From the on-deck circle, sophomore designated hitter Scott Donley watched Penn State starter T.J. Jann throw four consecutive balls to Sam Travis. On the next pitch from the Nittany Lions' right hander, Travis, who battled back from an 0-2 count to earn his team-high 19th walk, watched Donley hit the first home run in the history of Bart Kaufman Field over the right field fence. Though Jann settled down after the first inning, that mistake cost him, and IU scored five runs in the final two frames to notch a 9-3 win Friday afternoon in front of 692 in the Big Ten conference opener for each team.
The Hoosiers claimed their ninth consecutive win, the longest such streak in IU Coach Tracy Smith's eight years at the helm. Smith said Monday that winning games in March helps the Hoosiers' goal of securing an at-large NCAA Tournament berth before the conference tournament begins.
Junior ace Joey DeNato silenced the Nittany Lions' bats, striking out a season-high 10 hitters in 7 1/3 innings of work. He surrendered one run on five hits, four of which were singles. Smith said the San Diego native, who had eight strikeouts through five innings, was sharp.
"He was throwing three pitches today over effectively, all off the same arm slot," Smith said. "Any time as a pitcher, when you're getting three pitches over, you're going to have a really good chance at being successful. I thought that was about as sharp as he's been all year doing that."
DeNato credited his success to getting ahead in the count early.
Jann, meanwhile, making his second career start, held the Hoosiers to two hits in the next three frames. In the fifth, sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber's sacrifice fly drove in his 25th run, and he moved back into the team lead, overtaking Donley.
The Hoosiers added two unearned runs in the seventh.
Despite the 6-1 score, Smith sent DeNato out to pitch the eighth. DeNato had no qualms.
"I want to pitch as long as I can," he said. "That's why I'm a starting pitcher. I want to give my team the best chance to win. I'm not thinking about the score."
Smith said wryly he had no idea that the nine-game winning streak is the longest in his eight seasons at the helm. He also said the novelty of celebrating milestones at Bart Kaufman Field is starting to wear thin.
"I'd like to get back to reality a little bit, which is just playing baseball," he said. "Let's settle in now. We've got one more dedication day, which we're thrilled about. I want the newness to wear off a little."
Donley notched the first hit, the first run and the first home run in Bart Kaufman Field history. He said after the game he still was not sure whether he hit the fastball or change-up for the round-tripper.
"He left a pitch on the inner half of the plate, and I was able to capitalize on that," Donley said. "I just go up there and try to play the same game no matter what. I just try to do whatever I can to try to give the team a win"
