Indiana University Athletics
IUBaseBlog: One Week Away
2/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Get a look into the IU baseball team through the eyes of radio broadcaster Greg Murray throughout the 2015 season. Each week, he’ll take a look at Indiana’s last few games, and preview its upcoming opponents.
By: Greg Murray | Twitter: @g_murray
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The 2015 Indiana Hoosiers are one week away from opening up their season against Stanford. In this final roster preview, let’s take a look at what the Hoosiers return offensively.
The biggest question is how they plan to replace All-Americans Kyle Schwarber, Sam Travis and Dustin DeMuth in the batting order. Simply put - it may be an impossible task, but let’s not forget that Indiana returns three starters that hit over .300 last year, including First Team All-Big Ten members Brad Hartong and Scott Donley.
As expected, Hartong is moving from the outfield to catcher this year. He’s terrific defensively behind the plate, and is confident that he can handle the load of being the everyday backstop.
“It’s more comfortable and more natural for me,” Hartong said. “I caught all the pitchers in the fall and last year...I know what I need to do to help them out.”
Casey Rodrigue is back for his second year in Bloomington, and was a great catalyst in the leadoff spot. He will anchor the middle infield at second base, alongside double-play partner Nick Ramos at shortstop.
Coach Lemonis said on Media Day that the corner infield spots don’t yet have definitive starters. Brian Wilhite is in the mix at third base; he played in 16 games last year (mainly at shortstop) and may be the best defensive infielder on the roster. At first base, sophomores Austin Cangelosi and Craig Dedelow are the two front-runners according to Lemonis. Dedelow played in the outfield as a freshman, and Cangelosi saw time primarily at third base.
With Hartong moving to catcher, Will Nolden is the lone returning starter in the outfield. Beyond that, the remaining spots are a toss up. Lemonis said the he would like to get Donley in left field to open up the DH spot that he’s held for the past two seasons. Two other seniors, Ricky Alfonso and Chris Sujka, are other returners that could see time as well.
It’s hard to guess how the freshman class will be used at the beginning without seeing them in game action. After watching some of them at practice, my initial reaction is that they possess a lot of speed. Isaiah Pasteur can absolutely fly on the base paths. The outfield has a plethora of freshman newcomers, including Larry Crisler, Laren Eustace, Chris Lowe and Logan Sowers.
Particularly early in the season, I expect most position players to get a chance in the lineup. The same goes for pitching for that matter; the goal is to iron out a solid starting nine with three weekend starters by the time Big Ten play rolls around (March 20 at Penn State).
