He was 2-for-2 in his first home game and had just beaten a throw to first base for an infield single in the fourth inning. But then he heard his first base coach Shawn Roof.
“Roof was definitely yelling at me to get down the line,” Pasteur said. “Once I noticed it was a passed ball, though, I just went for it.”
By the time Pasteur realized the ball was up the right field line, the Eastern Michigan second baseman was positioning himself for a throw. But Pasteur took off toward second base anyway. He beat the throw, but only after sliding a few feet past second base along the wet turf at Bart Kaufman Field.
“We haven’t really played out here in the rain much,” Pasteur said. “I’ve been told to slide early and I thought I did but I just kept going through ?the bag.”
Pasteur finished the game 2-for-2 after adding a walk before senior Ricky Alfonso pinch hit for him in the seventh inning in IU’s 5-3 win Tuesday against Eastern Michigan.
Pasteur’s first hit was a two-out RBI double in IU’s two-run second inning.
“I really liked that first swing,” IU Coach Chris Lemonis said. “He stayed on that ball nice.”
The double was Pasteur’s first extra-base hit this season in his fourth start at third base. Entering the game he was hitting .231 with no extra base hits in 13 at bats. After Tuesday, Pasteur’s batting average is .333.
He had also drawn five walks entering Tuesday’s game and added one more to that total against Eastern Michigan.
Drawing walks typically allows a player of Pasteur’s speed extra opportunities to steal bases. But Pasteur has yet to steal a base this season.
“He just hasn’t been on base enough,” Lemonis said. “I think if he gets out there more you’ll see him stealing more bases.”
He might not have a steal, but he has still been dangerous on the bases. In IU’s second game of the season at Stanford, he advanced to third on an errant pickoff attempt ?to first.
This speed was also evident after Pasteur’s final plate appearance, a leadoff walk. IU’s next batter, senior second baseman Casey Rodrigue, hit a ground ball to first. But because of Pasteur’s speed going to second, the only out Eastern Michigan could record was at first.
Sophomore outfielder Craig Dedelow then hit a medium range fly ball to straight away center field. Pasteur was able to tag up and advance to third, this time starting his slide about 15-20 feet before the base.
While Pasteur was unable to score in the inning, his speed created problems for Eastern Michigan.
Considering the wet conditions, the likelihood of a ball sneaking by the catcher to the backstop increased. Eastern Michigan had five wild pitches and passed balls during ?the game.
The conditions also ?affected Pasteur defensively. In the third inning he fielded a ground ball at third base, but sent his throw to first ?caroming off Eastern Michigan’s dugout fence.
“I had an error out there because the ball was a little wet,” Pasteur said. “We still have to dig down and just make the routine plays. This is our home field and we have to know it better than anyone.”
The play was not as routine as Pasteur made it out to be. The runner was Eastern Michigan’s center fielder ?Austin Wilson, who has two steals this season. His sprint down the first baseline caused the error, which also allowed Wilson to reach second.
It was actually quite similar to Pasteur’s infield single in the second inning. Wilson put the ball in play, put pressure on the defense and capitalized on its mistake.
It’s what Pasteur said his mindset is every time he steps to the plate. “I just try and hit it, hustle down the line and hopefully get there before the ball gets there,” he said.
