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(03/22/13 12:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Big Ten’s first- and last-place teams will play on Bart Kaufman Field when No. 29 IU (15-3) takes on Penn State (5-11) Friday to begin their three-game series this weekend.The weekend series against Penn State marks the beginning of the Big Ten season for the Hoosiers, who went 14-7 last year in conference play.“I’m really excited,” senior infielder Michael Basil said. “It seems like it crept up on us a little bit. I’m excited because winning the Big Ten is our No. 1 goal this year before anything else; we want to win the Big Ten outright.”This season, being nationally ranked for the first time in program history, the Hoosiers are in a different mindset then years past, IU Coach Tracy Smith said.“Before it’s always been we’ve had such a rotten spring break or something that the at-large stuff is pretty much out the door,” Smith said. “I don’t want us to think we’ve got to do any Herculean effort or anything differently once we hit Big Ten, let’s just keep doing what we’re doing.” IU has the significant advantage in several statistical categories against the Nittany Lions this season.Penn State ranks ninth in the Big Ten in batting average, ninth in slugging percentage, eighth in on-base percentage, ninth in runs scored, eighth in RBIs, eighth in hits and 10th in team earned run average.Meanwhile, IU ranks first for every one of those statistical categories in the conference. The probable pitchers for IU this weekend will be junior Joey DeNato on Friday and sophomore Kyle Hart on Saturday.As for who the third rotation guy will be, not only for this series but in future Big Ten matchups, Smith said he was not as sure.“That’s a very good question,” Smith said. “I would say right now, I would give the slight nod to (sophomore Aaron) Slegers, but we would still want to see it on a consistent basis.”Slegers pitched Wednesday against the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks in IU’s home opener and gave up no runs in three innings of work.Smith said the sophomore had a short outing on Wednesday in anticipation of him starting against the Nittany Lions this weekend.Slegers, who has a 1.69 ERA in 21.1 innings of work this year, has been throwing strikes and staying away from walks, an attribute Smith values in his pitchers instead of velocity.“This is not a slam, but we’ve got some really, really quality high mile-per-hour arms that aren’t getting a lot of innings because they are struggling with the strike zone,” Smith said. “The guys that are successful for us are throwing strikes.”Last season, the Hoosiers nearly recorded a sweep of the Nittany Lions, who finished third in the conference, but fell 4-3 in a 10 inning contest. They did win the season series, however, by a 2-1 margin.“We should have had a sweep against Penn State last year,” Basil said. “I think it’s a big weekend for us to really come out and prove where we think we are in the Big Ten.”
(03/21/13 7:47pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Big Ten’s first- and last-place teams will play on Bart Kaufman Field when No. 29 IU (15-3) takes on Penn State (5-11) Friday to begin their three-game series this weekend.The weekend series against Penn State marks the beginning of the Big Ten season for the Hoosiers, who went 14-7 last year in conference play.“I’m really excited,” senior infielder Michael Basil said. “It seems like it crept up on us a little bit. I’m excited because winning the Big Ten is our No. 1 goal this year before anything else; we want to win the Big Ten outright.”This season, being nationally ranked for the first time in program history, the Hoosiers are in a different mindset then years past, IU Coach Tracy Smith said.“Before it’s always been we’ve had such a rotten spring break or something that the at-large stuff is pretty much out the door,” Smith said. “I don’t want us to think we’ve got to do any Herculean effort or anything differently once we hit Big Ten, let’s just keep doing what we’re doing.” IU has the significant advantage in several statistical categories against the Nittany Lions this season.Penn State ranks ninth in the Big Ten in batting average, ninth in slugging percentage, eighth in on-base percentage, ninth in runs scored, eighth in RBIs, eighth in hits and 10th in team earned run average.Meanwhile, IU ranks first for every one of those statistical categories in the conference. The probable pitchers for IU this weekend will be junior Joey DeNato on Friday and sophomore Kyle Hart on Saturday.As for who the third rotation guy will be, not only for this series but in future Big Ten matchups, Smith said he was not as sure.“That’s a very good question,” Smith said. “I would say right now, I would give the slight nod to (sophomore Aaron) Slegers, but we would still want to see it on a consistent basis.”Slegers pitched Wednesday against the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks in IU’s home opener and gave up no runs in three innings of work.Smith said the sophomore had a short outing on Wednesday in anticipation of him starting against the Nittany Lions this weekend.Slegers, who has a 1.69 ERA in 21.1 innings of work this year, has been throwing strikes and staying away from walks, an attribute Smith values in his pitchers instead of velocity.“This is not a slam, but we’ve got some really, really quality high mile-per-hour arms that aren’t getting a lot of innings because they are struggling with the strike zone,” Smith said. “The guys that are successful for us are throwing strikes.”Last season, the Hoosiers nearly recorded a sweep of the Nittany Lions, who finished third in the conference, but fell 4-3 in a 10 inning contest. They did win the season series, however, by a 2-1 margin.“We should have had a sweep against Penn State last year,” Basil said. “I think it’s a big weekend for us to really come out and prove where we think we are in the Big Ten.”
(03/21/13 5:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU played their first ever game at Kaufman Field Wednesday, which many players said is a definite upgrade from their old facility, Sembower Field.“It’s unbelievable,” senior infielder Michael Basil said. “The difference between this and Sembower is like going from a high school field to a cathedral.”The Hoosiers improved to 15-3 on the year after they beat Miami (Ohio) 15-1 Wednesday night. IU has won eight straight games and 13 of their last 14.“After the game, I did talk to the guys about how proud I am of them,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “All the stuff that goes into this moment and this game ... I was proud of the fact we got a good thing going right now, and I can see the guys are taking just a little bit more pride in stuff.” It was frosty conditions as the wind chill was 21 degrees when the first pitch was hurled and 17 degrees by the end of the contest. During the first few innings, snowflakes were fluttering around Kaufman Field.“Even with how cold, it was it was kind of an afterthought in your mind because of how excited I was to be out on the field,” Basil said.Sophomore pitcher Aaron Slegers gave the Hoosiers three scoreless innings in his fifth start of the season, and in relief, freshman Evan Bell threw three scoreless innings of his own.“Bell’s not going to overpower you, but he’s going to throw strikes,” Smith said.Junior Matt Dearden contributed two more scoreless innings, and junior Walker Stradler gave up one run in his one inning of work.For the third straight year, Miami pitcher Alex Brown started against IU. And for the third straight year, Brown gave up at least three earned runs to Hoosier hitters. Brown lasted two innings and gave up the first ever run in Kaufman stadium, an infield single by junior utility player Casey Smith to score sophomore infielder Scott Donley.IU blew the game open in the third frame, scoring seven runs. Casey highlighted the inning with bases clearing double and had five RBIs on the day.Last year, Casey had to sit out the entire season with an injury and was subsequently redshirted. Now he is getting a chance to prove his worth to the team.“He’s gone through a lot,” Basil said of Casey. “So it’s awesome for him to be able to do that in the home opener.” Casey is the son of IU manager Tracy and said when he reached third base after his double, his father told him how proud he was.“Just to see it in his eyes, I was all excited,” Casey said. “This is a dream come true, finally.”“I was saying to him, ‘I’m proud of you,’” Tracy said. “Because he’s had to sit back and watch ... It wasn’t necessarily a coach, player thing. It was more of a father, son thing.”IU had two bases clearing doubles on the day, the first by Casey and the second by junior infielder Dustin DeMuth in the fifth inning. On the day, seven Hoosiers scored a run with Donley leading the way with four.In all, IU’s potent offense went through seven Miami pitchers, but there is still more to prove for DeMuth.“We really haven’t reached our potential yet,” DeMuth said. “But once we do that, we’re pretty dangerous.”
(03/21/13 12:16am)
IU (15-3) beat up on Miami of Ohio today in Kaufman Field's first ever game, winning 15-1. IU blew the game open in the third inning, tallying seven runs in the frame. The Hoosiers completed the two game sweep of the Redhawks, outscoring them 26-3 in two days of action.
(03/20/13 4:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The days of grass and dirt stains are done for IU baseball when the team plays in Bloomington.“You’re going to have to slide very, very, very early,” sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber said. “It’s completely different from sliding on dirt, because when it’s wet on dirt you have to slide later, and on turf when it’s wetter you’ll slide about 15 feet before the bag.”Kaufman Field, which will welcome its first ever game tonight, is entirely turf. There is no natural grass or dirt on the field. Senior outfielder Justin Cureton said some players will have to adjust their slides. Having turf instead of grass gives the game a faster pace, Cureton said. The ball gets to the fielder faster and allows runners to run quicker. “I prefer turf because I’m a speed guy,” Cureton said. IU switched to a turf field because the climate of the Midwest is not conducive for a field with natural grass and dirt. Indiana State, Louisville, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and Ohio State also have artificial fields, IU Coach Tracy Smith said.“I’m a traditionalist, too,” Smith said. “My preference would be to go out there and have an immaculate grass, dirt facility, but it just doesn’t make a lot of sense with where we are geographically.”One thing separating IU from most schools is the artificial mound in Kaufman Field. Other schools usually have a dirt mound, something that will be a distinct advantage for IU’s pitchers, who reportedly enjoy pitching off the new mound, Smith said. “Most college mounds you cannot maintain like the major league mounds,” Smith said. “But if you’ve ever been on a major league mound and then stood on this, it feels just like that.”Junior pitcher Joey DeNato hasn’t thrown off the new mound yet, but he has thrown from the artificial bullpen mounds and likes the way they feel.The California native said he didn’t play on an artificial field before his freshman year at college when the Hoosiers played at Illinois. “I think other teams will struggle with it just because they’re probably going to have to play with metal cleats when we’re playing with our turfs,” DeNato said.The artificial field is not yet a home field advantage for the Hoosiers, as the team had its first practice at Kaufman Field on Monday.The artificial grass and dirt will eliminate bad hops on ground balls. Several players said the consistency of ground balls will be a much-welcomed feature of the stadium. “I think this one is sweet,” DeNato said. “Just everything about it. I’d much rather play in this.”Smith said he believes the absence of dirt from IU baseball will not be a big deal and that fans won’t notice.“It’s going to be baseball,” Smith said. “I don’t think people will be disappointed.”
(03/18/13 11:48pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After playing all its games in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, the IU baseball team will play its first game up north when it takes on Miami (Ohio) in Oxford, Ohio, today.IU Coach Tracy Smith said he doesn’t know exactly what to expect playing in cold weather.“As I’m sitting here in 75-degree sunshine right now, that’s a good question,” Smith said with a chuckle. “But you just have to be mentally tough. It’s not ideal conditions, but both teams are playing in it.”The high is an expected 41 degrees with windy conditions when No. 24 IU (13-3) plays Miami of Ohio (7-8). The start time was moved to 4 p.m. from a 6 p.m. start due to the cold weather.The blustery conditions won’t bother the Hoosiers though, junior pitcher Ryan Halstead said.“We practice in the cold weather all the time,” Halstead said. “I think it’s somewhat of an advantage. I think we’ll have to rely on pitching once again, but our hitters will be there as well. We’ll be fine.”This is a coming-home party for Smith, whose alma mater is Miami. Smith coached there for several years, leading the Redhawks to 317 wins and eight straight 30-win seasons under his tenure. “I love going back, because Oxford was a big part of my life,” Smith said. “I love seeing old friends, so it’s always a fun trip.”The butterflies have worn off, though, because he has been separated from the Miami community for eight years now.“I wouldn’t even say nerves, but the excitement has gone away,” Smith said. “I’ve been gone almost as long as I coached at Miami.”The Redhawks are coming off a successful 5-2 spring break trip, outscoring their opponents 61-29.Wednesday, IU will play the Redhawks in the home season opener in brand new Kaufman Field.Despite all the festivities the following day, junior infielder Dustin DeMuth said his team will not overlook the first game of the series in Oxford.“We’re a pretty mature group,” DeMuth said. “We have a good foundation, and Miami of Ohio is always a big game. We always want to beat them, so I don’t think we’ll overlook them.”Miami and IU have two common opponents so far this season: Army and Navy. The Hoosiers beat both of the military academies by a combined score of 8-2, while Miami beat Navy and lost to Army 13-7. Since the Redhawks always play tough, overlooking them is not an option for Halstead.“I don’t think we’ll overlook them at all,” Halstead said. “Miami has always played us really hard and always give us a good game, so we’ll be ready to go.”
(03/18/13 3:04pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the first time in the program’s 118-year history, the IU baseball team is ranked in the top 25 by Baseball America.“It’s one thing to say we want to be in the top 25,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “But OK, now we’re there. I think we’ve identified Omaha as a goal now.”The Hoosiers had a successful spring break, going a combined 7-1 to push their overall record to 13-3 this season while earning a No. 24 ranking from the magazine.“That was one of the goals we set up at the beginning of the season,” junior infielder Dustin DeMuth said. “But we’re definitely not satisfied with just being in the top 25. We want to be in the national scene the rest of the season.”The action during spring break started off with a series win against perennial powerhouse University of Florida. Until late February, the Gators had been nationally ranked since April 2009.The Hoosiers took two of three from Florida, their first win of a three-game series against a nonconference opponent since 2007.Following his weekend performance in Gainesville, Fla., sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber won the Big Ten Player of the Week for the first time in his career. “I don’t want to say we go as (Schwarber) goes, but it certainly helps our offense when he’s hitting,” Smith said. “And the reason I think he’s hitting is he’s got a couple guys swinging the bat real well behind him.”Against the Gators, Schwarber batted .714 with a homerun and four runs batted in. On the season, the catcher leads the team in batting average, hits, homers, RBIs and total bases.“Schwarber is just a beast is what it comes down to,” junior pitcher Ryan Halstead said. “In the Florida series, he single-handedly carried us offensively.” In the five games during their annual spring break trip, the Hoosiers went undefeated, going 5-0 against Army, Fairfield, Navy, Bucknell and Alabama-Birmingham. The cream and crimson outscored their opponents 36-10.This marks the first time in Smith’s eight seasons at the helm that his team has gone undefeated on the spring break trip. In the last seven spring break trips, IU has gone a combined 26-25.IU pitchers shut out Fairfield and Navy, making three shutouts for IU this season. Throughout the year, the Hoosiers have a team-earned run average of 2.20, the lowest in the Big Ten.Of everybody who has pitched more than 10 innings this season, no single player at IU has an ERA more than 2.88.“This is probably one of the better pitching staffs we’ve had,” Smith said. “I know we’ve had seven or eight guys getting it down, and that’s all you can ask for.”Halstead leads the team with three saves on the season and has given up only two earned runs in 13.2 innings of work. He said he expected the pitching staff to be this efficient.“Personally, I did,” Halstead said. “We had a bunch of new guys coming in to boost competition among our experienced guys like (sophomore Aaron) Slegers, (junior) Joey (DeNato) and (sophomore) Kyle Hart.”
(03/06/13 12:50am)
The Hoosiers (6-2) received a vote today in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
(03/05/13 4:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>They looked at each other, both smiling, and then sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber pointed to his right toward sophomore infielder Sam Travis, but Travis was having none of it.“That’s not a question that we can discuss,” Travis said, laughing and shifting around nervously. “We’re on the same team. That’s all that matters.”They were uneasy about answering the question of who the better hitter between them was. But for good reason: The bats of Travis and Schwarber were almost statistically identical last season. And both were statistically phenomenal. Last year, Travis, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, had a .319 average, nine home runs, 50 RBIs and 118 total bases.Not to be outdone, Schwarber had a .300 average, eight home runs, 47 RBIs and 118 total bases.Both players played in all 60 games of their freshman campaign and were named Freshmen All-Americans.“Me and (Travis) had some pretty high expectations coming into last season,” Schwarber said. “We both know that we are pretty good ball players. They put us right in the middle of the lineup.”Schwarber, listed at 6-foot and 235 pounds, bats second for the Hoosiers with Travis sitting behind him on the lineup card.However, Schwarber is not your typical two-hole hitter, IU Coach Tracy Smith said.“He’s a bit unorthodox,” Smith said. “Big ole’ burly, crusty two-hole guy, but so what? He still comes to the plate more often than not.”He would love to move Schwarber back in the lineup for more RBI situations but isn’t comfortable with the notion of an inning passing without both his sluggers getting to the plate, Smith said.“My philosophy is ‘let’s get our best hitters to the plate as much as we can,’” Smith said. “I don’t want that first inning to go by and have Schwarber and Travis not hit.”Smith’s philosophy is backed up by statistics. Both Travis and Schwarber ranked in the top seven in the Big Ten in home runs, RBIs and total bases as freshmen.Following up their freshman campaigns, the two were named Big Ten players to watch heading into this season. “We don’t really pay attention to that preseason stuff,” Travis said. “We’re just playing Indiana baseball.”Both have new goals for their second season donning the cream and crimson. They went to the Cape Cod League this summer to hone their talents and have a few key things they’ll be looking to improve.“We’re being more selective in our pitch counts,” Schwarber said. “And, defensively, we’re not so much rookies anymore, we’re veterans. We’re just taking it ball by ball, you know?”Both Travis and Schwarber had 11 errors last season as freshmen, which tied them for third most on the team. Smith said with such a talented bat, you have to take the errors as they come.“It’s a concern,” Smith said. “But you have to weigh all the facets of the game. Those guys are going to bring enough to the table offensively that we may have to live with an error here or there. I don’t want to, but we have to.”Even though both were selected as Freshmen All-Americans, Smith said they have a lot more to prove in order to reach the lofty standards set by the recent success of IU baseball.“They have a lot of career left, so I’ll reserve some of my comments on their legacy,” Smith said. “But as a tandem, as two players that feed off each other and that are important to a particular ball club, these guys are up there.”If IU wants to achieve their lofty goals this year, they will lean heavily on Travis and Schwarber, as they did last season.IU was picked to win the Big Ten this year by several national media outlets, as well as the Big Ten coaches. The Hoosiers surprised a lot of people last year by finishing second in the Big Ten. They were not picked by the conference coaches to finish in the top six in the preseason.“Big Ten championship, going to regionals, supers and then hopefully the College World Series,” Schwarber said. “Those are our expectations for this year.”The lack of freshmen lends credence to the maturity of the team, Schwarber added.“The sky’s the limit for us,” Travis said with a smile.
(02/28/13 7:48pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As the Big Ten favorite, it raises expectations of the team this season. The Hoosiers (3-2) have lofty goals when they travel to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for their third series of the year.“I would say we’re expecting to take the sweep this weekend,” sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber said.However, winning is not the most important thing for his team, IU Coach Tracy Smith said.“The game for us is how well we play,” Smith said. “It’s kind of like the first weekend. We didn’t walk away with the sweep, we were 2-1, but I was pleased with the way we played outside of one inning. So I more dictate my feelings on how we play.”IU kicks off the weekend against West Virginia (3-4) Friday. The Hoosiers will have to deal with outfielder Jacob Rice, who won the Big 12 newcomer of the week this week.The junior transfer batted .563 and recorded three stolen bases this weekend.On Saturday, the Hoosiers will play host of the tournament against Coastal Carolina (3-3), who sophomore infielder Sam Travis sees as the biggest threat this weekend.“I definitely believe Coastal has had some really good success the past few years,” Travis said. “We’re going to go in and play our game, relaxed and confident to get the W.”Schwarber played summer ball this year in Cape Cod and saw a few Coastal Carolina players, so he knows the most about the Chanticleers.“Coastal has had a lot of success, they are a pretty good ball club,” Schwarber said. “They have some good players and some good talent. The other clubs, we really don’t know that much about.”Last year Coastal Carolina went 42-19 and lost to Clemson in the NCAA Regionals. They have had a tradition of winning the last few years, with an average of 48 wins per season the last six years and eclipsing the 50-win mark three times during that stretch.During the last six years for the Hoosiers, they have averaged 28 wins a season.When IU plays UMBC (0-0) on Sunday, this will be the Retrievers first series of the year, something that will benefit the Hoosiers, Schwarber said.“I definitely think we have the advantage,” Schwarber said. “This is their first series so you don’t know how they’ve been practicing and I don’t even know if they’ve gotten outside. So it’s definitely an advantage for us.”Last season, the Retrievers went 10-42, and struggled in the American East conference, going just 2-22 in league play. For IU, Smith said the first time they got onto a field wasn’t until their first game of the season due to the cold weather. But UMBC’s inexperience will not be in the minds of his players come game time.“All the teams in that tournament, them included, are good programs,” Smith said. “If you don’t bring your best you’re going to lose, so we’re not taking anything for granted.”
(02/25/13 4:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a waterlogged weekend, IU baseball (3-2) split two games with Georgia Southern (4-2) after two days of weather delays.“People spent a lot of money and a lot of time this weekend,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “You don’t want to be sitting around in a hotel room, so yeah, it was nice to get back out there.” Originally a three-game series, the third game was canceled after the teams could get through only four innings of the first game in two days.Senior infielder Michael Basil said there was a lot of downtime in between the eight announced start times on Friday and Saturday.“A lot of guys sit around and play cards, and some guys will do homework,” Basil said. “There’s not a lot to do in these situations.”The opening game was suspended Friday night because of dense fog and then Saturday due to rain and lighting.Game one of the series concluded just before noon Sunday, roughly 41 hours after the opening pitch Friday evening. The Hoosiers fell for the second time this season, 12-7. Game two was a different story and saw the Hoosiers pick up their first road win of the season, grounding the Eagles 11-5.IU rode the strong performances of sophomore pitcher Kyle Hart and freshman pitcher Scott Effross. The duo went a combined 8.2 innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits.“I thought they both threw really well,” Smith said. “(Hart) didn’t have his best stuff today, but Effross came in and picked him up. They did their job.” After debuting for the Hoosiers last weekend, Effross said he was proud of how he pitched today. “I’m pretty happy,” Effross said. “It was good to go out there and help the team. Our offense put a lot of runs on the board today. Basil had a good game, and I didn’t make a close game out of it.” Basil and sophomore catcher Kyle Schwarber spearheaded the Hoosier offense. Each had one home run and three RBI. Basil was a perfect 3-for-3 and finished a triple short of the cycle.“Only having played two games, it would have been nice to win both,” Basil said. “Given how the first game started, and then given how long the process was to even get that game in, I’m happy with how we responded.”Even though Basil and Schwarber had big numbers, Smith said he thought highly of sophomore Scott Donley and junior Casey Smith because sophomore first baseman Sam Travis, who won the Big Ten player of the week last week, struggled at the plate.“Donley and Smith swung the bat really well,” Smith said. “Travis struggled a little bit today, so it was nice of those guys to pick him up.”This series had national media attention, as Baseball America classified this series as a “compelling mid-major showdown,” Smith said he was happy with his team’s performance.“We weren’t really sharp defensively against a quality opponent,” Smith said. “So yeah, the way we played, I’ll take it.”
(02/19/13 8:20pm)
Sophomore outfielder Will Nolden has been named IU Scholar-Athlete of the Month for January, this afternoon.
(02/19/13 3:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last season, the IU baseball team captured the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament despite its defense. It is essential to getting off to a crisper start in the field this time around, IU Coach Tracy Smith said.“Last year was one of the craziest years,” Smith said. “It’s hard for me to even talk about it. We were making errors like I’ve never seen, so I got to believe that was an aberration.”The Hoosiers had the most errors of any Big Ten school by a significant margin. They finished with 109 and the lowest fielding percentage in the conference at 0.955 percent.Northwestern had the second most errors in the league at 82. IU had more than double the amount of errors than Minnesota, who had the least amount in the Big Ten with 54.Senior infielder Michael Basil led his team in errors the last two seasons with 23 in 2012 and 19 in 2011. Basil said he knows the importance of getting off to a good start in the field and thinks this year will be better.“Because of the maturity at every position and also the competitiveness, we have back-ups who can come in and take over,” Basil said. “Two freshmen were fielding great in fall ball, so I’m like, ‘I have to step up my game.’”Smith said he noticed the improvement in Basil’s fielding and thought he thrived off the stiff competition.For the entire team, having more depth has increased the level of play, Smith said.“We had other people come in to practice and say, ‘You never take infield like that. That was good,’” Smith said. “So I think competition is good.”Not many players finished where they started on the field last season, which Basil said is a “musical chairs of positions.”Smith said moving players around contributed to the high number of errors, particularly in the beginning the season. But it still is not a viable excuse, he said. “As a coach, you wish it wouldn’t matter,” Smith said. “I’m of the mindset where if you’re good, you’re good, you just make plays. I don’t care if I stuck you in center field, but I understand sometimes the immature mentality of these guys.”Junior pitcher Joey DeNato said the team has set a new goal to get a .970 fielding percentage or better this year. He said as a pitcher, worrying about what defense is doing behind you has no benefits. “As a pitcher, you don’t really think about it too much,” DeNato said. “It does affect your confidence as a team though.”The Hoosiers head into the season projected to finish atop the conference by the Big Ten coaches along with national media outlets Baseball America, Perfect Game and BaseballInsider.com.Smith said he thinks limiting the number of errors is vital to reaching the lofty expectations.“If we could hold onto the ball, we could do some special things,” Smith said.
(02/18/13 9:26pm)
Sophomore infielder Sam Travis and freshman pitcher Evan Bell were named Big Ten player of the week and Co-Big Ten freshman of the week respectively, this afternoon.
(01/28/13 10:50pm)
IU volleyball has a new director of operations.
(11/27/12 10:21pm)
Junior outside hitter Jordan Haverly of the IU volleyball team has been named an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection.
(11/26/12 5:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The three seniors on the IU volleyball team, setter Whitney Granado, middle blocker Samantha Thrower and right-side hitter Kelci Marschall have played their last IU game.“You’re a freshman and you’re like ‘It’s never going to get here’, then it just kind of snuck up on me,” Granado said. “It’s just surreal and too soon.”The Hoosiers (12-20, 4-16) finished the season on a four match losing streak, losing to No. 2 Penn State, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 22 Purdue and No. 11 Minnesota.The Hoosiers started off their last portion on the season losing to Penn State in three sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-16.“They’ve got tons of talent,” Marschall said. “They’re a great team, they got a great coach and know how to play the game and execute very well. So they really are the best team we played.”Opponents outscored IU 12-1 in total sets during their last four matches. The Hoosiers’ lone set win came on senior night against Ohio State. Despite the festivities and celebration after the match, the Buckeyes stole the contest, 25-18, 25-21, 26-28, 25-23.Ohio State outscored IU by 11 points in the first two sets, but IU came out with a regained focus and almost pushed Ohio State to a fifth set.“The first two sets were kind of a shell-shocker, I don’t know what was going on there,” Granado said. “I was definitely happy with the third and the fourth set with coming together and how we fought.”With the rest of the matches, junior outside hitter Jordan Haverly led her team with 15 kills against the Buckeyes.During the team’s final four matches, Haverly tallied up 62 total kills.On Wednesday, the Hoosiers traveled to West Lafayette to face the Boilermakers. IU picked up its first conference win of the season against Purdue back on Oct. 16.This time, the Boilermakers got revenge on their in-state rival. They picked up valuable Crimson and Gold Cup points by besting IU in straight sets 25-21, 25-20, 25-23.In the last match of the season, IU welcomed the Golden Gophers into University Gym on Saturday. The team ended the 2012 season on a sour note, losing in straight sets 25-22, 25-20, 25-22.Haverly recorded five aces, which tied for second-highest in a three set conference match in IU history.The third set saw the Hoosiers jump out to a 21-13 lead before falling apart and surrendering a 12-1 run to the Gophers, and ending the seniors’ careers in the process.“It’s definitely rewarding,” IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said. “It’s sad to see them go, but it’s also one of the most rewarding nights for me. They’ve grown up as people, not just as players.”
(11/16/12 5:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The three seniors on the IU volleyball team, middle blocker Samantha Thrower, setter Whitney Granado and right-side hitter Kelci Marschall will be honored Nov. 17 when the Hoosiers play Ohio State.“It’s hard, it’s not something that I try to think about a lot,” Marschall said. “But I’ll be thinking about all the memories that I have here and how much I love my teammates and appreciate playing with them.”IU and their seniors (12-16, 4-12) welcome No. 2 Penn State (25-2, 15-1) and No. 15 Ohio State (20-8, 11-5) this weekend into University Gym.“This has been a long time coming, but it’s still pretty surreal that senior night is actually this Saturday,” Granado said. “I can’t admit to myself yet that it’s going to end yet.”The maturation not only as players, but as people, is what makes the experience moving for IU Coach Sherry Dunbar.“(The seniors) always look forward to it, but it’s sad,” Dunbar said. “Not just as players, but they’ve matured as young women.”The Hoosiers kick off the weekend against the Big Ten leader, Penn State, Nov. 16. This marks the first of four straight matches against ranked opponents for IU.The Hoosiers played the Nittany Lions earlier this season on Oct. 13 and lost in four sets.IU is one of only six Big Ten teams to win a set against Penn State, and the Nittany Lions haven’t lost a set in their last three games.Junior outside hitter Jordan Haverly ranks sixth in the Big Ten with a 3.93 kills-per-set average in conference games and said taking down the conference juggernaut won’t be easy, but it is feasible.“If we play to our potential, we could make it interesting,” Haverly said. “I mean, it just depends on what we decide to do. We could if we all decided we wanted to.”If Dunbar’s team wakes up Nov. 17 having upset the Nittany Lions, the key was likely being the aggressor, she said.“You have to just go all out against a team like that,” Dunbar said. “You can’t play it safe.”During Senior Night on Nov. 17, Ohio State will come into Bloomington hoping to spoil the festivities and beat IU for the second time this season.The Buckeyes’ conference record is tied for third-best in the Big Ten, and they won six of their last seven matches heading into this weekend.IU will have to contend with senior outside hitter Mari Hole. The UCLA transfer ranks second in the Big Ten with an average of 4.27 kills per set in conference games and was named Big Ten Player of the Week for last week’s performance.The last time the two teams faced off was over a month ago, and since then the Hoosiers have grown in talent and experience, Marschall said.“I think that we are really hitting our stride now,” Marschall said. “I think we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and how we work better and how we play better, and I think that’s helping us with our competition.”
(11/15/12 6:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Setter Whitney Granado: the shy, quiet one. Right-side hitter Kelci Marschall: the outspoken leader. Middle blocker Samantha Thrower: the cool, calm one who goes about her business. The three seniors of the IU volleyball program will be honored at Senior Night against Ohio State on Saturday and lace up their shoes for the last time against Minnesota on Nov. 24.This group helped lead IU to some of its best moments, particularly the Sweet 16 run in 2010. The eclectic and diverse threesome has become inseparable.It wasn’t always that way, though.“I didn’t like Kelci at all,” Granado said while laughing at the memory. “Because when we were on a visit together, I thought she was so mean.”Granado had a simple explanation as to why her fellow senior was mean.“Because she was,” Granado said. “It was probably just because I was so quiet and she was very outspoken.”They have come to love each other and have already made plans to be in one another’s weddings.“I think we have really different personalities, but opposites attract,” Marschall said. “I was obnoxious, Whitney was dead silent and Sam was in between. We didn’t know what to think of each other.”Granado has become more outspoken and is now a leader of the team, IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said.“Whitney came in and was this quiet kid from California,” Dunbar said. “Then things changed last year. She really took it upon herself to be a leader. It was really nice to see someone who was able to make that decision to change.”This year has been plagued by injuries for Granado, as was most of her career, Dunbar said.She missed the first 12 games of the season due to complications with mononucleosis and had a leg injury that caused her to miss some action in the conference portion of the schedule.When she came back this season, she was one of the conference’s best setters.“I would have loved to see her healthy for four years and see what she could have done,” Dunbar said.Her teammates said Granado came into the program as a shy, quiet kid and leaves as one of the most vocal leaders of the team.But she’s not shy anymore, just reserved, Marschall said.“She’s not shy, she just doesn’t feel the need to tell everyone what she’s thinking,” Marschall said. “Like I do.”Marschall is the primary vocal leader of the team and the one who addresses her teammates during timeouts and pre-game pump up speeches most of the time.“She’s really a student of the game,” Dunbar said. “She’s got a true love for the sport, which I love.“If we walk into practice and it’s 30 minutes before practice and someone’s hitting balls, she grabs balls and wants to hit with them.”Marschall and Thrower hit it off right away, the friends said, partly because of the valuable asset Marschall had that every college kid desires — a car.“And you guys used my car and snuck to the mall, I know you did,” Marshall said to her teammates to the left and right of her. “That was just evil.”Then there’s Thrower, master car thief and middle blocker for the team. The one who always plays it cool, her teammates said.Except on the court, where she dominates, Dunbar said. Her coach added she wishes Thrower had one more year, as she’s playing the best volleyball of her career right now.“Physically, she’s a monster,” Dunbar said. “Teams are running their defenses around her and trying to stop her, because she’s such a significant presence out on the court.”Thrower is one of the top players in the Big Ten at protecting the net. She ranks third in the conference with a 1.28 blocks-per-set average.The middle blocker has matured and taken her senior year seriously, which is different from when she first came into the program, Dunbar said.“She was kind of goofy, and everybody picked on Sam,” Dunbar said with a smile. “Now she’s a woman. I don’t know. She’s just different.”Her fellow senior teammates thought she was cool and easy to get along with when they first met her. They didn’t have the rocky start Granado and Marschall had.“I thought Sam was cool,” Granado said. “I didn’t really know her, but she was fine, just kind of there and happy.”Marschall agreed.“Sam was just Sam,” she said. “There’s no other way to describe her.”To her coach, Thrower’s business-like attitude and lunch-pail mentality stands out to her.“Never complains. That’s the one thing I’ll say about Sam,” Dunbar said. “She’s not been in the training room for four years, maybe except to get a Band-Aid. Never complains. It is rare to have a kid on your team who never complains.” After the trio experienced a sophomore year regarded as the best in program history — the Hoosiers’ had their only Sweet 16 appearance — the program took a dramatic hit the following year.The team went 1-19 in Big Ten play and was tied for the worst conference record with Iowa.This year, the final for these three players, the team has gone 4-12 in the Big Ten, adding to the consistency they gain as they go throughout the season.IU started the year 0-8 in the conference and since has gone 4-4.For the seniors, building the program to what it was two years ago is their main focus.“This year it’s coming back,” Granado said. “It’s kind of where we were at as freshmen. So if that’s the trend to get back where we were when we leave, then I would feel really proud that we helped make that step.”The chain of command has been passed down throughout the years, Marschall said. The installments of character that were drilled into them as underclassmen are the same values they are trying to give the underclassmen.“That’s the reputation that volleyball has and we’ve worked hard to get,” Marshall said. “Doing things the right way, even when no one is looking.”Dunbar is happy the seniors want to leave the program better then when they came in.“They’ve had one of those careers where it’s been kind of up and down,” Dunbar said. “Last year being obviously the worst year, and this year where we actually have talent, but we’re not consistently winning.”It’s not just the wins and losses that will be the legacy of these three teammates, their coach added in.“They do well in school, make good decisions and care a lot about the program and the University,” Dunbar said.After graduation and when their eligibility for volleyball dries up, they each plan to go in different directions.Granado hopes to go to law school, Marschall wants to continue playing volleyball in Puerto Rico and Thrower is applying for an internship this spring in sports marketing.No matter what, though, they will still be inseparable.“We’re best friends,” Marschall said. “We don’t have to worry about staying in touch. It’s not something we are going to stress about, because we know wherever we are and whatever we’re doing, we’ll find a way.”
(11/12/12 5:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After starting the Big Ten season 0-8, the IU volleyball team has rallied in the second half of the season, going 4-4 in the team’s last eight matches.“After seeing the entire conference, we said ‘We can play with this group,’” IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said. “It’s a very talented Big Ten, but we knew we could play with them.”IU (12-16, 4-12) continued its steady play this weekend, going 1-1 out in the western outskirts of conference territory by losing to No. 9 Nebraska (20-5, 12-4) and taking down Iowa (10-19, 2-14).Junior outside hitter Jordan Haverly led the Hoosiers in kills for both matches this weekend, and she said she thinks her team is undergoing a psychological change these last eight matches.“In the first part of the season, we were really close,” Haverly said. “We’ve been really working on fighting hard and trying to outwork our opponents. That’s allowing us to get these wins.”IU started off the weekend losing to Nebraska (25-11, 18-25, 25-13, 25-22) in front of a crowd of 4,109. Dunbar said the Huskers have the best fan base in the country.“It’s the friendliest environment you can play in front of,” Dunbar said. “They just appreciate good volleyball. It was really tight and the crowd was into it. You just can’t get that anywhere else in the country.”Being down 2-1 sets heading into the fourth, IU had a chance to push the Huskers to a fifth set for the second time this season.The Hoosiers were up 21-20, then saw the match slip away as Nebraska went on a 5-1 run to take the set and the match.The Huskers, a perennial volleyball powerhouse, joined the Big Ten last season and brought their tradition and fan support with them.“I’m really happy they’re in our conference,” Dunbar said. “They’re such a competitive team, they make you step up to the highest level and they just add so much to our conference.”IU picked up its fourth win of conference play against Iowa Saturday night (25-21, 25-23, 25-16).In the Hoosiers’ second sweep of a Big Ten foe this season, Haverly and senior middle blocker Samantha Thrower each had double-digit kills to lead the team.“I think we’re just finding our level of play,” Thrower said. “We are playing at the level we know we can.”Thrower also had five blocks to go along with her kills, and the senior ranks third in the conference with a 1.28 blocks per set average.“I thought (Thrower) dominated,” Dunbar said. “We told her she was going to have a chance to do that tonight against this team, and I thought she really embraced that.”Despite going into the locker room up two sets to none, the team was not satisfied with their level of play up until that point, Dunbar said.“They just didn’t feel like they were playing their level,” Dunbar said. “I thought we came out in the third set and really dominated.”