IU Coach Tracy Smith said that before the season began that the role of midweek starter was one in which a metaphorical vacancy sign hung. He said Wednesday evening, after No. 24 IU's 6-2 win against No. 15 Louisville, that freshman southpaw Will Coursen-Carr has kind of settled in to the weekday starter's role.
"He's kind of settled in to that," Smith said. "It's good for him, when you can take a freshman -- a quality freshman like him -- and let him develop, and make some mistakes, be a little tentative in the fifth and learn lessons along the way.
"I would say it's been a plus."
The eighth-year head coach and his staff are also able to set a game plan for use of the bullpen. Halstead has returned to the closer's role, one in which he tied a school record for saves in a single season with nine.
Coursen-Carr, a Fort Wayne native and South Side graduate, was named the 2012 Indiana Player of the Year by Gatorade and the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association. He was also a 2012 Mr. Baseball honoree for the state of Indiana.
Defense
You know the (old) adage, defense wins championships. Well, the Hoosiers cutting their errors nearly in half -- from 50 through 22 games last season to 27 through as many contests in 2013 -- has helped the Hoosiers achieve something unprecedented, senior shortstop Michael Basil said.
"I've never heard of the Hoosiers having a run differential like that, especially at this point in the season," he said. "I think it speaks volumes to how much better our defense has gotten and how much more confidence it's putting in our pitchers."
Closing, and notching saves
Smith said in February at media day that he likes the swing-and-miss closer. Junior Ryan Halstead made 22 appearances, including four starts, and earned two saves in 2012, a year in which he was not completely healthy. Smith said he had Halstead to take batting practice last year because he could hit.
"He was hurt a lot last year," Smith said. "I think he pulled his lat. I don't think he was healthy last year."
This year, Halstead, the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., native, has four saves in nine appearances.
"He's different this year. His fastball's back to what it was a freshman. His breaking ball is much sharper now. He's been missing a lot of bats in our intrasquads this year. I feel very, very comfortable with him. He struts around (out there) and acts like he's in control. I think that's important, but his stuff is back to what it was."
Freshman Scott Effross isn't exactly ceding to his more experienced teammates. The Twinsburg, Ohio, native has two saves of his own and has logged the most innings pitched of all the Hoosiers' relief pitchers with 24.
Halstead said he's glad Effross has been able to pitch as well he has, that it is all about the team winning.
(For context: There's this Twitter conversation between Halstead and two other program alums about a couple records Halstead can set for himself. Hit Control+F and type in "saves" to this link. (The record they discussed on Twitter can be found on page 21.)
