In the third and final game of the Invitational against Xavier, Dedelow was playing left field and batting second.
During the three-game Invitational, Dedelow went?3-for-12, including a home run.
“I was seeing the ball a little bit better this weekend,” Dedelow said. “I was also just waiting to get my own pitch so I could hit the ball hard ?somewhere.”
This season Dedelow is batting .286 with two RBIs. He has also drawn a team high six walks, giving him the second highest on base percentage on the team with .444.
Last season, Dedelow hit .232 in 35 at bats without a home run.
His promotion to second in the batting order gives IU Coach Chris Lemonis something he said he didn’t have when senior Will Nolden was batting second.
“When (Casey) Rodrigue gets on, it’s nice to have a guy standing in the box that gives us a little bit better chance to run,” Lemonis said.
Not only is Lemonis talking about Dedelow’s bat control, which he praised, he’s also talking about his size and which side of the plate he bats from.
Dedelow is 6-foot-4 and bats left-handed, giving a subtle but important advantage to any base stealer on first base while he is at the plate.
All catchers are right-handed, meaning that their throwing hand is on the same side as a left-handed batter. Add in Dedelow’s height, and he serves as an obstacle for opposing ?catchers.
The short time it takes for the catcher to adjust to get the throw comfortably past Dedelow could be enough to allow a base stealer to reach second base safely.
Lemonis also praised Dedelow’s base running ability which, when coupled with his above-average speed, increases the number of possibilities IU has to score runs.
Sunday, Dedelow scored the winning run when he scored from first base after Xavier’s catcher threw the ball up the right field line.
Dedelow’s speed also gives IU an advantage on defense. At first base, his speed and range was somewhat neutralized. In the outfield, his abilities are highlighted.
Dedelow grew up playing in the outfield and only recently started playing first base, meaning that he is more comfortable playing in the outfield.
“I’m a little bit more comfortable (in the outfield) just because that’s what I’ve been playing my whole life,” ?he said.
During the First Pitch Invitational, IU made eight errors. Though only two were committed by outfielders, Lemonis said his team’s outfield defense needs to improve.
One area where IU struggled during the weekend was getting initial reads on fly balls. On multiple occasions, an IU outfielder either broke the wrong way after the ball was hit or took an elongated route to the ball.
While these types of mistakes don’t count as errors, they still gave IU’s opponents extra base runners and runs.
After Dedelow was moved to the outfield in the fifth inning of IU’s second game against Furman, he made two diving catches that prevented the winning or go-ahead run from scoring.
On both of these occasions, Dedelow took direct lines to to the ball.
Had he not gotten a good initial read and broke to where the ball was landing immediately after it was hit, IU would not have made it to extra innings against Furman on Saturday and might have lost Saturday against Xavier.
“We have to shore up our defense, so he might have to play out there a little bit more,” Lemonis said.
