Baseball beats Washington, loses twice in Arizona

IU had trouble getting off the field with two outs this past weekend.

“You get an out away, and it seems like every little mistake we make, teams are capitalizing,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said.

The struggles continued for the Hoosiers, going 1-2 in the PAC-12 Big Ten challenge to fall to 2-5 on the year.

“You’ve got to dig your way out,” Smith said. “And not panic and press. The more you press, the more difficult the results.”

On Friday, IU throttled Washington 8-2. Both the pitching and the defense were proficient. Senior pitcher Joey DeNato went six innings and gave up just one earned run. Junior catcher Kyle Schwarber went 4-for-5 with three RBI.

This year, the Hoosiers are 2-0 when DeNato starts and subsequently 0-5 when he doesn’t.

IU fell 5-4 Saturday during a 15-inning game against Utah that lasted more than four and a half hours.

The game was back and forth, featuring five lead changes. In the 13th inning, IU took a 4-3 lead and the Utes were down to their final out. But freshman Jake Kelzer couldn’t get the save, as Cory Hunt recorded an RBI single on the first pitch he saw to tie up the game.

In the 15th inning, it was again Hunt at the plate with two outs. And once again, Hunt came through with the RBI single, this time on a 1-and-1 count, to score the winning run.

“That was frustrating,” sophomore pitcher Will Coursen-Carr said of the loss. “We fought hard.”

Schwarber and junior first baseman Sam Travis finished the game a combined 2-for-13 in the game.

The next day against No. 2 Oregon State, the team that ended IU’s season last year in the College World Series, the Hoosiers were trailing just 2-1 in the seventh-inning stretch.

Once again, it was two-out woes for the cream and crimson. This time the damage happened in the bottom of the seventh.

After Coursen-Carr got two outs, he was pulled. He went 6.2 innings and struck out six. He gave up five runs but only two were earned.

“I would say a B-minus,” he said when asked to grade himself.

After Coursen-Carr came out, that’s when the wheels fell off.

With two outs, Oregon State managed to score six runs to put the game out of reach. All six runs were unearned also.

“Yeah it sucked,” Coursen-Carr said. “But that’s baseball.”

The Beavers 8-1 victory dropped IU to a 2-5 record this year.

Despite starting the season No. 3 in the preseason poll and opening the year 2-5, both Coursen-Carr and Smith said the team isn’t worried or anxious.

“It’s a proven offensive team,” Smith said. “They’re the same human beings that we’ve had in uniform for the last couple years. We know they’re going to hit.”

Follow reporter Evan Hoopfer on Twitter @EvanHoopfer.