IU Coach Tracy Smith called his team's 2o13 schedule "a beast."
"It's one of the best ones around."
Smith said that the Hoosiers' 18-21 non-conference record last season hurt them.
"One of the things that I was disappointed (about) last year was, I don't think there were 25, 30 teams in the country better than us at the end of the season, and we didn't get an at-large bid," Smith said. "I'm not saying it wasn't our fault - we didn't do what we needed to do early in the season. That's why Michigan State - who finished fifth and we beat twice in the Big Ten Tournament - got the at-large bid -- they played a strong schedule early and did a good job against it."
He strived to improve it for 2013.
"Our thought was, we scheduled strong hoping that we get some wins early in the season, have another good season in the Big Ten and not have to win the Big Ten Tournament to pursue an at-large bid if we trip up in the tournament."
Perhaps the most intriguing non-conference matchup in 2013 falls on the second weekend of March. The Hoosiers will be in Gainesville, Fla., to take on the Gators, a team that began and ended the 2012 regular season as the No. 1 team in the country. They spent the first seven weeks of the season in that slot.
Meanwhile, the Hoosiers lost junior second second baseman Micah Johnson and senior starting pitcher Chad Martin to the MLB Draft. Hunter Brown and Dillon Dooney are not on the official roster for 2012-13 either.
"We think we've got a pretty decent team this year," Smith said.
The Hoosiers open 2013 in Florida for the Big Ten/Big East Challenge.
"We're going to have our hands full that first weekend," Smith said. "We'll know right where we stand. But that's what we want to do. We want to play the best competition we can."
They'll make a return trip to the Sunshine State during the spring break road trip.
Ideally, the Hoosiers will premiere Bart Kaufman Field against the University of Miami RedHawks on March 20, 2013.
Despite Smith's connections at Miami, he said it was an "accident. I didn't even know until somebody told me. I wish I could give you a nice dramatic story," he joked.
Big Ten schedule
Penn State, Illinois, Northwestern and Michigan will be the first conference teams to, ideally, play at the Hoosiers' new home, Bart Kaufman Field.
The Hoosiers will play the following conference opponents on the road: Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska and Ohio State.
Perhaps the conference office is still getting accustomed to Nebraska's membership because, for the second consecutive season, the Hoosiers do not play Minnesota or Purdue.
Indiana did not play Purdue last season ... until the Big Ten Tournament. Smith isn't too concerned about the rivalry suffering.
"I look at every weekend as if it's a conference weekend," he said. "Whether it's Purdue, Minnesota or Illinois, I don't really focus on that. We had our chance to win baseball games against other Big Ten opponents and catch Purdue.
"I don't go too crazy with it. Yeah, we want to beat 'em, but we want to beat all the other teams in the Big Ten too."
Other schedule highlights.
The Hoosiers lost two games to the Louisville Cardinals last season by a combined score of 34-8.
"They've kind of had their way with us," Smith said. "That's something we want to certainly change. They're a very good program down there. That's kind of a measuring stick for us, because they're right here in our backyard."
The University of Kentucky Wildcats came to Sembower Field on May 8 as the No. 7 team in the country. They escaped with a 6-5 win in 12 innings, as the winning run scored via a two-out balk.
Smith said that game was a "disappointment."
"That's a game that could put you over the top as far as the at-large (bid)," he said. "I think they know they stole one here."
The Hoosiers are scheduled to play a game in Lexington on May 14, 2013.
RELATED:
Aspects of the schedule aren't completely finalized. Here is the link to the schedule.
Here is what Michigan St. Jake Boss, Jr. said about the news of Bart Kaufman Field.
The 2012 season wrap-up show of Skip's Scoop is here.
Rankings source is here.
