU will once again be viewed as an underdog against Mississippi State after the Bulldogs knocked off the only national seed on IU’s side of the bracket, Oregon State, on Saturday afternoon.

“I don’t really think of it,” Donley said. “I just go out there and play. I treat every team like it’s the same whether it’s a northern team, southern team, west coast, east coast. I’m going to go out there and keep playing the game.”