IU looks to add 8th-straight win

The IU baseball team will look to continue its seven-game winning streak when it faces off against Morehead State (16-16, 7-8) this weekend in a three-game series. IU is coming off a win against Indiana State on Wednesday, and back-to-back sweeps of Ohio State and Iowa.

Senior left-hander Joey DeNato will be the starting pitcher for the Hoosiers in the first game of the series on Friday.

He is 6-1 with a 2.49 ERA on the season, leading the team in strikeouts and innings pitched with 37 and 50.2, respectively.

It will mark his ninth start of the year.

“We’re going to stay with our same weekend rotation,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “I think we have a nice rhythm going right now, and I think that’s important.”

Sophomore right-hander Christian Morris is expected to start for IU in game two at 2:05 p.m. Saturday. He is 1-2 with a 2.27 ERA on the year. It will be his seventh start of the year and ninth appearance.

Game three will start at 1:05 p.m. Sunday. Sophomore Will Coursen-Carr is expected to start on the mound for the Hoosiers. He is 2-2 with a 3.03 ERA this season. It will be his 11th appearance and seventh start of the season.

“Morehead State is going to come in here and be ready to go,” Smith said. “They knocked off Kentucky. We are not taking them lightly. We’re going to treat it like a Big Ten weekend, because I think the stakes we’re playing for are too high.”

IU (19-10, 8-1) has seen their offense explode over the seven-game winning streak.
Junior first baseman Sam Travis is batting .383 with three home runs and 29 RBIs.

Junior catcher Kyle Schwarber is batting .333 with five home runs and 16 RBIs and senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth, who turned down an offer from the Minnesota Twins after being taken in the eighth round of the Major League Baseball draft last summer, is batting .384 with 4 home runs and 13 RBIs.

“(DeMuth) has been, to me, the most consistent player that we’ve had this year,” Smith said. “I have been so impressed by not just how he’s playing, but also his leadership and the stuff he’s bringing to the field. That dude is playing like a big leaguer right now. He’s had a great career here, but I’ve never said that about him before, and it’s a very high compliment to him that he has raised his game to another level.”

The series will be the second, third and fourth game during a nine-game home stand at Bart Kaufman Field.

Morehead State is led by junior outfielder Brandon Rawe, who is batting .426 with five home runs and 29 RBIs.

“Morehead State is a very good opponent,” IU redshirt freshman Thomas Belcher said. “They beat Kentucky pretty handily, and we aren’t going to underestimate them under any circumstance whatsoever. We just have to piece together hits and have to perform as a pitching staff.”