IU Coach Chris Lemonis challenged his team Sunday after the Hoosiers’ 11-inning 6-6 tie at Florida Atlantic.
The third-year manager told his squad that it needs to play at a high level more consistently and that each player must do his job. He said the weekend’s results weren’t quite satisfying.
“To go down there and go 1-1-1, that last game left a sour taste in our mouth a little bit,” Lemonis said. “But I think they know that they can play with just about anybody.”
IU, 3-3-1, will hit the road again Wednesday to face 2-4 Cincinnati. Lemonis’ squad will be eager to move on from Sunday’s odd tie.
After gaining the lead in the top of the eighth inning for the first time all game Sunday, IU allowed two runs in the final two frames to send it to extra innings.
The teams were able to play two innings of free baseball until the travel curfew went into effect and ended the game in a tie. Lemonis said IU set the travel curfew earlier in the weekend, but was still shocked it was reached Sunday.
“That’s why I was so frustrated that we gave up the runs late because we knew we were on a short clock,” Lemonis said of the game that resulted in his first career tie.
Despite facing what Lemonis called some of the best pitchers in the country thus far, the Hoosiers have hit the most home runs through the first seven games of an IU season since 2001. Their team batting average, however, is currently a meager .243.
Senior outfielder Craig Dedelow has hit three home runs in 2017 but admitted he and other Hoosiers in the strongest part of the lineup, including junior outfielder Logan Sowers, need to improve starting with Wednesday’s game.
“The middle of our order isn’t clicking right now and once that gets going it’s going to be pretty scary,” Dedelow said. “We’re making strides every single day and personally, I feel a little bit better in batting practice and I know Logan is feeling the same way.”
Sophomore infielder Luke Miller got his first three starts of 2017 last weekend after recovering from an injury that limited him to the bench when the Hoosiers were in Arizona for their first games of the season.
“It feels a lot better, so I think it’s just staying where I am and getting better each day,” Miller said. “Just keeping the same approach, doing the same things I’ve been doing and just stay through the ball and hit the ball hard.”
IU used Miller’s versatility to its advantage last year, playing him at a number of different positions, but Lemonis will use the sophomore primarily at third base this season.
“It makes you feel more stable, knowing where you are going to play everyday, so you know what to expect, and I think that’s going to help me a little bit,” Miller said.
Lemonis announced that freshman Cal Krueger will start for the Hoosiers against the Bearcats on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
“We’re so young that we’re trying to see guys, we’re trying to get guys starts, we’re really trying to figure ourselves out a little bit,” Lemonis said. “I’m sure he’ll get some more starts as long as he pitches well, but we have some other guys that we’re trying to mix in there.”
