Not only are they preparing for their last regular season series, but it’s a series starting Thursday instead of the typical Friday start.
Not only do they no longer have to worry about balancing the stress and rigors of classes with baseball, they also have different living arrangements.
“The freshmen come out of their dorms, and they live with the older guys,” senior second baseman Casey Rodrigue said. “So you have like five or six guys living in one building at one time and it’s a lot of fun. It’s really when your team starts to develop some chemistry.”
Since the school year has ended, the freshmen can no longer live in the dorms.
But with the baseball season dragging on into the summer every year, freshmen need a place to live in the mean time.
So for as long as any Hoosier can remember, freshmen have been moving in with upperclassmen. Junior relief pitcher Scott Effross remembers sleeping on Joey DeNato’s couch as a freshman, but this year the Hoosiers are trying their best to keep players off couches and in beds.
“They bring their beds and whatnot, so it’s not like a big slumber party,” Rodrigue said.
This has also created some movement among the freshmen.
Freshman third baseman Isaiah Pasteur started the summer on Effross’ couch, but once a bed opened in Rodrigue’s house he moved there.
Rodrigue had trouble recalling exactly who was staying at his house. In addition to Pasteur, it’s freshman outfielders Christopher Lowe and Laren Eustace.
“I’ve got a lot of kids ... I’ve got to keep track of my children,” Rodrigue joked.
Once Rodrigue and all his children make it to Bart Kaufman Field Thursday, they must prepare to play Ohio State in a three-game series with implications for both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.
IU currently sits in seventh place in the Big Ten but could drop as low as ninth and rise as high as third in the conference standings.
“It’d be huge for us to sweep, obviously, but just to win the weekend in general would be big for an at-large bid with the weekends to come,” sophomore outfielder Craig Dedelow said. “It would also help us with the Big Ten Tournament coming up with seeding.”
Ohio State is currently in a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten with Maryland and Michigan State. But the Buckeyes have lost five of their last six conference games, all of which were at home.
Conversely, the Hoosiers have won five of their last six conference games.
“College baseball’s a game of momentum,” Effross said. “It’s not the pros where we’re playing five, six, seven days a week. We’ve got three games a weekend.”
IU will also be changing its starting rotation this weekend against the Buckeyes.
Senior Luke Harrison will start Thursday night, the first start for Harrison since his freshman season.
IU Coach Chris Lemonis said he doesn’t see a problem with Harrison starting this weekend, calling him one of the toughest players he’s ever coached.
“We’ve just struggled in starting pitching of late,” Lemonis said. “Just getting those quality starts, and Luke’s a guy we feel can do that for us.”
Lemonis said he is also starting Harrison because he understands the importance of this weekend, the importance of every game. He said he’s just trying to win the first game and figure out a plan for the next two games after that.
The Hoosiers aren’t concerned.
“When we play our game we’re one of the best teams in the country,” Dedelow said.
