Stepping onto the mound for the first inning was a little nerve-wracking for junior pitcher Kyle Hart.
The last time he was on this mound during a game, he tore the UCL in his left elbow, which required season-ending surgery to repair.
Now, a little less than a year from that day, Hart was preparing to face Eastern Michigan’s leadoff hitter.
“Just throw something over the plate,” Hart said about his first pitch. “I had no idea whether it was going be 74, 84. I didn’t know what the hell was going to be up there.”
The pitch was a fastball below the strike zone. He managed to get the first out of the inning but then allowed back-to-back singles put a runner in scoring position.
About 10 pitches into his first game and he had already put his surgically repaired elbow into a high-stress situation.
“It’s so much different than pitching in practice when we’re just throwing to hitters and there’s nothing on the line,” IU Coach Chris Lemonis said. “Having to go out there and compete is a little different, and we had a big crowd today, too.”
Hart got the next batter, the NCAA leader in home runs Mitchell McGeein, to fly out to center. Next up was Mike Mioduszewski, who homered in Tueday’s game. Hart got him to strike out swinging with a 3-2 changeup in the dirt.
Hart retired the side in order in the second inning before departing. He threw a total of 37 pitches, 25 for strikes, before adding another strikeout to end the second inning. His pitch count was around the limit Lemonis said he set for Hart before the game.
Lemonis said he was encouraged by Hart’s performance.
“I was really impressed,” Lemonis said. “I hadn’t seen him pre-surgery much, but shoot, he was 87-88, too. I think coming back off that youe breaking ball will get better over time, but just having the velocity there was great.”
Hart said he wasn’t paying attention to his fastball’s velocity. He said it was the least of his worries in his first start back.
He knew his fastball velocity wasn’t going to be where it was before his injury, Hart said. It’s natural. He was more concerned with his location and off-speed pitches.
“I think there’s still a lot of work to be done as far as velocity, breaking ball consistency,” Hart said. “But velocity was kind of on the bottom of the list of things to be worried about today.”
The only time he checks the velocity of his pitches is after an off-speed pitch gets hit hard.
There were a few of those instances today with his change-ups, a pitch Hart wasn’t happy with despite his first inning strikeout.
“I was throwing the change-up a little harder than I would have liked to today,” Hart said. “A couple of those base hits should have been swings and misses.”
Despite all this, Hart couldn’t help but leave the field after the second inning with a smile on his face.
Lemonis said for Hart’s next outing he expects his pitch limit to raise to somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 pitches.
He also said he has no interest in using Hart in the bullpen. Hart is a starter, and that’s where he’s going to pitch.
“We want to start him,” Lemonis said. “He may not get a decision in his first couple starts, but that way we can control things more.”
Lemonis said his expectations for Hart are tempered this season. He’s not expecting him to throw complete-game shutouts.
He just wants Hart to compete, just like he did Wednesday.
“I don’t think you’ll get any long starts out of him, but I think if we get five innings and 75 pitches, that’d be pretty good for us,” Lemonis said.
