DeNato takes wins crown, IU wins 2-of-3

As of this weekend, senior ace Joey Denato is the winningest pitcher in IU history.

DeNato notched his 31st career win with the Hoosiers’ 11-1 win Friday in a three-game series against the Morehead State Eagles.

“It feels good,” he said. “I know it wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for my teammates. Every single year that I’ve been here, we’ve had guys crushing the ball and the bullpen coming in behind me to shut it down.”

IU Coach Tracy Smith said DeNato is always a competitor.

“It’s a great thing,” Smith said. “I still go back to the day when I recruited that guy, and to sit here now almost four years later and think that he sits atop the record books at Indiana University is an awesome thing, and I’m very proud of him.

“There’s a lot of season left to go, so he’s going to make it hard on somebody to get him in the future, I can tell you that.”

After pounding the Eagles in the first two games of the series, the IU baseball team lost the third game of the series 8-7.

The loss stopped a nine-game winning streak for the Hoosiers, whose last loss came to Indiana State on March 26.

“I thought we struck some balls hard and right at guys,” Smith said. “They just didn’t fall today. I still thought we had nice at-bats, just didn’t get anything to show out of it.”
Sophomore Will Coursen-Carr started for IU but only went one inning after showing almost no control on the mound.

He was replaced by sophomore Evan Bell, who also showed little control of his pitches. He threw several wild pitches, one of which let in a run.

Coursen-Carr and Bell combined to give up five runs in the second inning.

Smith said he thinks Coursen-Carr is struggling mentally, and that the pitcher needs to get his confidence back in order to pitch well.

“When you aren’t aggressive and you’re not confident, it’s very visible, and it exposes a lot of things,” Smith said.

With sophomore starter Kyle Hart out indefinitely with a torn ulnar collateral ligament, the Hoosiers are still seeking a rotation that works for them after DeNato and sophomore Christian Morris.

Smith said he hoped Coursen-Carr would take the third weekend spot, and sophomore Sullivan Stradler could pitch the weekday game, but the coach said he isn’t sure what he will do moving forward.

Junior Luke Harrison kept the game close until the eighth, when the Eagles pushed across three more runs to make it 8-3.

The IU offense wasn’t able to get hits with runners in scoring position until the ninth, when junior designated hitter-outfielder Scott Donley hit a grand slam to bring IU within one.

“I talked to my brother,” Donley said. “He just told me a few things not to get negative and told me a few minor adjustments in my swing, and it’s been working out.”

Hoosiers’ junior first baseman Sam Travis was frustrated after Sunday’s loss, he said, especially because of Eagles’ starting pitcher Willie Sligh.

“He was just getting away with a lot of pitches,” Travis said. “He wasn’t making good pitches. We were putting good swings on it. He wasn’t very good. He got away with one.”

IU showed off its power in the series, hitting five home runs and 40 hits in the three games.

Travis smashed two home runs in the first game, including one that drilled the scoreboard in left field. Senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth, junior catcher Kyle Schwarber and Donley hit the others.

“Sometimes things just don’t go your way,” Travis said. “They’ve been going our way for what, 10 games now? We just can’t change anything, can’t put our heads down, and keep going.”

DeMuth is now hitting .404 on the year, leading the team, while Travis is hitting .370.

“Everyone’s enjoying being out in the field,” Schwarber said. “I can guarantee you that no one on this team says they’re not having the time of their life right now, because we are.”