Smith gives newcomers opportunity in game against ISU
Apr 11, 2012 9:21 pmA mid-week contest against a nonconference opponent gave IU Coach Tracy Smith the opportunity to play some team members who do not play often.
A mid-week contest against a nonconference opponent gave IU Coach Tracy Smith the opportunity to play some team members who do not play often.
After trailing by four runs, the IU baseball team completed the comeback against the Indiana State University Sycamores behind a freshman Chris Sujka walk-off base-hit bunt in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 8-7 victory.
In the first matchup against the Sycamores of Indiana State University, the Hoosiers scored eight runs on 14 hits but lost 13-8 in a slugfest.
Though they enter today’s contest against Indiana State in a tie for second place in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers will not be able to improve their seeding. But freshman first baseman Sam Travis said his team must bring a better mindset to the ballpark.
After Illinois dropped the opener, the Fighting Illini rallied, winning 11-6 Sunday and the series 2-1. It was the Hoosiers’ first series loss in Big Ten play.
For the first time in 11 months, the Hoosiers will play the team that ended their season last year when they play the University of Illinois Fighting Illini.
After battling for 15 innings and four and a half hours, junior center fielder Justin Cureton ended the game with a RBI walk-off single to right to give the Hoosiers the 6-5 victory against Ball State at Sembower Field.
Extra innings wear both teams out
As dusk came and faded, the most important statistic on the scoreboard remained constant: Ball State 5, IU 5.
Freshman first baseman Sam Travis won the Big Ten’s Player of the Week for the second consecutive time Tuesday thanks to his performance against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Youth, and the decision for junior second baseman Micah Johnson to
undergo surgery, has caused IU Coach Tracy Smith to shuffle his lineup.
The Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in errors committed with 61.
However, Smith said he played the lineup Saturday that gave his team the
best chance to win. There was a small change in the lineup for Sunday’s
game, as redshirt freshman Tim O’Conner replaced fellow redshirt
freshman Will Nolden at right field.
After Iowa’s 4-0 win on Saturday, IU Coach Tracy Smith said he played the defensive lineup that gave his team the best chance to win.
Indiana scored 10 unanswered runs Sunday to rally from a 5-0 deficit and win the game 10-5, taking the series against the Iowa Hawkeyes, 2-1.
One of the biggest questions that IU Coach Tracy Smith and the baseball team are facing entering the second Big Ten series of the year is how to clean up the defensive play. After 25 games, the Hoosiers rank last in the Big Ten in errors with 57.
Freshman Sam Travis’s RBI single in the bottom of the first gave the
Hoosiers a 2-0 lead Tuesday against Xavier. The hit also extended his
hitting streak to 12 games.
But he could have never played a game for IU Coach Tracy Smith in an IU uniform.
Best friends.
That’s how IU baseball Coach Tracy Smith described his relationship with
Xavier Coach Scott Googins on Tuesday after Xavier defeated the
Hoosiers 11-3.
Despite jumping out to an early three-run lead, the IU baseball team
allowed the Xavier Musketeers’ offense to score 11 unanswered runs en
route to a 11-3 loss at
Sembower Field.
The Hoosiers take on the Xavier Musketeers today in their second home game at Sembower Field.
Chris Sujka’s two-run double in the sixth inning provided the Hoosiers all the offense necessary to win the game — and the series — 2-1 in the rubber match against Penn State. IU’s series win was the first foray into conference play for both teams.
IU’s 11-5 win Wednesday against Eastern Kentucky gave them their fourth win in six games. Their stop at Sembower Field was brief, as the team took a bus to State College, Pa. to open Big Ten play this weekend with a three-game series at Penn State.
Behind sophomore third baseman Dustin DeMuth’s four hits, three RBI and three runs, the IU baseball team exploded for 11 runs in the first six innings to win its home opener against Eastern Kentucky, 11-5.
Solutions by The State News