The national title hopes of the No. 4 national seed Hoosiers were over in one pitch when Stanford shortstop Tommy Edman hit a home run to give the Cardinal the series.
Then-sophomore Scott Effross threw the final pitch of the 2014 season and will throw the first pitch of the 2015 season Friday when the Hoosiers travel to Stanford.
Armed with a new coaching staff led by IU Coach Chris Lemonis, the Hoosiers are ready to go.
“We are ready,” Lemonis said. “The winter has been great in terms of the weather, we don’t have any snow on the ground, and we’ve been outside. I’m worried we’re almost over ready because we are so ready to play someone else.”
Though the loss to end last season still stings, players said they aren’t letting it get in the way of their normal preparation.
“We’re not really looking too much on the past,” Effross said. “It’s definitely in the back of our minds from the guys that were here, but this is a new team, a completely new coaching staff, so we’re really not focused on last year.”
Effross will be followed by junior Christian Morris on Saturday and sophomore Jake Kelzer on Sunday.
Effross split time last season as the team’s closer, filling in for IU’s all-time saves leader Ryan Halstead, who is back and healthy for his fifth year. Effross finished the year with a 1.98 ERA and said he was excited to move into the starting rotation.
Morris was the team’s No. 2 starter last season behind Joey DeNato and posted a 2.04 ERA with a 6-3 record.
Kelzer was drafted by the New York Yankees in June but decided to return to school, where he will make the move from the bullpen to the starting rotation.
Stanford will start sophomore Cal Quantrill, senior John Hochstatter and junior Logan James.
“They have a great pitching staff,” Lemonis said. “They’re known for their pitching, and that’s one of our biggest challenges in the first month of the season. We run into a couple really good pitching staffs.”
With the warmer-than-normal temperatures, and little-to-no snow, Lemonis has had his team practicing outside a lot. The milder winter is something the players have liked.
“I’m just excited to play baseball,” Effross said. “It’s great being able to come out here this early in the season. We’ve been really fortunate. Usually in the past we’ve been in Mellencamp, practicing. It’s great to be back out here with my best friends playing ball.”
The players aren’t the only ones ready to get the season under way.
“I’m real excited,” Lemonis said. “I’m ready to get there and play, there’s been a lot of preparation so just to get out there and get the team on the field and just relax and let the guys go. We work our tails off in practice, but once we get there, I want them to play free and as hard as they can.”
In his first game as IU coach, Lemonis is confident in handing the ball to Effross, who was an All-Star in the Cape Cod League this ?summer.
“I think that really helped him,” Lemonis said. “He was an All-Star, and when he got back here in the fall, the first run he gave up was in the last inning he pitched at the end of the fall. He’s very competitive, very athletic and doesn’t give up a lot of free stuff.”
The first game starts 6 p.m. Friday followed by matchups at 9 p.m Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. The first two games will be on the Pac-12 Network, and radio will be available for all three games.
Though the Hoosiers haven’t let Stanford get in their head, they certainly haven’t forgotten.
“It definitely serves as motivation,” senior outfielder Will Nolden said. “It’s one of those feelings that you don’t forget.”
