IU’s path to a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance starts Friday in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, as IU opens play against Middle Tennessee State in its first series of the season.
IU faces the challenge of replacing nine seniors, including five everyday starters in the field, from last season. Junior outfielder Craig Dedelow returns as the top hitter from last season’s 35-win team, a season when he posted a .325 average with seven home runs and 37 RBIs.
Dedelow is joined in the outfield by sophomore Logan Sowers, who is poised for a breakout season, IU Coach Chris Lemonis said, after knocking out six home runs and driving in 36 runs last season.
“Our ball club, it’s a lot of new faces,” Lemonis said. “We have a good group back. Defensively I think we have a very talented group and an evolving and maturing offense.”
The strong suit for IU this season will be the veteran pitching rotation it brings. All three of IU’s starting pitchers are seniors. Seniors Kyle Hart, Evan Bell and Caleb Baragar are in the rotation to begin the season alongside a talented bullpen led by juniors Jake Kelzer and Thomas Belcher, who will be expected to shut the door late in games.
While the IU starting rotation has a combined 61 starts under its belt, the MTSU rotation is almost the polar opposite. The Lightning’s starting rotation consists of two senior transfers, who have each played one year with the club, and a redshirt sophomore who has pitched a third of an inning in his career.
Senior Nate Hoffman will be the Friday starter for the Blue Raiders to match up against Hart. MTSU was 11-2 in Hoffman’s 13 starts last season as he earned second-team all-conference honors by keeping his team in games with a 3.61 ERA.
Senior Tyler Troutt was a mainstay for the Blue Raiders in the rotation with Hoffman down the stretch after starting the season out in the bullpen. After moving into the starting rotation, he made 11 consecutive starts. Troutt, however, earned just one win last season while owning a 4.64 ERA. Redshirt sophomore Reid Clements will round out the starting rotation.
The biggest issue surrounding the IU rotation will be the catching situation between sophomore Demetrius Webb and freshman Ryan Fineman. Former starting catcher Brad Hartong started all but two games last season as Webb saw playing time in 13 games, mainly in relief. The new tandem behind the plate worked with the rotation the entire offseason to earn the trust of the veteran staff.
“I think it’s just a feel thing,” Hart said. “The next few weeks we’ll smooth things over because they just need to get game reps, as do we, but just as a unit the next few weeks will provide a lot of help.”
Offensively, the Blue Raiders lost five starters from last season, who combined to include 29 home runs in the 32-win season. Junior outfielder Brad Jarreau and junior first baseman Kevin Dupree, who finished second and third on the team in batting average last year, will be called upon to ignite the Blue Raider offense.
With IU looking to replace four of its top five hitters, some inexperienced Hoosiers will be placed in starting roles. These include sophomore shortstop Isaiah Pasteur, who hit five home runs in limited at-bats last season, and junior college transfers outfielder Alex Krupa and junior second baseman Tony Butler.
“We want to be able to play some small ball, but we have some of the better power hitters in the league and also some runners,” Lemonis said. “We’re ready to play. We’ve played Hoosiers for nine months, so we’re ready to play somebody else.”
