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(01/30/15 4:32pm)
If you plan to sign a lease in Bloomington, you should know a few things before putting pen to paper. The Indiana Daily Student and Randall Frykberg from IU’s Student Legal Services have some tips to consider and clauses to look out for during your search.
(10/05/14 2:32pm)
By Micah McVicker
(01/24/14 5:00am)
If you plan to sign a lease in Bloomington you should know a few things before putting pen to paper. The Indiana Daily Student and Randall Frykberg from IU’s Student Legal Services have some tips to consider and clauses to look out for during your search.
(10/11/13 6:15pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If you plan to sign a lease in Bloomington, you should know a few things before putting pen to paper. The Indiana Daily Student and Randall Frykberg from IU’s Student Legal Services have some tips to consider and clauses to look out for when searching for a place of residence.LegalityA lease is a legally-binding contract. Your landlord has a lawyer who writes the lease agreement. Before signing anything, bring it to the Student Legal Services office, 703 E. Seventh St., to find any red flags your landlord might have included.EntiretyBefore accepting keys from the landlord, take photos or videos of the entire house or apartment. If something is broken, report it. Don’t allow yourself to be charged for something you didn’t break. Sometimes, your leasing agent or landlord will do a walkthrough with you before you move in. Make sure to take notes of any damages so you and your landlord are on the same page.LengthMost leases in Bloomington are for 12 months, but some are open-ended. In those cases, both the tenant and landlord have the right to terminate the lease at any time. Look for leases that include an automatic-renewal clause, which automatically renews the lease unless tenants give written notice 30 to 60 days prior to the end date.AscertainabilityAlmost all leases in Bloomington contain a joint and several liability clause. Should one roommate be unable to pay his or her share, all roommates would be responsible. If the lease does not contain this clause, the landlord likely rents individual rooms and will often reserve the right to replace any person who has been evicted with a person of his or her choosing. Regardless, make sure your roommates can carry their weight.EvictionContingent upon your landlord, certain rules contained in the lease must be followed. Leave no room for ambiguity concerning those rules that list eviction as a consequence.Savings clauseThis clause makes tenants liable for rent after eviction. The tenant must pay monthly rent until the lease ends even though he or she can’t live in the residence.Acceleration clauseThis states that once a tenant breaches the lease terms, he or she immediately owes the rent for the remainder of the lease term. In this situation, the landlord is also legally obligated to re-rent the property as soon as possible so as not to lose profit on empty spaces.Attorney’s fee clauseThis clause is written into most leases and states that if a landlord hires a lawyer for any reason, brings a suit against the tenant and wins, the tenant is responsible for the landlord’s attorney fees.Lockout clauseThis allows a landlord to gain possession of a home without an eviction order. This is rare because lockouts are illegal under state law.Cosigner clauseThis requires a cosigner, typically a student’s parent or guardian, to share responsibility for the lease’s terms. Some landlords require this specifically for international students.
(05/03/13 3:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Fifty-nine miles away from the University of Nebraska’s Hawks Field at Haymarket Park is TD Ameritrade Park, the site of the 2013 College World Series. The No. 17 Hoosiers (34-8, 11-4), for their penultimate Big Ten road series, will be about an hour away from the location of item No. 2 on their list of preseason goals.Nebraska, at 20-23 overall, enters this series tied with the Hoosiers for second place in the Big Ten at 11-4. The Cornhuskers also pace the conference with a .982 fielding percentage. Senior shortstop Michael Basil said the Huskers’ good defense means the Hoosiers will have to be on their best game because Nebraska is not going to surrender many easy runs. IU Coach Tracy Smith said the health of sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber — whether he will catch or be the designated hitter — is a day-to-day process.“I might try to get a game back there, I’m not sure yet,” the Middletown, Ohio, native said. “I’m trying to get my knee back to where I can get down and block again. It feels good going down and squatting.” Whether Schwarber is a part of the battery or the designated hitter, the complexion of the lineup changes little.“I feel like we’re a really mature lineup,” Schwarber said. “You can go one through nine, and see that all of us are taking good at-bats. It hasn’t really changed since I’ve been the DH. We got a good thing going right now.”Final exams meant no midweek contests for the Hoosiers to gain or lose momentum: their eight-game winning streak is intact. Smith said it has probably been beneficial that his team has had to focus on academics.“Guys can get away from it a little bit,” he said. “We’ll get everyone regrouped again (Friday) before we head off to Nebraska. Sometimes I think it’s good where they can get away from it and get that hungry feeling back again.”That the Huskers lost three of four games last weekend at the TD Ameritrade Classic is not that big of a deal to IU because they are worried about themselves, Basil said.The Hoosiers stand .17 percentage points behind first-place Minnesota. That the Gophers’ series against Michigan State was cancelled two weeks ago is immaterial, Smith said.“I could care less about what everybody else is doing as long as we just worry about Indiana University is doing and taking care of business, we still can win the conference,” Smith said. “There’s nothing we can do to change it now. We’re just going to play our next opponent and focus on that.“If you’re taking care of business and trying to win every baseball game, and do what you’re supposed to in each individual baseball game, then that series hopefully takes care of itself,” the eighth-year IU head coach said. “I understand the ramifications if we don’t play well.”Basil said he anticipates the opportunity to play in that environment.“It’s a huge series, especially going to Nebraska,” he said. “They bring a lot of fans every year. It’s going to be exciting. I’ve always heard a lot of good things about playing there. It’s going to say a lot about both teams. It’s the biggest series in the Big Ten this weekend. It’s really huge for what we want to do this season.”
(04/29/13 2:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>No. 17 IU defeated Michigan (22-20, 8-7) in extra innings 3-2 Sunday at Bart Kaufman Field.Chris Sujka delivered an RBI single to left and Will Nolden, scored with a headfirst slide as the low, skipping throw from Wolverines’ left fielder Zack Zott pulled catcher Cole Martin to his left, away from the plate — the jubilation the Wolverines’ experienced a half-inning earlier dissipated.Though Zott fielded the ball before Nolden touched third, IU Coach Tracy Smith did not hesitate to send him home, and Sujka earned the first walk-off hit of his career.Sujka, who entered as a substitute left fielder to begin the 10th, got his opportunity when the Wolverines intentionally walked junior third baseman Dustin DeMuth, a left-handed hitter. Smith walked a couple steps toward the on-deck circle where Sujka stood and gave him some advice.Sujka said he knew Michigan would ask their right-handed relief pitcher to retire him with breaking balls, that they would throw them exclusively.“Skip told me that,” Sujka said. “The other coaches told me that, and I was just sitting on a breaking ball every single pitch. He hung one on that last pitch, and I was able to do something with it. It’s just extremely exciting for the team ... I was dying to get to the plate when I was sitting on deck.”Sujka recapped the ensuing celebration.“After I went up to (first base) coach Roger (Rodeheaver) and gave him a high five, I don’t remember much because I was getting pounded on my head, I was getting pushed around, and everybody was screaming. I was screaming ... In a Big Ten game like this, to get a sweep, I haven’t had anything like this in my life.”Nolden, standing on second due to a throwing error from a pick-off move, said he planned on Smith sending him home.“I knew there was only one out, I was pretty sure we were going to go ahead, so I was pretty much full speed all the way,” Nolden said. “I definitely thought there would be a closer play than there was, but I was just focusing on getting a good jump and pretty much knew he was going to send me. Once I hit third, I was just focusing in on the plate.”Nolden’s run gave the Hoosiers their first walk-off win this season as well. They also improved to 2-5 in one-run games.Sophomore designated hitter Kyle Schwarber’s 10th home run of the season evened the game a half-inning after Wolverines’ senior center fielder Patrick Biondi drove the first pitch he saw from junior relief pitcher Ryan Halstead in the top of the 10th over the right field fence. Halstead walked the next hitter he faced, shortstop Travis Maezes. A balk advanced him to second, but Halstead picked him off second base.Biondi scaled the wall in an attempt to bring back the ball hit by Schwarber, the leadoff hitter, but his effort was in vain. Schwarber, his teammates said, exhibited a rare overt emotional reaction.“It was unreal,” Schwarber said. “That’s the bad part: You just can’t tell whenever the ball is going to go out to center field. I was going to get as hyped as I could when I was going around the bases.” Sophomore first baseman Sam Travis flied out to center and Nolden came to the plate for the second time. He delivered his second single, this time into left field under the dive of Maezes.Aaron Slegers threw seven innings of one-run baseball, allowing five hits and only one for extra bases. He walked one and struck out three, thanks in part to a power slider he consistently threw at 83 or 84 miles per hour.Though the Hoosiers earned their fourth Big Ten Conference series sweep, this game couldn’t have varied any more from the first two games of this series.“It’s huge for us, especially after coming out and doing what we did the first two games,” Nolden said. “We knew today was going to be a tough one, and to be able to bounce back after what happened in the top of the 10th is huge for us, gives us a lot of momentum as we head to a tough series with Nebraska.”IU powered past Michigan on Friday and Saturday nights, winning 9-1 and 9-3, respectively.
(04/26/13 2:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A six-game respite from conference play proved timely for the No. 17 IU Hoosiers (31-8, 8-4) as the recess allowed IU Coach Tracy Smith to rest sophomore Kyle Schwarber from catching duties in advance of a series against Michigan. The Hoosiers’ penultimate series at Bart Kaufman Field features significant implications for the Hoosiers’ preseason goal of winning a regular season conference championship, their first since 1949. Bart Kaufman Field will be dedicated an hour prior to the first pitch, scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Friday. Saturday’s first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., and the series will conclude Sunday at 1:05 p.m.The Wolverines swept in-state rival Michigan State in early April, then they broke out the brooms again against Penn State, a series bookended by wins against Notre Dame. At 8-4, first-year head coach Erik Bakich has his Wolverines in a tie for third with IU in the Big Ten.Sophomore Chad Clark said it’s a huge series.“I think every game is big for us on a national standpoint,” Clark said. “Michigan, I know they’re going to come with their best. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing. “(Wednesday night) is definitely a little motivation for us to keep doing what we’re doing: Being smart on the bases, being smart on the mound.”Smith said Wednesday night he does not know if Schwarber will catch against the Wolverines. If Clark turns in performances like he did against Indiana State, the Hoosiers will not rush Schwarber back.“We’ll listen to him, see how he feels,” Smith said. “We’re not going to push it, especially if we can get performances behind the plate like that (Wednesday) by Chad (Clark). When he’s ready, we’ll put him in there, and probably not a minute before.”Senior shortstop Michael Basil said after the Hoosiers’ victory March 27 against Louisville that a lineup devoid of freshmen does not usually happen. There have been no issues with freshman infielder Nick Ramos filling in for Clark as Basil’s double-play partner, because Smith said Ramos and freshman infielder Brian Wilhite had really solid fall seasons.Meanwhile, Clark said he still takes ground balls at second base, the position he vacated to move behind the dish. He gave pointers to Ramos, who has started nine of the 11 games since Schwarber sustained a knee injury.“I think he’s doing a good job,” Clark said. “I feel like every freshman gets a little anxious and aggressive. I just tell him to slow the game down, just make it easier on himself.”During the break from conference play, the Hoosiers went 5-1 in their six games, including a 4-1 record against in-state foes. Smith said maybe such success provides some recruiting fodder. In contrast, he expressed certainty that his team is playing well at the right time, going into the weekend conference series.“This game is cruel. It’s unforgiving, and it’s unpredictable,” Smith said. “It doesn’t matter how you played the day before. If you’re not locked in and ready to play that day, it can turn on you in a dime.“I’m happy we’re playing good baseball. I’m happy that we had the bye weekend to get guys healthy, but it really doesn’t play into what we do on Friday. We’ve got to be ready to play Friday.”
(04/25/13 9:48pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A six-game respite from conference play proved timely for the No. 17 IU Hoosiers (31-8, 8-4) as the recess allowed IU Coach Tracy Smith to rest sophomore Kyle Schwarber from catching duties in advance of a series against Michigan. The Hoosiers’ penultimate series at Bart Kaufman Field features significant implications for the Hoosiers’ preseason goal of winning a regular season conference championship, their first since 1949. Bart Kaufman Field will be dedicated an hour prior to the first pitch, scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Friday. Saturday’s first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., and the series will conclude Sunday at 1:05 p.m.The Wolverines swept in-state rival Michigan State in early April, then they broke out the brooms again against Penn State, a series bookended by wins against Notre Dame. At 8-4, first-year head coach Erik Bakich has his Wolverines in a tie for third with IU in the Big Ten.Sophomore Chad Clark said it’s a huge series.“I think every game is big for us on a national standpoint,” Clark said. “Michigan, I know they’re going to come with their best. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing. We’re playing a lot better baseball, especially the last few games.“(Wednesday night) is definitely a little motivation for us to keep doing what we’re doing: Being smart on the bases, being smart on the mound.”Smith said Wednesday night he does not know if Schwarber will catch against the Wolverines. If Clark turns in performances like he did against Indiana State, the Hoosiers will not rush Schwarber back.“We’ll listen to him, see how he feels,” Smith said. “We’re not going to push it, especially if we can get performances behind the plate like that (Wednesday) by Chad (Clark). When he’s ready, we’ll put him in there, and probably not a minute before.”Senior shortstop Michael Basil said after the Hoosiers’ victory March 27 against Louisville that a lineup devoid of freshmen does not happen very often. There have been no issues with freshman infielder Nick Ramos filling in for Clark as Basil’s double play partner because Smith said that Ramos and freshman infielder Brian Wilhite had really solid fall seasons.Meanwhile, Clark said he still takes ground balls at second base, the position he vacated to move behind the dish. He gives pointers to Ramos, who has started nine of the 11 games since Schwarber sustained a knee injury.“I think he’s doing a good job,” Clark said. “I feel like every freshman gets a little anxious and aggressive. I just tell him to slow the game down, just make it easier on himself.”During the break from conference play, the Hoosiers went 5-1 in their six games, including a 4-1 record against in-state foes. Smith said maybe such success provides some recruiting fodder. In contrast, he expressed certainty that his team is playing well at the right time, going into the weekend conference series.“This game is cruel. It’s unforgiving, and it’s unpredictable,” Smith said. “It doesn’t matter how you played the day before. If you’re not locked in and ready to play that day, it can turn on you in a dime.“I’m happy we’re playing good baseball. I’m happy that we had the bye weekend to get guys healthy, but it really doesn’t play into what we do on Friday. We’ve got to be ready to play Friday.”
(04/17/13 4:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The two Big Ten teams that have not lost back-to-back conference games sit atop the conference, as Minnesota and Michigan share the top spot. Michigan State’s sweep of the No. 19 IU Hoosiers caused IU Coach Tracy Smith’s team to fall out of the conference lead for the first time this season.The Hoosiers fell six spots in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll. They were also the last Big Ten team to lose two consecutive games this season.Junior third baseman Dustin DeMuth said Sunday that it’s huge to be tied for third with Nebraska.“We definitely set that as a goal, winning the conference outright,” he said. “We’re a game back, so we got a lot of work to do. Nebraska’s a good team. We just gotta play our game, and we’ll get back on track.”The Hoosiers have not won the conference since 1949.Wednesday’s contest against in-state foe Ball State at 3 p.m. in Bloomington is the first of six games against non-conference foes. With a win against IU, at 15-17, the Cardinals have a chance to near .500.Senior shortstop Michael Basil said Sunday that the Hoosiers cannot allow the results from their weekend in Michigan to carry on to the rest of the season. BSU provides that first test.“We’ve played like an average team ever since our Illinois loss — or, below average,” he said. “We definitely have not played up to our capabilities. We need to get back to playing good baseball.”Though the Hoosiers are in the midst of their longest losing streak, each loss came by one run in walk-off fashion. The Hoosiers’ seven losses are by a combined 12 runs. IU is losing by 1.17 runs per game, not including the 12-7 loss at Georgia Southern on Feb. 22. They’ve lost five games by one run, and three of those came during bonus baseball.The Hoosiers did not execute defensively over the weekend, Smith said.“Therefore, you put yourself in position to get walk-off losses,” he said. “To me, that’s what comes out of this weekend ... It’s our poor execution in stuff we practice every day, that if you’re playing a tight ball game, it’s probably going to catch up with you.”Smith said he’s been around baseball long enough to know his team won’t hit .320 every weekend. On the inevitable weekends where they struggle a little offensively, catching and throwing the baseball remains within their control.“That’s where my concern is right now,” he said.Freshman right-hander Christian Morris is scheduled to make his first career start, and sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber is slated to be the designated hitter against Ball State.DeMuth said Sunday that the Hoosiers cannot wait until the last innings to score runs and start playing hard.“We just need to execute in the early innings,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of base running mistakes, made a couple errors on bunts and just didn’t make the plays we normally do. We just need to get back to playing Indiana baseball.”
(04/15/13 2:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Spartans mobbed first baseman Ryan Krill halfway between first and second base. The pile extended into foul ground in shallow right field as Michigan State celebrated his game-winning single. A single that fell just in front of diving left fielder Chris Sujka. For the third consecutive game, the Spartans won in walk-off fashion, this time a 6-5 triumph Sunday afternoon at Kobs Field at McLane Baseball Stadium.They swept the series against the No. 13 Hoosiers (26-7, 8-4), the first sweep since Illinois dispatched them three times in 2011 to end the Hoosiers’ season.“It’s tough, especially when you’re one pitch away, really, from winning in the ninth,” MSU Coach Jake Boss, Jr., said. “They string a couple good at-bats together, and we get out of a jam. Then we show some character in coming back. ... (I’m) just really proud of these guys, the effort that they showed all weekend was just tremendous against an outstanding ball club.”Senior shortstop Michael Basil drew the Hoosiers even in the top of the ninth. With two men retired, sophomore first baseman Sam Travis and sophomore designated hitter Scott Donley hit successive singles. Basil, the next hitter, fouled off two pitches to fall behind 1-2. Spartans relief pitcher Anthony Misiewicz threw two consecutive pitches outside the zone, and Basil laid off to run the count full. He fouled off one pitch, and the Cincinnati, Ohio, native stroked the seventh pitch of the bat, a fastball, into right field. Jimmy Pickens dove, but too late, as pinch runner Trace Knoblauch scored from first.Basil said he knew off the bat Pickens wouldn’t make the play.“When I hit it, I thought it was down,” he said. “He ended up getting closer than I originally thought.”Errors and an inability to produce with runners in scoring position caused IU to fall behind early. They finished 2-for-9 in such situations.The Hoosiers struck first in the second inning, as freshman second baseman Nick Ramos notched his eighth RBI on a sacrifice fly to left.In the third, sophomore Chad Clark fielded Ryan Richardson’s sacrifice bunt attempt. His low throw bounced in front of Travis and to his left, and the three-base error plated the Spartans’ first run. An RBI groundout by Anthony Cheky scored Richardson.“It’s not a tough play,” Smith said. “(Clark) really didn’t execute.”MSU starter Mick VanVossen held the Hoosiers at bay, surrendering three runs — all earned, but two in the top of the eighth — because his pitches featured a lot of movement and kept the Hoosiers off balance, junior third baseman Dustin DeMuth said.IU Coach Tracy Smith said a loss is a loss, but things get magnified in walk-off losses.In the bottom of the ninth, Basil dove to his right trying to keep Richardson’s ball in the infield, and the deflection off his glove allowed the Spartans’ shortstop a double. Junior relief pitcher Ryan Halstead walked Cheky intentionally. He struck out catcher Joel Fisher. He hit Pickens with an 0-2 offering to load the bases. Halstead struck out designated hitter Blaise Salter to draw the Hoosiers within an out from forcing extras for the third time in as many contests. Instead, Krill deposited a 2-1 pitch into left field and sent Halstead to his second loss in two days.Basil said it was good the Hoosiers could rally, but it’s bad that they’re falling behind early.“If you’re coming back, that means that you did something wrong earlier,” he said. “(It’s) kind an emotional roller coaster, but ... we can’t let games get away early.”
(04/12/13 3:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Living a dream sometimes involves abrupt descents from cloud nine for Jamie Smith. She’s IU Coach Tracy Smith’s wife, and her eldest son Casey wears No. 20 and plays right field for the No. 13-ranked IU baseball team. The relationship dynamic between father and son cannot always fly above the turbulence, and Jamie said she has to play referee “completely” because there is no disconnect available for these two family members.“I get phone calls — and it’s happened several times — where he says ‘Please be my mom and not the coach’s wife,’” she said. “My husband and I tell each other everything, and so I usually know what Casey is complaining about before he calls me.”Casey’s relationship with his father and his college choice were not inextricably linked. At Bloomington North High School, Casey Smith pitched, played shortstop and contributed to three consecutive sectional title-winning teams before graduating early. Casey did not decide to attend IU without a recruiting process. Casey said he was looking for things perhaps his father’s program couldn’t offer.“My other school was West Point,” Casey said. “I verbally committed there. I was going there. I thought they offered something my dad couldn’t. Other schools recruited me, but I think they kind of backed off a little bit because I wanted to play for my dad. I’ve grown up watching him, and I finally got to put on the uniform. It was something so special I can’t even explain.”The dynamic that came to fruition, Tracy stressed, was not an easy one. Casey does not have a luxury his teammates enjoy. He cannot pick up the phone, call his dad and complain about the coach.Though there will be strains on the relationship, Tracy said he feels fortunate his son is good enough to play at this level and that he doesn’t miss watching his eldest play.Tracy said his son brings more of a threat of power to the lineup. He is a switch-hitter, a quality that inherently tilts the matchup in favor of IU. Before he entered the game in the eighth inning in the second game of the doubleheader against Penn State, he started 10 consecutive games, the last five contests from the seventh spot in the batting order. He hit .313 with three extra-base hits and eight RBI.But he has not enjoyed such success from the moment he walked through the program’s door.As a freshman, Casey pitched for IU. In 18 appearances — three starts — he posted a 13.67 earned run average in 26 1/3 innings.As a sophomore, he was a two-way player. At the plate, he hit .196 in 46 at-bats over 17 games, starting nine. On the bump, his ERA fell to 4.50 in 14 relief appearances spanning 20 innings. He earned his first — and only — career win against Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Feb. 25, 2011.He redshirted the 2012 baseball season due to a foot injury.“Baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical,” Yogi Berra once said. Junior outfielder Casey Smith’s participation in track and field last year — he threw the javelin — prepared him for a return to baseball. He said Derek Drouin took him under his wing a little bit. Drouin, a Canadian and IU high jumper, won a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics.“Track and field, especially what I was doing, is so mental,” Casey said. “The mental preparation for track and field kind of prepared me coming back to baseball. You can’t perform at the highest level in track and field unless you’re mentally at the highest level.“I think that’s translated onto the baseball field.”Tracy agreed, saying his son has been much more relaxed this year. To earn playing time, however, Casey has had to compete with sophomore outfielders Chris Sujka, Will Nolden and Tim O’Conner, all of whom gained significant experience in the corner outfield spots last season. Meanwhile, Casey posted a couple runner-up finishes and a season-best 168’11”.He offered praise for his three outfield mates. He said he’s a bit of a different hitter because he can provide more power.Tracy Smith said such a decision is susceptible to remarks about nepotism. The eighth-year coach is aware of such possibilities. Casey, though, said the players are great. Guys understand why Tracy is probably a little harder on his son than he is on anyone else.Casey can decipher to his teammates what Tracy intends to say.“The first two years were rough,” Casey said. “But now it’s great.”During the top of the first inning against Louisville, Casey, ranging back and to his left, attempted to catch the ball hit by Cardinals’ third baseman Ty Young. He collided with the wall. He was tended to on the warning track for a couple moments, attempted to walk it off and ultimately remained in the game. Sujka replaced Smith, and Nolden moved from left field to right. After the game, Tracy said his son suffered a “pretty good hip pointer.”Casey did not play against Iowa or at Xavier. After the game in Cincinnati, Tracy joked that Casey would return to the lineup against Illinois if his mother let him.Casey started each game against the Illini and batted seventh. He said his diving attempt against Louisville was indicative of the team’s and his personal mindset.“I’ve been hurt so many times, it’s almost a joke,” he said. “I would be a guy that would dive into a fence. I just play like that. I don’t think much about it. I just go as hard as I can.”He added it’s the team’s attitude because they don’t want any opponent to score.Sometimes it’s hard for Jamie to win, caught between the dichotomy of familial interaction. But her kin raised her in a way that has helped prepare her — somewhat — for such situations. She was raised by a college athletics director and a college basketball coach. Her brother played college basketball.“I’m around athletics my whole life and know a lot about how to just let him vent and not really get involved,” she said. “But it hasn’t been easy.”Ty Smith, their second son, is a freshman on the football team. Jamie Smith said it was a thrill for two of her boys to be a part of IU teams.“From a selfish standpoint, I had to do a lot of their sporting events by myself because Tracy has been so involved,” she said. “He comes as often as he can. The fact that his (eldest) son is with him, I feel no guilt when I’m going to do things with the other two because I know for once that he has got Casey covered. That works really well.“To have two of them here is just a dream because we’re so in love with IU. It’s truly my favorite university. I’ve been around a lot of them through the life I led growing up. We didn’t want to guide them this direction, but when they chose it, I completely see why.”Casey selected an unenviable position, Tracy said.“You’re never going to win,” he said. “If you’re playing, people think it’s because your dad is the coach. My philosophy has always been that he (Casey) has to be outperforming dudes at a significant enough level. If it’s close, I’m generally going to err on somebody else.“I’m probably coach 24/7 with him and that’s a tough, tough thing to do.”
(04/12/13 3:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>To expedite the departure of a routine that plagued his team the last couple of games, IU Coach Tracy Smith’s No. 13 IU baseball team (26-4, 8-1) practiced under the lights of Bart Kaufman Field on Wednesday to prepare for what Smith dubbed a very important weekend series for the Hoosiers. The team will square off with Michigan State (18-11, 2-4) at 3:05 p.m. Friday and 1:05 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.“I thought it was time to do something different because we came on the heels of not playing our best baseball on Sunday in the loss,” Smith said. “We followed it up with our worst game of the season. We were very fortunate to get the win.”Sitting atop the Big Ten, the Hoosiers have had to adjust to having a target on their backs. Senior center fielder Justin Cureton said the adjustment has been one he and his teammates relish.“We’ve just got to play our game and we’ll be fine,” Cureton said. “Our game plan hasn’t changed throughout the years. We do get everyone’s best, and it just makes it more fun when we beat them.”Senior outfielder Trace Knoblauch said that though the 18-game winning streak ended Sunday, there was hardly any talk of the streak while it lasted and they never really bought into it.Smith said perhaps he didn’t give the streak the credit it deserved.“I almost wish we were still in the middle of it because ever since the 18-game winning streak ended, it’s like we’ve done this emotional letdown,” the eighth-year coach said. “We need to get back on track with our attention and our focus to detail and being smart.”IU has not played Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., since 2010. Michigan swept MSU last weekend, and therefore Cureton believes they’ll come out hungry against IU.“When you drop three in the Big Ten, it’s really hard to get back from that,” Cureton said. “Michigan State’s a very good team. We can’t sleep on them.”Sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber will be a game-time decision due to a sprained PCL, a knee injury he suffered April 6 against Illinois. Knoblauch said the leadership dynamic will remain the same as it has been all season.“One of our biggest advantages is that we’re really deep,” Knoblauch said. “It’s definitely a disappointment to lose Kyle because he’s a great player, one of the best in the country. We know that we can handle it because we have the guys who can back him up, let him get healthy and not have to rush back.”The Spartans’ home — McLane Baseball Stadium at Kobs Field — features a mild incline in center and right fields as one approaches the warning track.Smith said he is “half-serious” about coaching his pitchers to make pitches that prohibit balls from flying out that way.Cureton will be playing his first game in East Lansing as a Hoosier. He said the key to navigating the outfield will be to take many repetitions in batting practice.If the Hoosiers can regain their form, Knoblauch said he is confident.“We know that if we’re playing our best baseball that it’s very hard to beat us,” Knoblauch said. “We want to be playing good baseball, keep winning games and get some national respect that we deserve.”
(04/10/13 4:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>EVANSVILLE — Sitting on a fastball, junior right fielder Casey Smith got a pitch up and in, and his home run to right field in the top of the seventh inning provided the game-winning run a little over two-and-a-half hours into a three-and-a-half-hour contest. No. 13 IU (26-4, 8-1) narrowly evaded Evansville’s upset bid, prevailing 10-8 Tuesday night at Charles H. Braun Stadium.Inefficient pitching and a season-high-matching three errors nearly enabled Evansville — a team with as many home runs as injured sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber — to send IU to its second consecutive loss, something that has not happened all season.IU Coach Tracy Smith said he is happy to escape with a win, one that came with caveats.“We’re really disappointed in our lack of concentration, the number of mental mistakes (and) the poor execution on the mound,” he said. “We’ve got to straighten out how we’re playing. That’s some of the worst baseball we’ve played all season.”After taking an early 4-0 lead after the top half of the first inning, freshman starting pitcher Will Coursen-Carr labored through the shortest start of his young career, one-third of an inning. The Fort Wayne native fell behind 2-0 against right fielder Jason Hockemeyer, the Aces’ four-hole hitter, and Smith brought the hook mid at-bat because he has stressed that his pitchers, especially with a four-run lead, must attack the strike zone.Freshman Evan Bell relieved him, and threw two more balls to walk Hockemeyer, a free pass charged to Coursen-Carr. Aces catcher Chris Pearson delivered a sacrifice fly to center field, and senior center fielder Justin Cureton’s throw came in to second base.First baseman Kyle Pollock, the next hitter, hit a ground ball that bounced just over the left shoulder of junior third baseman Dustin DeMuth. Aces’ center fielder Kevin Kaczmarski scored, unearned, and the Aces cut their deficit in half as the 33-minute first inning drew to an end.Freshman Brian Wilhite replaced DeMuth at third base in the bottom of the second inning. Tracy Smith said that DeMuth did not execute the certain style of play Smith expected.“Dustin’s a great player, a good player,” Smith said. “We’re going to run him out there on Friday, but we’re too good to take plays off defensively, we’re too good to take plays off at the plate and we’re too good not to be focused on the mound.“If guys don’t bring it every single day, they’ll find themselves on the bench. It’s that simple.”Nevertheless, the Hoosiers’ Big Ten-leading offense carried them early. Sophomore first baseman Sam Travis’s two-run home run to left field in the top of the fourth gave IU an 8-2 lead. The Orland Park, Ill., native’s fifth home run also knocked in Cureton, who scored his third run of four on the night.But it was almost insufficient, as the Purple Aces erased a six-run deficit with consecutive three-run efforts in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, they did it with two men retired. Designated hitter John Day ripped a grounder to Travis, and the ball ate him up, deflecting into foul territory. Bell went to cover first base, but Travis’s underhand toss flew softly behind Day. A single and a hit-by-pitch, respectively, loaded the bases. A failed pickoff play by sophomore catcher Chad Clark brought home Day, as Clark’s throw to first caromed off left fielder Andy Lasher, sliding back to first. Runners standing on first and second at the time each advanced 90 feet. Leadoff hitter, third baseman David Patton, delivered a two-run single up the middle under the glove of senior shortstop Michael Basil, diving to his left.Shortstop Shain Showers, who broke up a no-hitter two batters previously, scored, unearned, as did Lasher.In the fifth, Pollock hit a two-run triple that had sophomore outfielder Chris Sujka turned around and unable to complete the catch. Day picked up his teammate against new IU relief pitcher, freshman Christian Morris, with an RBI single. Morris struck out Patton on a breaking ball to end the frame.Sophomore relief pitcher Luke Harrison entered with two runners on base in the sixth, and stranded both. He recorded his third win, throwing a sterling two and one-third innings and allowing no runs on no hits or walks, striking out two.“I think our problem early was we weren’t throwing strikes,” the Glenview, Ill., native said. “We just needed a guy that throws strikes, so I just went out there, threw strikes and let my defense help me out. They did help me out.”In the eighth inning, Travis notched his fourth RBI of the night with a sharply hit grounder through the left side to give IU a 10-8 lead.Junior relief pitcher Ryan Halstead entered the game with Hockemeyer on first. The Aces right fielder led off the inning against junior Joey DeNato with an infield hit. Halstead came in relief and then walked Pearson, struck out Pollock and walked John Day to load the bases with one out. He struck out Showers and Lasher to end the game and notch his sixth save.Harrison said the Hoosiers’ ability to win this game shows a lot about this team.Smith said there are too many games in the season to not have lulls, but he said the biggest question he has is, suddenly, his team’s maturity.“That was an inexcusable mental game today.”
(04/05/13 4:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With a win Friday night — the first home night game in program history — the No. 17 IU baseball team (23-3, 6-0) could match the nation’s longest winning streak of the season of 17 games set by Mississippi State to begin the season. IU’s opponent, Illinois, is seventh in the conference but has the second-best overall record at 18-7. The Hoosiers could claim the longest streak with a win at 2:05 p.m. Saturday. The series concludes at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.The Illini rank second behind IU in six major offensive categories, including on-base percentage, entering this weekend’s series at Bart Kaufman Field. The Illini’s OBP of .382 marks an improvement from previous IU opponents Iowa and Penn State, as the Hawkeyes sit sixth with a .352 rate and the Nittany Lions rank 10th, reaching base at a collective .316 clip.The Illini also have a proclivity to pilfer bases. They stole eight bases on ten attempts against sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber in their series last year, including seven-of-eight in the series finale. Schwarber said that is definitely a reason he worked on that aspect of his position before practice Tuesday.“I haven’t been as sharp as I have been throwing the baseball,” he said. “I’m trying to put in a little bit of extra work and definitely getting it down because they’re a big running team.”This season, Illini base runners have successfully stolen a base on 86.6 percent of their attempts (58-67). Sophomore David Kerian is an unblemished 12-of-12 in stolen base attempts and senior Justin Parr is not far behind at 11-of-12.“They’re going to be very similar to what they were last year, putting pressure on us,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “That’s why we feel good with the two left-handers we have in our starting rotation. They do a really good job of controlling the running game. It will again be our ability to get that first out of the inning, get that leadoff guy.”The Illini are a more athletic side than the first two conference foes, Smith said.Illinois has the second-highest batting average in the Big Ten, as Illini hitters average .300. The Hoosiers lead the conference with a .324 average. Their first two conference opponents, Iowa and Penn State, are batting .258 and .244, respectively. Only Purdue is worse, at .236.The Illini are second to IU in slugging percentage, runs scored, hits and RBI, too. Junior relief pitcher Walker Stadler said the team had played some very good competition before this series and posted good results.“I have confidence in our whole staff,” he said. “We’re not going to take anything from Penn State and Iowa because who knows what they can do down the stretch.”Meanwhile, Illinois defeated Missouri 6-2 Tuesday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis to end the Tigers’ six-game winning streak against the Illini. The result notched Illinois’ first win against Missouri since 1988.That will play a nonexistent role in this series because it’s still the same game, Schwarber said. Smith said he thinks junior outfielder Casey Smith, who suffered a hip pointer attempting a diving catch in the first inning against Louisville, will be back this weekend.Smith and Schwarber mirrored each other’s thoughts about the need to control the Illini on the base paths.“I’m really looking forward to this weekend to see if the work paid off,” Schwarber said.
(04/04/13 4:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The No. 17 Hoosiers (23-3, 6-0) dispatched the Xavier Musketeers 9-5 Wednesday afternoon at Hayden Field in Cincinnati, as the victory pushed IU’s school-record winning streak to 16 games.It also kept IU’s unblemished record in weekday games intact, moving to 8-0 so far this season.Sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber said that winning midweek games helps improve the team’s RPI, a computerized ranking system used to help determine whether a team is worthy of making the NCAA Tournament.“It’s something that we need to take care of and I felt that we didn’t take care of last year,” he said. “This team’s just got a whole new demeanor about themselves from last year. It’s given us momentum, especially going into the weekend coming off a win.”One run per inning in the first three innings provided the Hoosiers an early 3-0 lead. Xavier scored once in the third as Musketeers’ catcher Derek Hasenbeck hit an RBI single back up the middle, but IU broke the game open in the fifth as sophomore designated hitter Ricky Alfonso doubled down the right field line to drive home sophomore first baseman Sam Travis and senior shortstop Michael Basil.Alfonso’s double drove in two of the first three IU runs in the fifth frame, as the score expanded to 6-1 in the team’s favor.“I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Alfonso said. “I was fortunate. He left a change-up up and I was just able to get a good piece of it.”Sophomore right fielder Will Nolden followed with an RBI groundout, and sophomore second baseman Chad Clark’s RBI single pushed the lead to 8-1. Senior center fielder Justin Cureton fouled out to first baseman Joe Forney to end the top half of the fifth inning.The Musketeers responded with four runs in their half of the fifth, as sophomore reliever Luke Harrison struggled to keep his pitches down, IU Coach Tracy Smith said. The Hoosiers also had two errors in the inning.“We didn’t play real solid defense behind him,” Smith said.Freshman starter Will Coursen-Carr went three innings, his shortest start of his young career. He surrendered one run on three hits, striking out one and walking two Musketeers. Smith said he wanted to make sure the Fort Wayne native was fresh for this weekend’s series against Illinois.Schwarber hit his Big-Ten leading seventh home run on a 3-0 offering in the third inning. He said his barrel ran into a pitch and “It happened to go out. It’s not really a big deal.”Junior reliever Walker Stadler said there was a little bit of sense of winning this game for their teammates from Cincinnati, as Basil played his last scheduled game in his hometown.“It was one of our goals at the beginning of the season to focus on those midweek games, because last year we didn’t fare so well,” Stadler said. “This year, one of our goals is to get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and part of that is winning the midweek games, because every game counts.”
(03/29/13 3:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In possession of the nation’s longest winning streak against Division I competition at 12 games, the No. 24 IU baseball team (19-3, 3-0) has an opportunity to escape March with only one loss as it enters its first Big Ten road series beginning 2:05 p.m. EDT Saturday at Iowa.Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes enter Saturday’s series opener at 9-10 and seek to win their first conference series this season. To do so, the Hawkeyes must play better baseball because the Hoosiers rarely lose. IU’s 27 errors through 22 games is almost half of its total of 50 miscues through as many contests last season. “I think it’s probably the biggest reason we are 19-3,” senior infielder Michael Basil said. “We know that we have good pitching and we know that we can hit. The biggest question coming into this year was the defense because it was so terrible last year, especially at the beginning of the season. Knowing that our defense is playing that well has escalated the other parts of our game too.” Sophomore catcher and infielder Chad Clark has started 19 of 22 games, including 14 at second base. Clark, whose assists in the first and fourth innings stranded Louisville runners at third base, and Basil, who has started every game at shortstop, have formed a consistent presence up the middle. Junior pitcher Ryan Halstead said that has a big impact on the team’s success.“Chad and Basil up the middle is, obviously, a great combo,” he said. “They’re turning double plays like crazy. To have confidence in a defense like that is huge for a pitcher. All we have to do is come out and worry about throwing strikes instead of making a perfect pitch every time.”Additionally, IU’s offense has outscored opponents by 102 runs. At this time last season, opponents had plated 17 more runs than IU.The Hoosiers’ starting pitching corps has consistently performed too. In each of the season’s first five weekend series, IU Coach Tracy Smith has sent the same three starters to the hill. He said a combination allows this to come to fruition.“Guys are getting it done, they deserve to be out there,” he said. “Another piece of that is luck, guys are staying healthy. We’ve extended our starters a lot early before because we didn’t have this depth. But now, when you can get the guys out after five or six innings, it allows them to be fresh and continue to have that success.”Smith also stated support for the two-closer system between Halstead and freshman Scott Effross.Basil said the Hoosiers must keep winning to stay in first place to achieve their main goal, a Big Ten championship.“It’s time for Big Ten, the road series,” Smith said. “Stay locked in, stay focused and don’t get fat and sassy. Let’s just keep doing what we’re doing.”
(03/28/13 1:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The bottom half of the order delivered four consecutive hits — three for extra bases — with two men retired against Louisville starter Kyle Funkhouser as No. 19 IU (19-3, 3-0) broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth and went on to win 5-1 Wednesday afternoon at Bart Kaufman Field. The victory extended IU’s win streak to 12 games and gave IU the overall series lead at 11-10.Senior shortstop Michael Basil began the rally, turning on a 3-1, 90-mph fastball and placing it into the left-center field gap. Junior third baseman Dustin DeMuth followed with an RBI triple to right-center. Despite being thrown out at second trying to stretch a single into a double two innings prior, DeMuth arrived at third before the relay throw. Sophomore left fielder Chris Sujka drove him home with an RBI single four pitches later. The Oak Forest, Ill., native stole second during sophomore right fielder Will Nolden’s at-bat and scored when the latter tripled. Sophomore second baseman Chad Clark struck out to end the inning, but not before the Hoosiers captured a lead they did not relinquish.Funkhouser threw first-pitch strikes to the first 14 IU hitters. Basil said the fourth-inning stretch shook him.“Any time a pitcher gets two quick outs, especially on your three- and four-hole hitter, he thinks ‘All right, I got out of this inning,’” Basil said. “That’s kind of what happened to him, and we took advantage of that. He really wasn’t the same after those two string of hits me and Dustin had.” With the win, IU also clinched the season series against UL.“It’s awesome,” Basil said. “Ever since I’ve been here, we’ve kind of been Louisville’s whipping boys. We’ve only beaten them one time my first three seasons, so it’s awesome to come out here and do that to them.”An inning later, without recording a hit, IU loaded the bases against Cardinals’ starter Kyle Funkhouser, knocking him from the game with two outs in the fifth. UL manager Dan McDonnell brought in left-hander Cody Ege to face DeMuth, who was 2-for-2 against Funkhouser. Cardinals’ first baseman Danny Rosenbaum hugged the first base line on the edge of the outfield grass, but could not field the ball cleanly — nor toss it to Cody Ege covering first — and Travis scored due to the error.IU added a run in the eighth, and junior reliever Ryan Halstead secured freshman Scott Effross’s fourth win against no defeats.Freshman starter Will Coursen-Carr pitched 4 1/3 innings, and allowed only one run, stranding four Cardinals, including three in scoring position. Effross relieved him in the middle of the at-bat after Coursen-Carr fell behind second baseman Nick Ratajczak 2-0.“I said to Will, ‘You smell a victory like that’ — we were up 4-1 at the time — we were only go to the fifth with him anyway,” Smith said. “All you got to do is get three outs and get a win, you gotta get a bit more selfish. I was a little disappointed Will didn’t close it out.”Effross’s 3 2/3 innings added to his team-leading total of 20 1/3 innings pitched in relief. Smith said he’s employing a two-closer system.Halstead, five saves away from the single-season saves record with 31 scheduled games to play, said it’s all about the team.
(03/27/13 2:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Coach Tracy Smith said that one of the primary goals of his No. 19 Hoosier baseball team is to secure an at-large NCAA Tournament berth prior to the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers’ game at 4 p.m. today against the No. 15 University of Louisville Cardinals presents an opportunity to clinch the season series against a regional rival. It is also the first game at IU in which both teams are ranked.Hoosiers’ sophomore infielder and catcher Chad Clark said a win could enhance the level of national respect the program receives.“We know Louisville’s a top-ranked team, and that’s more motivation for us to get up there and get our name on the map,” he said.The Hoosiers opened their season with a 2-0 win against then-No. 4 Louisville on Feb. 15 in Dunedin, Fla.“They are a very, very good baseball team,” Smith said. “We won that game because (junior starting pitcher Joey) DeNato was solid, but our defense was outstanding.”The Hoosiers have committed one error or fewer in 14 of their 21 games.Freshman Will Coursen-Carr will make the start for the Hoosiers (18-3, 3-0 Big Ten), Smith said Saturday. For IU to win the season series against UL, he will need to show improved command. In his last start, March 19 at Miami (Ohio), he hit two RedHawks’ hitters and walked one. Though Coursen-Carr threw first-pitch strikes to 13 of 17 hitters he faced, he cannot afford to hit Cardinal hitters the way he did against Miami’s Chad Sedio. He jumped ahead in the count 0-2 but hit the RedHawks’ right fielder with his next offering.“He wasn’t sharp,” Smith said after the game on March 19. “(He was) getting ahead of hitters and hitting guys with breaking balls, (but) he didn’t really have the sharp put-away pitch. The last straw was going 0-2 to a lefty. The game was still pretty close, and he hits a guy with another hanging breaking ball.” IU will enter this game on an 11-game winning streak featuring a run differential of +68. The Hoosiers have won three games by three runs or fewer. On the season, IU has outscored opponents 158-60, including a 22-3 advantage in the first inning. DeNato said it is huge for his teammates providing run support in the first inning because it sets the tempo for the rest of the game.The game against the Cardinals (19-4, 1-2 Big East) is the fifth at Bart Kaufman Field, and Smith said he is ready for the novelty to expire.“I’d like to get back to reality a little bit, which is just playing baseball,” Smith 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.”
(03/25/13 4:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Though the new Bart Kaufman Field has lights, IU’s starting pitchers were lights out in the No. 29 Hoosiers’ (18-3, 3-0) conference-opening series against Penn State. Junior Joey DeNato, sophomore Kyle Hart and sophomore Aaron Slegers combined to allow two runs — one earned on 11 hits in 20 and one-third innings — as the Hoosiers swept the Nittany Lions to increase their winning streak to 11 games and continue the program’s best start in 14 years.In game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, IU Coach Tracy Smith said Slegers was on a pitch count due to his start Wednesday against Miami (Ohio). Despite scoring two runs in game one of the doubleheader Saturday, IU’s offense rebounded to score 11 runs in game two, giving the Hoosiers double-digit runs for the fourth time in their last six games.“It’s always good to have a close game in there,” junior infielder Dustin DeMuth said.In that span, the Hoosiers have enjoyed the same hitters in the top six of the order. Sophomore catcher and infielder Chad Clark said that constructs confidence.“We build off each individual player,” said Clark, who himself started in the eighth slot in the batting order in each of the last six games. “Each guy in the lineup has their own role. We know each guy will produce, and the guy behind him will produce. Basically, we just build trust in each other throughout the lineup.”Smith said he is following a decision he and his staff made before the season began.“The more comfortable we can make these guys feel, and there’s not a lot of surprises when these guys show up at the yard, I think it’s going to help in their play,” Smith said. “That’s one of the things we talked about as a staff prior to the year. We were going to make decisions early and go with it for a while so that we could try to get the guys comfortable and settled in to their positions.”The Hoosiers were quite comfortable once they got into PSU’s bullpen in the sixth inning in game two, hanging a crooked number on the scoreboard in the sixth, including four runs — three earned — against Jack Anderson, a freshman pitcher with a submarine delivery. Clark said some of the veterans on the team have experience facing ex-Hoosier pitcher Jonny Hoffman, who featured a submarine delivery. More importantly, though, Anderson was leaving the ball up in the zone.“You’ve just got to stay back on those guys and let the ball travel deep,” DeMuth said. “See it deep, see it up. If he puts it up, it’s going to be pretty easy to hit. If he’s down in the zone, it’s going to be a little tough.”The Hoosiers’ staff, in contrast, was sharp. DeMuth said his teammates build off their pitching staff.They will enter Tuesday night’s contest against the No. 13 Cardinals with momentum. Louisville, however, lost their series at home against Rutgers. Smith said his team did not panic in his team’s 2-0 win Saturday.“Our challenge is going to be to keep that same type of focus, intensity,” he said.
(03/20/13 3:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>OXFORD, Ohio — IU will open brand new Bart Kaufman Field riding a seven-game winning streak after an 11-2 win against the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks Tuesday in Oxford, Ohio. IU Coach Tracy Smith said it is purely coincidence that his squad will face his former team and alma mater in the stadium’s inaugural game Wednesday at 4 p.m. “We were all geeked when we opened up this stadium (Miami’s McKie Field), went out and got our butts kicked,” Smith said. “We’re not taking them lightly at all. We’re going to come ready to play and hopefully put on a good show for the fans.” Sophomore righty Aaron Slegers is slated to start for the Hoosiers opposite RedHawks lefthander Alex Brown in the second game of the home-and-home series.Sophomore designated hitter Scott Donley said he and his teammates must be ready to swing the bat from the first pitch, as the Hoosiers drew a season-high nine walks Tuesday.Double-digit winds did not blow IU’s offense off-course at McKie Field — the Hoosiers won their 12th contest in the last 13 games.Miami starter Brian Thene did not allow a hit during the first two innings. Sophomore left fielder Chris Sujka got IU on the board first as his single flew over leaping second baseman Ryan Elble, scoring right fielder Casey Smith from second. Elble, equidistant between first and second, cheated in a couple steps on the infield grass and could not leap high enough to catch the liner off Sujka’s bat.IU added two runs in the next frame. Donley knocked in the Hoosiers’ second run via a fielder’s choice groundout. Junior third baseman Dustin DeMuth’s RBI single through the right side delivered what proved to be the game-deciding tally.The Hoosiers doubled their lead in the fifth. Thene walked Sujka, who stole second. Redhawks’ manager Dan Simonds pulled Thene in favor of Seth Varner. Senior center fielder Justin Cureton then drew his 13th walk of the season. After sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber grounded out to the first baseman, Miami’s new hurler intentionally walked sophomore first baseman Sam Travis to load the bases.Donley deposited a 1-1 offering into left-center field to clear the bases. He said there really isn’t a better feeling in baseball than to make a pitcher pay after an intentional walk.“When they walked Sam, I just went up there and, it’s a big at-bat, I wanted to go put the ball in play and make them try to get me out,” he said. “It ended up working out.”The RedHawks knocked two runs off their deficit in the bottom of the fifth against sophomore reliever Luke Harrison. With one out, Alex Johnson and Kevin Bower singled in successive order. Catcher Tommy Riccardi hit an RBI double down the third base line.The RedHawks added their second run via a fielding error. Third baseman Chad Clark did not cleanly catch Schwarber’s throw after the IU catcher attempted to throw out his catching counterpart for the second time.Freshman reliever Scott Effross earned the win for the Hoosiers.Freshman starter Will Coursen-Carr allowed five hits in three and two-thirds innings of work, but did not surrender a run. He worked himself out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning, as Riccardi flew out to Smith a step into foul territory.Smith said his southpaw starter lacked an effective out pitch.“He wasn’t sharp,” Smith said. “(He was) getting ahead of hitters and hitting guys with breaking balls, (but) he didn’t really have the sharp put-away pitch. The last straw was going 0-2 to a lefty. The game was still pretty close, and he hits a guy with another hanging breaking ball. “He’s a young guy. It was nice he had enough rope today, but he hung himself. He’ll have plenty of opportunity to get better at that stuff.”