Indiana University Athletics
Baseball Opens 2013 Season in Tampa Area
2/14/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 14, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana University's 118th season of baseball begins Friday night in Florida as the Hoosiers compete in the Big East-Big Ten Challenge, taking on #4 Louisville, Connecticut and South Florida during the opening weekend.
The 2013 campaigns starts under the lights of Florida Auto Exchange Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with the fourth-ranked Cardinals of Louisville. Saturday evening (7:30 p.m.) pits IU against Connecticut while Sunday's 1 p.m. match-up with USF wraps up the inter-conference event.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS
Friday vs. Louisville - Jr., LHP Joey DeNato vs. Jr., RHP Chad Green • GameTracker
Saturday vs. Connecticut - r-So. RHP Aaron Slegers vs. r-So., RHP Carson Cross • GameTracker
Sunday vs. USF - So., LHP Kyle Hart vs. TBD • GameTracker
All three contests can be heard free of charge on IUHoosiers.com as Kyle Kuhlman calls the action live from the Tampa area. Click here to listen in. Hoosier fans can also follow along on their smartphones by logging on to Twitter and following @IUBaseballNews for in-game updates.
ALL-TIME SERIES INFO
Louisville and Connecticut each hold two-game edges in the all-time series with Indiana, owning records of 21-19 and 3-1, respectively, vs. the Hoosiers. Meanwhile, the Cream and Crimson came out on top, 9-7, in the lone meeting ever with South Florida in 2009.
FLORIDA BOYS MAKE RETURN TO SUNSHINE STATE
Matt Dearden (Newberry, Fla.) and Christian Morris (Archer, Fla.) are each natives of the Sunshine State, growing up near Gainesville. The trek from both hometowns to the Tampa/St. Petersburg area is just over two hours.
OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER IS RESTORED
IU returns a large percentage of its offensive production from a year ago as 92% of homeruns, 88% of RBI, 85% of doubles and stolen bases, and 77% of triples from last season came from players returning for 2013.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR HOOSIERS
Four different entities have tabbed Indiana as the preseason favorites in the Big Ten, including the conference's head coaches in the preseason coaches poll. National media groups picking the Hoosiers include Baseball America, Perfect Game and CollegeBaseballInsider.com. Included in CBI.com's prognostications were league superlatives. Sophomore Sam Travis was named the Big Ten's "hitter you least want to face" and was one of three players voted as "the best pure hitters" and "biggest power threats" in the Big Ten Conference.
BIG-TIME COVERAGE ON THE BIG TEN NETWORK
Indiana will have at least three games broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network with the opportunity of being chosen for four `wild card' games towards the end of the regular season. The Hoosiers games versus Penn State (Mar. 24) and Louisville (Mar. 26) and at Nebraska (May 4) are set for BTN showings.
Also, highlights and coverage of Big Ten baseball and softball will be featured on the Diamond Report, which airs Sunday nights during the season beginning in April. Hosts Rick Pizzo, Mike Hall and various analysts will discuss Big Ten matchups and breakout performances from the weekend's games.
SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIONS
Indiana Baseball ha several social media avenues, including the official team Twitter page: @IUBaseballNews. Head Coach Tracy Smith has joined the Twitterverse as well and can be followed @HoosierBaseball. Facebook users can search "Indiana Hoosiers Baseball Team" locate the program's official Facebook page.
SKIP'S SCOOP RETURNS FOR THIS SEASON
Get access to the IU Baseball program like no other team in the country by viewing Skip's Scoop each and every week throughout the 2013 season. `The Scoop' is an interactive video show hosted by Head Coach Tracy Smith posted early each week on IUHoosiers.com that features program updates, student-athlete profiles, and much, much more.
