Just six games into the season the Hoosiers find themselves in an unfamiliar situation. With one win, IU is off to its worst start since 2006 when the team finished 10 games below .500.
After being swept last weekend by Cal State Fullerton, IU will head to Florida to play in the Snowbird Classic during its final tune up before the home opener next week. The Hoosiers seek to snap their five-game losing skid facing Seton Hall in game Thursday.
“It’s been a tough few weekends, it’s never fun to start the season off 1-5 and I’ve never been there on the teams I’ve been on,” senior infielder Brian Wilhite said. “Nobody is really feeling great right now. We’ve just got to come in, play loose and find a way to get a few solid practices in before this weekend.”
With IU playing its first four game set of the season, IU Coach Chris Lemonis will keep his same starting rotation for the weekend, and junior right handed pitcher Luke Stephenson will get the start on the mound Thursday.
Stephenson is playing his first season of collegiate baseball after redshirting his freshman year at Vanderbilt before sitting out the following two seasons due to injury. With 2.1 innings under his belt, Stephenson has an ERA of 7.71 to start the season and is hoping to trim that number down after his start Thursday.
“Luke is a transfer kid who came in who’s got really good stuff,” Lemonis said. “He’ll have to matchup against a really good arm for Seton Hall and then we’ll lineup for the rest of the weekend.”
Seton Hall (3-5) will continue its Florida road trip. The Pirates started in Ft. Meyers, Florida, then played in Miami and will now play in Port Charlotte, Florida, to begin the season. The Pirate offense has been somewhat similar to the Hoosiers this year, failing to find their identity and averaging a little more than one run per game in losses but scoring over six runs a game in wins.
Sophomore outfielder Ryan Ramiz leads the Pirates in average, hits and on-base percentage but has been batting in the middle of the order not allowing Seton Hall to turn his singles into runs.
The Hoosiers will most likely face sophomore right-hander Shane McCarthy on Thursday, who has less-than-stellar numbers on the season. In two starts McCarthy carries a record of 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in just 9.1 innings pitched.
McCarthy may have one less offensive Hoosier weapon to face with sophomore outfielder Logan Sowers questionable to play Thursday with a wrist injury. Sowers left game two of the series against Fullerton after his second at-bat and has not played since. Lemonis said sophomore outfielder Laren Eustace will start in right field if Sowers isn’t ready to go come game time.
“We’re hoping to get him back this weekend at some point,” Lemonis said. “Knock on wood, I don’t think it’s too long of a time out.”
Despite the early season struggles for the Hoosiers, Lemonis said it’s not something to worry about. He compared his ball club’s slow start to the early season struggles of the IU men’s and women’s basketball programs. Both those teams are now projected to make the NCAA Tournament.
“I’d rather have won them all and build off that,” Lemonis said. “But the reality is that when a team has struggles and fight through it, they can really take off.”
