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(04/21/10 4:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hoosiers' four-game winning streak was snapped Tuesday night after surrendering an early lead to Miami (OH). Sophomore designated hitter Josh Lyon and junior catcher Wes Wilson hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning, but the RedHawks were able to come back and win, 8-6.Lyon, last week’s Big Ten co-Player of the Week, also scored three runs while hitting his eighth home run and 12th double of the year for the Hoosiers (19-16). Wilson, who hit his first career collegiate home run, and junior first baseman Jerrud Sabourin each had two hits in a losing effort.Senior outfielder Michael Earley extended his hitting streak to 12 with an eighth-inning double.Freshman pitcher Casey Smith got the start on the mound, going two innings and giving up three runs on four hits while tallying a pair of strikeouts. Fellow freshman pitcher Mike McKinley took the loss, going two innings, allowing three important runs on two infield singles.New roster addition Alex Zerman, who made his debut last week against Valparaiso, struck out the side in the seventh and made clean work out of the bullpen.IU returns to action this weekend with a series against Minnesota at the Metrodome.
(04/19/10 3:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The first Big Ten conference series sweep is in the books for the Hoosiers baseball team, as they took all three games from Iowa this weekend to improve to 19-15 and 5-4 in the Big Ten.After Friday’s game was postponed due to rain, the Hoosiers got two very well pitched games in a double-header on Saturday. Sophomore pitcher Drew Leininger went 7 and 2/3 innings pitched, surrendering just seven hits and an unearned run to improve his conference-leading ERA to 1.20 in a 4-1 win in game one. This marked the fifth time out of seven outings this year for Leininger that he has not giving up an earned run.Freshman pitcher Johnny Hoffman went five innings in game two, surrendering just five hits and one run while striking out three. Senior closer Chris Squires combined for 5 and 2/3 innings on the day, striking out nine and not allowing an earned run while picking up the save in game one.Sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson added two home runs on the weekend to increase his total to a conference-leading 16 on the year.As pitching and defense-oriented the first two games were on Saturday, the opposite was the case on Sunday’s matinee. Combined between the two teams were 33 runs on 33 hits, 8 errors, 12 pitchers used, and 14 walks.“It was the craziest weekend I’ve ever been a part of,” Dickerson said. “Lead changes, lead losses, coming back and winning on a botched double play. It just shows you have to play hard all the time because you never know what’s going to happen.”Junior first baseman Jerrud Sabourin and sophomore designated-hitter Josh Lyon each had four hits and scored three runs in a 21-12 victory. Junior catcher Dylan Swift led the Hoosiers with a career-high five RBI on the day, three of which came on a clutch double in the ninth inning that pushed the lead out of Iowa’s reach.“He had a monster weekend,” Smith said. “Along with his huge double today, I don’t remember a catcher, defensively, that did what he did behind the plate. He didn’t allow a passed ball all weekend.”The Hoosiers return to action on Tuesday, where they will travel to Oxford, Ohio to face Miami (OH) at 6 p.m.“It’s tough to sweep anybody at any level,” Smith said. “You don’t want to draw to much negative out of the pitching and defense. “We won three games, so let’s take some of that momentum into Tuesday and the upcoming weekend.”
(04/13/10 1:38am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU baseball team faces an early mid-week non conference test as it travels to Gary to face Valparaiso (11-18). The Hoosiers (15-15) were only able to take one of three from Ohio State, the preseason Big Ten favorites, last weekend. Valparaiso is coming off a weekend in which it took two out of three on the road against Youngstown State.Last year, the Hoosiers defeated the Crusaders in Bloomington, 9-5. Sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson went 3-5 with one home run and the bullpen only allowed one run in six innings of work. Indiana has won four of the past five matchups against Valparaiso dating back to 2004.Senior outfielder Michael Earley is coming off one of his best weekends at the plate this season. The co-captain went 5-12 with two home runs, one of which was the eventual game-winner on Saturday, and three RBI. Earley has improved his on-base percentage to .415 on the season.After seeing a 21-game hitting streak end Friday, Dickerson looks to continue a new streak tonight against the Crusaders. The slugging outfielder leads the Big Ten with 13 HR and 42 RBI, and he is only trailing his own teammate — junior first baseman Jerrud Sabourin — by 24 points in batting average for the conference’s triple crown.The Hoosiers are likely to go with another bullpen effort on the mound tonight. Being a mid-week game against a non-conference opponent, there isn’t much need to use a weekend starter, especially any of the three that started this past weekend. Senior closer Chris Squires isn’t likely to play tonight.Sophomore pitcher Blake Monar played for the first time since an early injury Sunday, walking the only batter he faced. He was the Hoosiers’ ace coming into the season, but experienced discomfort in his rotator cuff and hadn’t thrown in more than a month.If the Hoosiers can get Monar back and healthy, they will have a much more formidable and set rotation going down the final stretch of conference play. With the continued dominance of sophomore pitchers Drew Leininger and Matt Igel stepping up in the past couple of weeks, the Hoosier’s pitching is starting to shape up.
(04/12/10 3:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hoosiers had an opportunity to win the series on the road against Ohio State this weekend, even with the reigning co-Big Ten Pitcher of the Year on the mound for the Buckeyes. Instead, they settled for one win, dropping to 15-15 and 2-4 in the Big Ten.OSU pitcher Alex Wimmers cooled a hot-hitting Hoosiers team Friday, tossing a complete-game, six-hitter while striking out 14 and walking none in a 7-1 victory for Ohio State (19-9, 4-2). Wimmers improved to 7-0 on the season, and he is solidifying his draft status, where he is projected to go in the first round.“He’s the closest I’ve seen as far as getting to the big leagues in a short amount of time,” IU coach Tracy Smith said of Wimmers. “He can throw any four of his pitches for strikes at any given time in the count. He’s definitely as good as advertised, no doubt.”The Hoosiers knew they had a good chance on Saturday with sophomore pitcher Drew Leininger getting the start. A four-run fourth inning by the Buckeyes resulted in an extra-innings affair, where senior outfielder Michael Earley took over.With the game tied at four, Earley put a charge in the first pitch he saw and put it over the left-center field wall for the go-ahead lead.“I went up looking for a changeup first pitch, and that’s what he gave me,” Earley said. “I was just looking to drive the ball in the gap and ended up getting enough lift on it to hit it out.”Like fellow sophomore pitcher Matt Igel last Saturday against Michigan, Leininger went nine innings, firing 142 pitches with eight strikeouts and lowering his Big Ten-leading ERA to 1.38 after all four runs were unearned.“It’s to point to where he’s no longer a fluke,” Smith said. “He’s the real deal.”The Buckeyes attempt at a comeback was a strong one, but Smith called on his closer to secure the victory. With a runner on first and one out, Earley made a diving catch for the second out that gave senior Chris Squires enough of a boost to strike out reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Dan Burkhart on three pitches. It was his fifth save of the year and 16th of his career, breaking former Hoosier Chris Wilson’s record set from 1997-2000.“I’m just disappointed that we don’t have more opportunities to turn the ball over to him late in the game with a lead,” Smith said. “Because if we have that lead, we know he’s going to close it out.”On Sunday, the Buckeyes outslugged the Hoosiers to a 10-8 win to take the series. Earley, sophomore catcher Josh Lyon and sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson all homered in a losing effort. “We had a chance to take a series win against the top team in the conference,” Smith said. “We’ve got to start taking advantage of these opportunities.”
(04/09/10 3:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two years ago, sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson and sophomore pitcher Drew Leininger were playing for Poway High School in San Diego, Calif., a team that has produced eight Division-I players in the last two years. They led the team to a 31-6 record as the top team in the state. Two years after signing letters of intent at IU in 2008, they are both widely considered to be among the top finishers in this year’s Big Ten Hitter and Pitcher of the Year awards. “I thought we’d both do well,” Dickerson said. “With the way we played back in high school, I thought we really had room to improve and continue to get better.” Leininger is leading the Big Ten in ERA and opposing batting average while Dickerson is leading in slugging percentage, RBIs, home runs and total bases. But what started out as a simple visit from IU coach Tracy Smith to see Dickerson play turned into the Hoosiers getting more than they originally planned. Smith asked Dickerson if there was anyone else he thought he should take a look at, and the outfielder immediately recommended Leininger. “We didn’t look at it like a package deal,” Smith said. “They were two separate scenarios. It wasn’t like if we got one, we’re getting the other. I liked what I saw out of Drew and thought he was a good fit for our program — both as a pitcher and as a person.” Asking an 18-year-old to go to school clear across the country — asking him to leave friends and family behind and, in this case, play in a completely different environment than Southern California — is no easy task. Luckily for the Hoosiers, Smith was not the only one convincing Leininger to play at IU. “Alex was telling me about all the great things about IU,” Leininger said. “Things like how great the atmosphere is and how coach plays “Call of Duty.” So, I finally took a visit and decided this was the place I wanted to be.”Halfway through their second year in Bloomington, both have made college baseball their lives. Dickerson and Leininger are currently roommates and helped each other transition when they first arrived. “It helps with the homesickness when you can talk to each other about what’s going on back at home and the drama back there,” Leininger said.That is not to say the transition has been the easiest, as home is more than 2,000 miles away from Bloomington, but Smith praised the character of both young men and knew they wouldn’t have too much difficulty fitting in.“They’re as good of students and citizens as they are baseball players,” Smith said. “I said this to my son, Casey, the other day: ‘You know how many times I have tell Dickerson and Leininger to straighten up? Never.’ They’re both very low maintenance and first-class human beings.”
(04/07/10 3:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Battling 25 to 30 mph gusts of wind that were blowing out to center field all day, the Hoosiers (14-13) offensive attack was not as powerful as Sunday’s, but they did hit five home runs in a 12-6 victory against Ball State (11-16) on Tuesday.Nine of the 12 runs for IU came via the long ball. Sophomore infielder Ethan Wilson hit two of IU’s home runs, and three other Hoosiers — sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson, junior infielder Jerrud Sabourin and sophomore catcherJosh Lyon — each followed suit, hitting one a piece.Dickerson, who extended his hitting streak to 21 games, now ties his 2009 season total at 12 home runs. For IU, the team now has 32 home runs in its past 17 games.“We are a power-hitting team,” IU coach Tracy Smith said. “But, if you take a look back earlier on in the season when we weren’t hitting for a lot of power, we were stealing bases and manufacturing runs. So, I think even if we’re not hitting home runs, we can find ways to get runs across.”Along with Sabourin’s home run, he had four hits, pushing his league-leading batting average up to an astounding .480. He also got the start on the mound for IU, going the first two innings and giving up three runs.Following Sabourin on the hill was junior catcher Dylan Swift, who had only thrown five innings in the past two years. Swift picked up the win on Tuesday, going four innings, giving up three runs on five hits.He said he hasn’t pitched in a close game since his junior year in high school.“Well, I knew my stuff wasn’t going to beat them,” Swift said. “But, being a catcher, I can place it really wherever I wanted to and I have a short and quick release that kept the running game intact.”Tuesday’s victory against Ball State marked the first win over the Cardinals since 1998 — a 3-2 victory in Muncie. Previously, BSU had won the past five games.The Hoosiers return back to Big Ten play this weekend, when they will travel to Ohio State to take on the Buckeyes.
(04/06/10 5:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two days removed from driving in 26 runs to avoid a Michigan sweep and open the Big Ten last weekend, the Hoosiers (13-13) look to keep the offense rolling in a 3 p.m. matchup at Sembower Field against in-state rival Ball State Cardinals (11-15).The Cardinals have won five of their last six games, including a sweep of Miami (Ohio) last weekend in the Mid-American Conference opener. They are led offensively by second baseman Kolbrin Vitek, who leads the MAC in total bases and has an OPS of 1.184 through 26 games. He is expected to be a top pick in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.“Kolbrin is definitely a guy that can hurt you,” IU coach Tracy Smith said. “If there comes a time where we have a base open or it’s an RBI situation, our pitchers won’t be giving him anything good to hit.”The Hoosiers’ starting pitcher is going to be a game-time decision. They will likely go with multiple pitchers throwing a couple innings each. The staff is still recovering from the weekend, where IU used nine pitchers, three of whom are position players, against Michigan.Whoever is on the mound will be backed up by a much improved defense — one that didn’t commit an error this past weekend after averaging close to two per game going into the series.“The defense has definitely improved,” Smith said. “Things could be much worse. If we can get our pitchers to get the other team to put the ball in play and let our defense take care of it instead of dishing out walks, we’d be set. But you can’t defend a walk.”Last year, Ball State beat the Hoosiers 5-4 in the opening game of the Austin Peay Invitational. The Cardinals rallied from a 4-1 deficit to come back and score four runs in the final three innings. The Hoosiers will look for revenge and to build some momentum before they go back into Big Ten play against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday.“So much of this game has to do with consistency and momentum,” Smith said. “This will be a big game for us to get back to being focused and building on Sunday before we face a very tough Ohio State team this weekend.”
(04/05/10 4:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Hoosier fans at Sembower Field saw a little bit of everything in the Big Ten Conference Opener this weekend. They saw their closer pitching in the sixth inning and then playing center field the next. They saw the Hoosiers blow a 9-3 lead into a 16-10 loss at the expense of a Michigan six-run 10th inning. Last but not least, they saw IU score 26 runs on 27 hits on Sunday to round out the weekend.IU coach Tracy Smith said the pitching rotation was going to be a bit unorthodox to begin conference play, and that’s exactly how it started.On Friday, the Hoosiers (13-13, 1-2 Big Ten) started freshman walk-on Walker Stadler in the Big Ten opener against Michigan (15-10, 2-1 Big Ten). Pitching in relief for him was three other freshmen, one of which is a position player as well as junior first baseman Jerrud Sabourin. Senior closer Chris Squires entered the game in the sixth inning, where he proceeded to strike out both batters he faced. Not wanting to wear Squires out for the rest of the weekend but wanting to keep him available if things got ugly, Smith put Squires out in center field in the top of the seventh.“If we pitch and don’t walk people, we actually look like a ball team,” Smith said. “The key is on the mound. If we can take care of that, we’re going to win some ball games.”Pitching with a depleted pitching staff and bullpen, sophomore pitcher Matt Igel threw a 166-pitch complete game effort on Saturday to give the bullpen some much needed rest. Unfortunately for Igel, the Hoosiers offense did not take advantage of their opportunities, stranding 11 runners in the 6-4 loss.After giving up five runs on five hits and five walks in the first three innings Saturday, Igel retained his composure, only giving up one run on a walk and six hits the remaining six innings. It was an important day for the Hoosiers relatively young season as they hope they have found another weekend starter. Not about to be swept on their home field, the Hoosiers bats came out on fire on Sunday, scoring 26 runs on 27 hits in a 26-6 victory. Four different Hoosiers had four hits in the game. Tyler Rogers went 4-4 with a grand slam and six RBI. The win marked the most lopsided victory for the Hoosiers in the 186-game series with Michigan.“A lot of teams would have rolled over after dropping the first two games this weekend,” Rogers said. “But we came out aggressive and didn’t let it affect us.”Sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson extended his hitting streak to 20 games this season, going 8-14 on the weekend and reaching base in all 26 games for IU this season. Sabourin took the league lead with his .462 batting average, with Dickerson behind him in second at .446, leading the conference with 11 home runs and 37 RBI.Sophomore pitcher Drew Leininger made his first start on Sunday since being injured against Akron back on March 20. Although Michigan scraped across three runs in six and a third innings off him, the Big Ten’s ERA leader only raised his average to 1.66. Leininger will return as the weekend’s Friday starter.“Catching Drew is like a day off for my arm and knees,” Swift said. “Wherever I call the pitch, that’s what it’s going to be. And he controls the running game so well with his delivery, so it’s like a day off.”
(03/30/10 3:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Coming off an undefeated home stand and with Big Ten conference play right around the corner, the Hoosiers (12-10) will get another shot to take down one of the best teams in college baseball as they face No. 8 Louisville (20-3) at 3:05 p.m. today at Sembower Field.Three weeks ago, the Cardinals outplayed the Hoosiers for a 9-7 win. It wasn’t until the eighth inning, however, that Louisville took the lead. Trailing 7-5, Cardinals infielder Phil Wunderlich hit a two-run home run to tie the game.Louisville would push across two more runs, but it was Wunderlich’s home run off IU freshman pitcher Mike McKinley and his demeanor rounding the bases that drew the most attention from the Hoosier dugout. Wunderlich yelled at McKinley as he made his trip to home plate, and after the game, Smith said there was “no place at all in baseball for that.” He said he doesn’t expect his team to try anything similar today.“I don’t think there will be any retaliation,” IU coach Tracy Smith said. “We’re going to go out and play as hard as we can and play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”As sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson said, the best form of retaliation is victory. As was the case against Louisville three weeks ago, the game hinges on the pitching. Freshman pitcher Casey Smith, who graduated high school early to come to IU, pitched five strong innings and only gave up two runs on two hits and no walks against the Cardinals last time out.This afternoon, it’s going to be sophomore left-handed pitcher Matt Igel’s turn. Against Taylor on Saturday, Igel (0-2) impressed, tossing 1.2 innings of no-hit ball.“The inning he came in is the best we’ve seen him throw all year,” Smith said. “But it just goes back to the consistency part. If we can get him to go out and be the pitcher he was then, he’s as good as there is.”Production from the top half of the Hoosiers’ order is one thing that has been consistent recently. In the last five games, the No. 1-4 hitters are batting an average of .432, helping IU win seven out of its last eight games. Freshman third baseman Micah Johnson has been batting leadoff, despite showing power at the plate with his seven home runs and 22 RBI. “Johnson is probably more of a three-hole hitter,” Smith said. “But we want to get as much production as possible from those guys and bring our best hitters up to the plate as many times as we can.”The Hoosier team has averaged more than nine runs in its last three games, but Igel’s pitching production this afternoon could be equally as important as the team’s offense. In the 12 IU wins this year, the starting pitcher has gone at least five innings nine times.“We don’t really have a set three right now,” Dickerson said. “If we can find some consistency in our pitching and get our starters to give us some good efforts, I like our chances.”
(03/29/10 2:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Not a game goes by where sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson doesn’t silence those questioning his impressive freshman campaign and puts to rest the talk of a possible “sophomore slump” in 2010.The powerful Hoosier clean-up hitter hit his Big Ten-leading 10th home run of the season and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games on Saturday in a 5-4 victory against Taylor University (18-4). For IU (12-10), it marked the team’s seventh win in the past eight games.“Dickerson’s home run was huge for us, because we needed to get a run that inning,” IU coach Tracy Smith said. “I almost felt like if we didn’t, that would build their confidence and our guys would start pressing.”Freshman pitcher Walker Stadler improved to 3-2 on the season with seven solid innings in a 7-3 win Friday against St. Francis University (3-21-1). He provided a much-needed rest for the thin Hoosier bullpen.Dickerson was not the only hitter carrying a lengthy hit streak coming into the weekend. Junior first baseman Jerrud Sabourin continued his 14-game hitting streak Friday, only to have it broken up the following day.With a 3-for-4 and 3 RBI afternoon, Sabourin moved into the Hoosier’s top 10 with 218 career hits. He is 11 hits shy of moving into the top five all time.Senior closer Chris Squires lowered his ERA to a 2.65 this weekend with four scoreless innings out of the bullpen in the two Hoosier wins. “When you get into Big Ten play, you have to have quality out of the bullpen,” Smith said. “Our formula is going to be to get something out of our starters, then get a McKinley or Igel to throw strikes in the middle of the game, and then go with Squires. That is going to be our formula to win.”The Hoosiers will be host to No. 10 ranked Louisville (20-3) on Tuesday. The Cardinals came back from a two-run deficit in the eighth inning to beat the Hoosiers, 9-7 on March 9. Sophomore pitcher Matt Igel (0-2) will get the start for IU.“You’ll have your bad blood and heat-of-the-moment type of games,” Dickerson said. “But the best way to retaliate is to beat them.”
(03/24/10 4:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a long road trip, the IU baseball team is returning to comfortable surroundings.The Hoosiers (9-10) play their first contest at Sembower Field after 19 consecutive away games against the Xavier Musketeers (4-15) today.“We’re excited to finally be playing in front of our home fans after over a month away from Bloomington,” IU coach Tracy Smith said.Sophomore Ethan Wilson is tagged as IU’s starting pitcher for the 3 p.m. game. Primarily an infielder, Wilson will look to neutralize a Musketeers offense with a batting average worse than .250 on the season. Wilson has pitched very well filling in for the Hoosiers’ pitching staff, which has only five healthy pitchers on its roster. He currently sports a 1.93 ERA in 9.1 innings pitched and limits hitters to a team-leading .100 average.The Hoosiers’ offense will be led by the powerful 3-4 combination of junior first baseman Jerrud Sabourin, who is hitting .425 with 2 home runs and 17 RBI this season, and sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson, who leads the team with 8 home runs and 27 RBI. IU is averaging more than 10 runs per game in its last five contests. The Hoosiers will be entering on a sour note, however, as they saw their four-game winning streak snapped Tuesday. Morehead State defeated IU in a 20-15 slugfest in which 43 hits were combined between the two teams. Trailing 9-4 in the sixth inning, the Hoosier offense did not register an out through its first eight hitters. Three consecutive singles led to freshman shortstop Michael Basil’s three-run home run to cut the deficit to one. Sophomore catcher Josh Lyon then stepped up to the plate and deposited a 1-2 pitch down the right-field line to tie the game at nine.Following the 10-run sixth from the Hoosiers, the Eagles made a comeback of their own, scoring 11 unanswered runs through the eighth inning.Freshman pitcher Mike McKinley would remain in the game for the Hoosiers in the seventh. With two outs and runners on first and second, MSU designated hitter Cameron Flynn hit a home run to deep right field to give the Eagles a 15-14 lead.Freshman pitcher Casey Smith walked the first batter in the bottom of the eighth, and senior closer Chris Squires came in to limit the damage. His defense, though, would let him down. MSU pushed across five more runs, none of them credited to Squires, on four singles and three errors.
(03/22/10 2:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Coming into the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, the Hoosiers boasted a 4-8 record. The team was fresh off two games against both Vanderbilt and Louisville, two of the better teams in the nation, and played them very well despite the final result ending in a loss. A breakout was right around the corner.Indeed, the Hoosiers went 5-2 over spring break, including wins against Central Michigan, Bradley, Eastern Illinois, Maryland-Baltimore County and Akron. The team is now on a four-game winning streak and continues to get well-pitched games out of a rotation that has only five healthy pitchers on its roster.“As conference play gets closer, starting pitching is still our main concern,” IU coach Tracy Smith said. “It’s going to be a little unconventional. We’re trotting out position players and guys that haven’t pitched since high school. We just have to find a way to get it done.”In the midst of that, there has been one constant at the top of the rotation in sophomore Drew Leininger, who upped his scoreless inning streak to 26 with six brilliant frames in a win over Akron on Saturday. He lowered his league-leading ERA to a miniscule 0.79 and improved to 3-0 this season.“I think the biggest thing I’ve improved on this year is being more deceptive and controlling the corners of the plate better,” Leininger said. “I just have to continue to go out and throw strikes, and the streak will take care of itself.”Controlling the strike zone is all that is being asked of the young pitching staff, as the offense has been on a terror as of late. It is averaging over eight runs a game in the past six games, being led particularly by the top of the order and starting with lead-off freshman third-baseman Micah Johnson.“We’re not getting a lot of production from the bottom of the order,” Smith said. “So, for right now, I like Micah in the leadoff spot so we can get our best hitters to the plate more often.”Johnson was named co-Big Ten Player of the Week last week after posting a 1.734 OPS. He is now second, behind sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson, with a .610 slugging percentage. Last week against Bradley, Johnson hit a clutch solo home run in the ninth inning to tie the game and send it into extra innings. The Hoosiers went on to win 6-5.“I’ve been focusing more on the inner half of the plate and trying to drive the ball,” Johnson said. “Against Bradley, I knew I had to do something, because I went 0-5 against Yale the day before that. He threw me a 1-0 curveball, and it just caught too much of the plate.”Prior to the invitational, the Hoosiers’ main concern offensively was cutting down on strikeouts and putting the ball in play. Coming into their first game against Miami (Ohio), the Hoosiers were averaging nine strikeouts per game, and more than four of those came looking.“We’re improving,” Smith said. “I stressed it a great deal in practice and after games that if you don’t do what we’re asking, you’re going to sit the bench and I think that got the message across pretty well.”Leininger suffered a leg injury during his last start and could miss his next start this coming weekend. With only five healthy pitchers, injuries are amongst Smith’s concerns.“We’re banged up after this week,” Smith said. “But we’re definitely getting more settled in as far as the lineup is concerned.”
(03/05/10 3:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hoosiers will travel to Nashville, Tenn., this weekend for the Music City Classic after taking one out of three games at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge. IU (2-5) will face Illinois State (4-3) and Kent State (4-2) before rounding out the weekend with Vanderbilt (7-1) on Sunday.Junior first baseman Jerrud Sabourin is coming off a weekend in which he went 6-13 and was named to the All-Challenge team. He is now hitting .400 with 5 extra base hits and 7 RBI on the year.“I’m feeling good right now,” Sabourin said. “Any hitter can tell you, when you’re feeling good, it doesn’t seem like there’s a pitch that you can’t hit.”Illinois State will send pitcher Corey Maines (1-0, 2.53 ERA), who has had 14 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched, to the hill Friday. IU coach Tracy Smith expressed the importance of putting the ball in play and cutting down on the strikeouts this week at practice.“We’re just re-emphasizing our two-strike approach and staying with our plan,” Smith said. “We’re going to see some good arms this weekend, but it’s going to be our mind-set to stay within our approach.”Freshman pitcher Walker Stadler (1-1, 4.63 ERA) will get the start against Illinois State, temporarily filling in for sophomore pitcher Blake Monar, who is currently battling shoulder problems. Monar was examined Wednesday, and Smith said he expects his southpaw starter to miss at least three weeks.Sophomore left-hander Drew Leininger (0-0, 2.38 ERA) will get the nod against Kent State on Saturday. Leininger started in the Hoosiers’ win against West Virginia last weekend, throwing 5 and 2/3 innings, giving up 3 earned runs on 4 hits with 3 strikeouts.To wrap up the Music City Classic, the Hoosiers will face one of the nation’s better teams in No. 27 Vanderbilt. The Commodores will send 6’7” pitcher Jack Armstrong (1-0, 4.50 ERA) to the mound while the Hoosiers will counter with sophomore Ethan Wilson, who is primarily an infielder. Wilson has thrown three perfect innings this year.“Ethan’s a competitive kid, and there’s no secret why we’re 2-5,” Smith said. “Ethan has done a good job of coming in on relief. He’s got a good fastball, and he’s throwing multiple pitches for strikes. So, I want to give him a shot. It can’t be any worse than what we’ve had so far.”
(02/22/10 4:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hoosiers’ baseball season is under way, with the team losing three of the four road games against No. 23 San Diego during the weekend.Sophomore pitcher Blake Monar got the opening day start Friday, and he was tagged with the loss after giving up 7 runs on 6 hits in 3 and 1/3 innings. Sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson went 3-5 with 1 home run and 3 RBI. Pitching would remain a concern for IU throughout the remainder of the game, as San Diego won the opener 16-10.“I think we struggled with command of the strike zone and not being aggressive enough with our stuff,” IU coach Tracy Smith said. “I’m not too concerned about it, yet.”Sophomore pitcher Matt Igel started game one of the Saturday doubleheader, and San Diego hitters drew 7 walks, knocking him out of the game after 2 innings. Freshman third baseman Micah Johnson went 1-3 with 2 walks and 1 RBI as San Diego would go on to win in convincing fashion 9-2.“I was really just trying to jump on the fastball early and lay off the breaking stuff,” Johnson said. “And hitting in front of Sabourin and Dickerson made them have to pitch to me.”Pitching concerns continued into the nightcap. Freshman pitcher Jonny Hoffman didn’t make it out of the second inning before giving up 7 runs on 6 hits, and San Diego pulled away for the 9-4 victory.Junior catcher Dylan Swift went 2-3 with a 2 RBI for the Hoosiers. Sophomore pitcher Drew Leininger kept the Hoosiers in the game on the mound, tossing 5 shutout innings, giving up only 5 hits, all singles, and tallying 4 strike outs. Freshman Walker Stadler pitched 6 quality innings Sunday, striking out 5, giving up 7 hits and 3 runs and picking up the win in his college debut. Dickerson and junior first baseman Jerrud Sabourin each hit home runs as IU won 7-5. Smith said he was impressed with Stadler’s first start.“Walker did a good job of pitching aggressively in the strike zone and changing speeds,” Smith said. “And that was something our pitchers struggled with early this weekend. He was in and around the strike zone all the time.”The batting order was different each game, as Smith is trying to figure out early in the season what is most effective.“With the way our personnel is, I think it’s going to be pretty close to where our best hitters are our best defensive guys as well,” Smith said.
(02/22/10 3:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hoosiers’ baseball season is under way, with the team losing three of the four road games against No. 23 San Diego during the weekend.Sophomore pitcher Blake Monar got the opening day start Friday, and he was tagged with the loss after giving up 7 runs on 6 hits in 3 and 1/3 innings. Sophomore outfielder Alex Dickerson went 3-5 with 1 home run and 3 RBI. Pitching would remain a concern for IU throughout the remainder of the game, as San Diego won the opener 16-10.“I think we struggled with command of the strike zone and not being aggressive enough with our stuff,” IU coach Tracy Smith said. “I’m not too concerned about it, yet.”Sophomore pitcher Matt Igel started game one of the Saturday doubleheader, and San Diego hitters drew 7 walks, knocking him out of the game after 2 innings. Freshman third baseman Micah Johnson went 1-3 with 2 walks and 1 RBI as San Diego would go on to win in convincing fashion 9-2.“I was really just trying to jump on the fastball early and lay off the breaking stuff,” Johnson said. “And hitting in front of Sabourin and Dickerson made them have to pitch to me.”Pitching concerns continued into the nightcap. Freshman pitcher Jonny Hoffman didn’t make it out of the second inning before giving up 7 runs on 6 hits. IU rallied to bring the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning, but San Diego pulled away for the 9-4 victory.Junior catcher Dylan Swift went 2-3 with a 2 RBI for the Hoosiers. Sophomore pitcher Drew Leininger kept the Hoosiers in the game on the mound, tossing 5 shutout innings, giving up only 5 hits, all singles, and tallying 4 strike outs. Freshman Walker Stadler pitched 6 quality innings Sunday, striking out 5, giving up 7 hits and 3 runs and picking up the win in his college debut. Dickerson and junior first baseman Jerrud Sabourin each hit home runs as IU won 7-5. Senior closer Chris Squires picked up his first save of the season. Smith said he was impressed with Stadler’s first start.“Walker did a good job of pitching aggressively in the strike zone and changing speeds,” Smith said. “And that was something our pitchers struggled with early this weekend. He was in and around the strike zone all the time.”The batting order was different each game, as Smith is trying to figure out early in the season what is most effective.“With the way our personnel is, I think it’s going to be pretty close to where our best hitters are our best defensive guys as well,” Smith said.
(02/19/10 5:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Most collegiate coaches would consider themselves in a rebuilding stage after losing 11 letterwinners from the previous year, but not IU coach Tracy Smith.As the Hoosiers get ready to fly west to battle No. 23 San Diego for its opening weekend matchup, Smith must decide between now and conference play who’s going to fill the void left by six starting position players and two of his three starting pitchers from 2009.“I think we have some very talented guys that haven’t got to play much because they’ve been sitting behind some even more talented guys, in the same right,” Smith said. “So I think of it like we’re reloading, not rebuilding.”Returning back to the lineup this year are second team All-Big Ten selections sophomore Alex Dickerson and junior Jerrud Sabourin. Dickerson, who hit 14 home runs in 2009, will see time in left field this year after playing as the designated hitter in 2009.Sabourin hit .343 last year and will remain at first base. Senior second baseman Tyler Rogers will return in the same position after hitting .314 with 5 home runs in 2009.“If we’re throwing enough strikes and putting balls in play, we’re going to put our best defensive lineup out there and not worry so much about offense,” Smith said.The team returns starter Blake Monar, who will get the nod for game one against San Diego to the front of the pitching rotation. Monar went 5-3 with a 4.64 ERA and a .251 batting average in 2009.“I’ve just been refining everything mentally and just learning the game better,” Monar said. “I’ve been working on changeups. My out pitch last year was my breaking ball, so this year I definitely want to mix in more changeups.”Filling out the rotation to start the season will be southpaw sophomore Matt Igel, who burst onto the scene late last year by winning the title-clincher against Minnesota in the Big Ten Conference Tournament.Freshman Walker Stadler, who posted a 1.90 ERA and struck out 80 in 50 innings pitched as a senior in high school in Illinois, will pitch the series finale Sunday.“I think the fact that the Big Ten is one of the only conferences in the country that doesn’t allow over-signing is a direct reflection on why we’re so thin on the mound,” Smith said. “With that said, I think we still got some good talent, some developmental talent and, in spite of that, some kids that are going to have to grow up a little bit sooner.”The work will be cut out for the Hoosiers this year, as they play at least 12 games against teams who were in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Add to the mix the 2010 Big Ten/Big East Challenge, and Smith’s squad will have to learn quickly. “That’s why we’re playing such a tough schedule,” Smith said. “You can get fooled by playing a weaker one. We’re going to know right away after this series in San Diego what’s working, what we do well and what’s not.”
(02/19/10 3:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Most collegiate coaches would consider themselves in a rebuilding stage after losing 11 letterwinners from the previous year, but not IU coach Tracy Smith.As the Hoosiers get ready to fly west to battle No. 23 San Diego for its opening weekend matchup, Smith must decide between now and conference play who’s going to fill the void left by six starting position players and two of his three starting pitchers from 2009.“I think we have some very talented guys that haven’t got to play much because they’ve been sitting behind some even more talented guys, in the same right,” Smith said. “So I think of it like we’re reloading, not rebuilding.”Returning back to the lineup this year are second team All-Big Ten selections sophomore Alex Dickerson and junior Jerrud Sabourin. Dickerson, who hit 14 home runs in 2009, will see time in left field this year after playing as the designated hitter in 2009.Sabourin hit .343 last year and will remain at first base. Senior second baseman Tyler Rogers will return in the same position after hitting .314 with 5 home runs in 2009.“If we’re throwing enough strikes and putting balls in play, we’re going to put our best defensive lineup out there and not worry so much about offense,” Smith said.The team returns starter Blake Monar, who will get the nod for game one against San Diego to the front of the pitching rotation. Monar went 5-3 with a 4.64 ERA and a .251 batting average in 2009.“I’ve just been refining everything mentally and just learning the game better,” Monar said. “I’ve been working on changeups. My out pitch last year was my breaking ball, so this year I definitely want to mix in more changeups.”Filling out the rotation to start the season will be southpaw sophomore Matt Igel, who burst onto the scene late last year by winning the title-clincher against Minnesota in the Big Ten Conference Tournament.Freshman Walker Stadler, who posted a 1.90 ERA and struck out 80 in 50 innings pitched as a senior in high school in Illinois, will pitch the series finale Sunday.“I think the fact that the Big Ten is one of the only conferences in the country that doesn’t allow over-signing is a direct reflection on why we’re so thin on the mound,” Smith said. “With that said, I think we still got some good talent, some developmental talent and, in spite of that, some kids that are going to have to grow up a little bit sooner.”The work will be cut out for the Hoosiers this year, as they play at least 12 games against teams who were in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Add to the mix the 2010 Big Ten/Big East Challenge, and Smith’s squad will have to learn quickly. “That’s why we’re playing such a tough schedule,” Smith said. “You can get fooled by playing a weaker one. We’re going to know right away after this series in San Diego what’s working, what we do well and what’s not.”
(02/05/10 5:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With the 2010 season just two weeks away, the team has been in full practice mode, taking batting practice and running situational drills inside Mellencamp Pavilion every afternoon since Monday.IU coach Tracy Smith was quick to compliment sophomore pitchers Blake Monar and Matt Igel’s production down the stretch, but said he is wary of the rest of the rotation at Media Day on Thursday.“Truthfully, after that point, I don’t know. It’ll take two or three weeks of competition for us to figure that out.”Of the certainties Smith did mention were sophomore Alex Dickerson in left field, junior Brian Lambert leading off playing centerfield and junior Jerrud Sabourin at first base.IU lost seven players to the 2009 MLB draft, including four hitters that combined to hit 29 home runs last year. So while the offensive production might not be as high-powered as last season’s, the team is still optimistic about this year.“It won’t be as powerful, but I really think we’ll have more speed and more contact hitters this year,” Dickerson said. “We’ll have to manufacture runs. I mean, we won’t be a bomb-squad team, but I really do feel we’re going to scrape the runs across, play good defense and win some ballgames.”Enter sophomore Matt Ernest, who played wide receiver for IU football this past fall. IU recruited Ernest out of high school, but he decided to go the football route. He approached the coaching staff about the possibility of coming out for the team, and he was throwing in the 90s during a tryout. Ernest might be IU’s hardest thrower, and Smith said he could see him in the rotation this season.“Right now, and what I saw yesterday, he is truthfully as good as we got,” Smith said. “I just don’t know where his arm is going to be at this point endurance wise. His stuff is as good as we have.”While there is still time before the team heads out to San Diego to play a four-game series against the Toreros, Smith mentioned it could very well take until Big Ten play begins before a consistent rotation is determined.
(02/05/10 5:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With the 2010 season just two weeks away, the team has been in full practice mode, taking batting practice and running situational drills inside Mellencamp Pavilion every afternoon since Monday.IU coach Tracy Smith was quick to compliment sophomore pitchers Blake Monar and Matt Igel’s production down the stretch, but said he is wary of the rest of the rotation at Media Day on Thursday.“Truthfully, after that point, I don’t know. It’ll take two or three weeks of competition for us to figure that out.”Of the certainties Smith did mention were sophomore Alex Dickerson in left field, junior Brian Lambert leading off playing centerfield and junior Jerrud Sabourin at first base.IU lost seven players to the 2009 MLB draft, including four hitters that combined to hit 29 home runs last year. So while the offensive production might not be as high-powered as last season’s, the team is still optimistic about this year.“It won’t be as powerful, but I really think we’ll have more speed and more contact hitters this year,” Dickerson said. “We’ll have to manufacture runs. I mean, we won’t be a bomb-squad team, but I really do feel we’re going to scrape the runs across, play good defense and win some ballgames.”Enter sophomore Matt Ernest, who played wide receiver for IU football this past fall. IU recruited Ernest out of high school, but he decided to go the football route. He approached the coaching staff about the possibility of coming out for the team, and he was throwing in the 90s during a tryout. Ernest might be IU’s hardest thrower, and Smith said he could see him in the rotation this season.“Right now, and what I saw yesterday, he is truthfully as good as we got,” Smith said. “I just don’t know where his arm is going to be at this point endurance wise. His stuff is as good as we have.”While there is still time before the team heads out to San Diego to play a four-game series against the Toreros, Smith mentioned it could very well take until Big Ten play begins before a consistent rotation is determined.
(01/26/10 4:20am)
Coming off a 2009 season with arguably IU’s most talented baseball team
in its century-old history, the Hoosiers are going to have to get
creative. IU coach Tracy Smith enters 2010 trying to fill a void left from
losing three first-round picks and seven total players in the 2009
Major League Baseball Draft.