Dropping two of the first three matchups was not what IU had in mind for its opening weekend against Middle Tennessee State.
Getting back into the feel of the game and taking what’s given to the Hoosiers is a main key IU Coach Chris Lemonis touched on regarding his club.
The Hoosiers plated 14 runs in the first game of the series but then faltered on day two, dropping both games of the double header in extra innings and scoring just six runs in the two games.
“We’re just inexperienced,” Lemonis said. “We did a really good job on Friday, it’s just how the game is played, and you get into one day where you play 21 innings, and it’s like a snowball, it just kept going. Hopefully it won’t be as big of a deal this upcoming weekend.”
While the Hoosiers start just one senior in the field, its offensive identity is still yet to be found, Lemonis said. Sophomore outfielder Logan Sowers and junior outfielder Craig Dedelow led the charge for the offense this weekend, combining for three home runs and seven RBIs.
IU struck out 29 times at the plate and also left a total of 36 runners on base in the three game series with quality scoring opportunities. Focusing on having quality at bats in key situations is one thing the Hoosiers can improve on from this past weekend, Sowers said.
“We left way too many runners on base,” Sowers said. “We had too many strikeouts. We need to do a better job of the inside game of just getting ground balls to the right side and scoring the runner from third base. It’s a huge part of the game.”
The Hoosier starting pitchers, with the exception of senior Kyle Hart, were outstanding until their final inning of work. Hart was the opposite as he started the game off by loading the bases but then retired his final 15 batters in a row.
Senior pitcher Evan Bell tossed four innings of shutout ball before getting roughed up in the fifth inning and replaced.
Senior pitcher Caleb Baragar held the Blue Raiders hitless for the first four innings of the game until he allowed a base runner in the fifth and ultimately replaced after 5.1 innings.
“I think if you ask every starter, they say ‘Maybe I had the one inning I could have improved on,’” Hart said. “I think Caleb would’ve liked to get six and Bell would’ve liked to get five. There’s just a few pitches in that game where each guy would’ve liked to get back, but it was a really good basis for us.”
The IU defense was solid for the most part with diving plays made by Dedelow in the outfield, junior second baseman Tony Butler and junior first baseman Austin Cangelosi. Three errors were made all series by the Hoosiers, but two were costly.
Both games that were lost in extra innings were because of Hoosier throwing errors to let Blue Raiders cross the plate in walk-off fashion. Lemonis said the IU practice was a little crisper Monday following the series defeat.
“We’re a better team than we showed last weekend, and we know that,” Dedelow said. “We’re going to prove it to ourselves and the rest of the nation this weekend.”
