Hart shines after demotion

All the students were looking at Kyle Hart when he walked into his chemistry class.

Hart stands out from most students because of his 6-foot-5-inch frame. But this time he was drawing attention for walking into his C117 test half an hour late.

“Everybody was just staring at me,” he said.

He was tardy because earlier that afternoon he was busy shutting down the No. 20 Kentucky Wildcats. Hart’s final line: 8 innings pitched, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned run, 8 strikeouts and 0 walks. IU won 7-2 in front of a sold-out, standing-room-only crowd at Bart Kaufman Field.

Hart said it was possibly the best he’s ever pitched at IU, but the test didn’t go as well.

“That test actually went terrible,” he said. “I still had a ton of adrenaline going, so yeah, that was definitely not my best score.”

The start against Kentucky was another peg in a historic month of March for Hart, where he has cemented himself as one of the Big Ten’s best pitchers. Before last week, Hart had won back-to-back Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors and became one of the best starting pitchers in the conference.

But his rise hasn’t come without adversity. Earlier this season, Hart started the year with two subpar outings and was subsequently demoted.

After Hart’s start Feb. 22 against Utah — the Hoosiers lost in 15 innings — IU Coach Tracy Smith told Hart he was being taken off the weekend rotation.

“You get what you deserve,” Smith said. “I know he’s a capable pitcher. But he was being tentative and a little unsure of himself.”

Hart had thrown just four innings against Utah and lacked his usual control. In the previous start against Texas Tech, he was smacked all over the yard by the Red Raiders. His final line against Texas Tech was: 3 innings pitched, 2 hits, 5 earned runs, 5 walks and 1 strikeout.

Smith added an ultimatum.

“It was a little bit of a kick in the head for Skip to say to me, ‘Hey man, if you want to keep pitching, you’ll get a couple more opportunities. But you need to step it up,’” Hart said.

Hart, who finished the 2013 season 8-2 with a 3.01 ERA and had the fourth-most wins in the Big Ten, was struggling. His ERA through two starts was 7.71.

He was now the midweek starter and had to prove himself before returning to the weekend rotation.

“I’m not trying to bash him or anything,” catcher Kyle Schwarber said. “But I think that gave him a good kick in the butt.”

Upset with his performance, Hart went to his pitching coach, Brandon Higelin, and asked, “What the hell do I need to do?”

This was new territory for Hart. He made almost every start last year as the Hoosiers’ No. 2 guy.

He was walking batters and not locating his pitches. Hart talked to Higelin, Smith and his roommate, pitching staff ace Joey DeNato, on how to get better.

He worked on keeping his weight back on the mound. It helps him keep his rhythm in sync and throw his pitches more consistently. Against Texas Tech in his first start, he was throwing the ball high in the zone. Against Utah in his second start, he was throwing the ball down in the zone.

Now that he’s found that balance he has been one of the best pitchers in the Big Ten.

“There’s nobody on this team that should doubt themselves,” Smith said. “Especially a guy like Kyle Hart. And I’m glad to see he’s thriving since those early starts. I would not hesitate to give him the ball against anyone, at any time.”

In March the Cincinnati native threw 28.1 innings while boasting a 0.96 ERA. He went 3-0 and also added a save in a rare relief effort against Jacksonville.

“It’s great to have him back,” Schwarber said. “It’s old him again.”

In his last start against Ohio State, Hart came out to pitch the fifth inning. But
after throwing a few warmup pitches he was surrounded by the coaching and training staff.

Hart came out of the game due to a forearm strain. Smith said after the game he didn’t want to comment on the status of his pitcher, and he’ll be evaluated in the coming days.

Hart said his dad, who is usually hard on him, has been texting him “good job” after several of his starts this month. But Hart isn’t
content.

“I still don’t feel like I’ve dominated yet,” Hart said. “I don’t mean to sound full of myself, but it needs to get better ... I’d like to get Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for 10 straight weeks.”