IU to face Buckeyes in Ohio

The last time IU and Ohio State played a weekend series, the Hoosiers were trying to accomplish a feat 81 years in the making.

In the final Big Ten series of the season last May, IU was in contention with three other schools — including Ohio State — for the Big Ten crown.

The Hoosiers took two of three game from the Buckeyes to capture their first outright Big Ten regular season championship since 1932.

“I think everybody understands what this series means,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said.
IU (12-10, 2-1) travels to Columbus, Ohio, for a rematch with Ohio State (16-7, 2-1) this weekend for a marquee three-game stint.

“Our guys are smart — they know how to turn on a computer and read the Internet, and they see that Ohio State is hot,” Smith said.

According to the coaches’ preseason predictions, both of these teams are expected to finish near the top of the conference. The Hoosiers were picked to win the Big Ten and Ohio State was predicted to finish third.

Coming into the year ranked No. 3 in the preseason Baseball America poll, IU has struggled and is no longer ranked.

“I tell the guys, you’ve seen the light, so it can’t get much worse,” Smith said.
Smith said he expected the offense to make up for any shortcomings the pitching and fielding would have coming into the season.

“It’s been totally reversed,” he said.

The Hoosier pitching staff has been one of the Big Ten’s best. They lead the Big Ten in team ERA by more than .3 runs a game. But the offense has struggled compared to last year.

Last season, IU led the Big Ten in batting average, on base percentage, slugging, hits, runs, doubles, home runs and total bases.

This year, the Hoosiers have seen a drop off of almost two runs per game. They averaged 6.6 runs per game last year, compared to 4.5 this year.

“We were one of the best offensive teams in the country and had guys coming back,” Smith said, pointing to a picture of preseason All-Americans Kyle Schwarber and Sam Travis hanging on his office wall. “You’d never think we would be struggling the way we are offensively.”

Meanwhile, 220 miles to the east, the Buckeyes are on a hot streak. Ohio State owns the best overall record in the conference and has won eight of their last nine games.

They’ve been led by their pitching staff, which has kept opponents at a .248 batting average — a Big Ten best.

Senior Joey DeNato, junior Kyle Hart — who’s won two straight Big Ten Pitcher of the Week awards — and sophomore Christian Morris are projected to start Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively for IU.

The three Buckeye pitchers they’ll face are a combined 9-1 this year.

“We’ve been pressing all year,” Smith said. “And look what pressing has got us. It’s got us inconsistency. So let’s just be who we are, and get back to that.”