Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Readies For “Measuring Stick” Weekend
2/24/2016 8:40:00 PM | Baseball
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Even in February, Indiana can't help but think about Omaha.
A three-game series against a ranked Cal State Fullerton squad will provide an honest assessment of where the Hoosiers stand nationally—at least as of this weekend. The Titans are one of two non-conference opponents on IU's schedule currently ranked in the top-25.
"I think every player on this team looked at our schedule early on and said, 'Oh, Fullerton second weekend,'" senior pitcher Kyle Hart said. "We got kind of amped about it. It's going to be a really good test for us and a measuring stick to see where we're at."
In Fullerton, the Hoosiers (1-2) see an opportunity to amend themselves after dropping two of three to Middle Tennessee State in the opening weekend. In that series, Indiana scored 14 runs to cruise to a win in game one before suffering a pair of walk-off losses off fielding errors in both ends of Saturday's double-header.
"Honestly, sitting the whole seven days to play again is rough because you walk off the field after losing two walk-offs and all you want to do is play again," Hart said. "You want to play again and you want to win. I don't think Friday can come soon enough for us."
Fullerton, a perennial NCAA Tournament team, returns 20 players from a 2015 team that finished 39-25 to win its fifth conference title in the last six seasons. The Titans advanced to the NCAA College World Series for the 17th time in program history a year ago, ending a five-year drought.
Like Indiana, Fullerton didn't have an ideal start to the season. The Titans went 1-2 against Stanford last weekend and lost 10-1 to the NC Dinos, a Korean Baseball Organization, Tuesday night.
Fullerton has relied on its pitching staff in recent seasons, registering a 2.89 ERA in 582 innings pitched as a staff a year ago, ranking 11th in the country. The Titans tossed nine shutouts in 2015, the fourth most in the nation.
Meanwhile, Indiana is still looking to establish an offensive identity after striking out 29 times and leaving 36 runners on base in three games against Middle Tennessee. Stringing together quality at bats is near the top of the Hoosiers' early list of things to improve on this weekend.
"We left way too many runners on base," said sophomore outfielder Logan Sowers, who had two home runs in 12 at bats. "We had too many strikeouts. We need to do a better job of the inside game of just getting ground balls to the right side and scoring the runner from third base. It's a huge part of the game."
Indiana head coach Chris Lemonis said before the season began that the hitting would likely come and go as the mostly unproven Hoosier lineup develops. Though the run support wasn't always there for them, IU's starters—Hart and fellow seniors Evan Bell and Caleb Baragar—combined to allow just four earned runs off eight hits and two walks in 14.2 innings pitched.
"I think if you had asked every starter, they'd say, 'Maybe I had the one inning where I could have improved on," Hart said. "There are just a few pitches in that game that each guy would like to have back, but it was a really good base for us to see those starters get out there and throw a lot of strikes. That's really what it was. Throw to contact and make them hit the ball."
Any sort of evaluation done this early on the marathon season that is college baseball should come with an asterisk. There's only so much a team is ready for in early February.
But as Lemonis said, each win now counts the same as it would in April or May. The road to the NCAA Tournament has to start somewhere which means playing through the growing pains of an inexperienced offense and defensive miscues early on.
But against a Fullerton team that aspires for a similar return to the College World Series, this weekend is as close to a proving ground as the Hoosiers will get in the non-conference all while putting a slow start behind.
"We're a better team than we showed last weekend, and we know that," sophomore outfielder Craig Dedelow said. "We're going to prove it to ourselves and the rest of the nation this weekend."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Even in February, Indiana can't help but think about Omaha.
A three-game series against a ranked Cal State Fullerton squad will provide an honest assessment of where the Hoosiers stand nationally—at least as of this weekend. The Titans are one of two non-conference opponents on IU's schedule currently ranked in the top-25.
"I think every player on this team looked at our schedule early on and said, 'Oh, Fullerton second weekend,'" senior pitcher Kyle Hart said. "We got kind of amped about it. It's going to be a really good test for us and a measuring stick to see where we're at."
In Fullerton, the Hoosiers (1-2) see an opportunity to amend themselves after dropping two of three to Middle Tennessee State in the opening weekend. In that series, Indiana scored 14 runs to cruise to a win in game one before suffering a pair of walk-off losses off fielding errors in both ends of Saturday's double-header.
"Honestly, sitting the whole seven days to play again is rough because you walk off the field after losing two walk-offs and all you want to do is play again," Hart said. "You want to play again and you want to win. I don't think Friday can come soon enough for us."
Fullerton, a perennial NCAA Tournament team, returns 20 players from a 2015 team that finished 39-25 to win its fifth conference title in the last six seasons. The Titans advanced to the NCAA College World Series for the 17th time in program history a year ago, ending a five-year drought.
Like Indiana, Fullerton didn't have an ideal start to the season. The Titans went 1-2 against Stanford last weekend and lost 10-1 to the NC Dinos, a Korean Baseball Organization, Tuesday night.
Fullerton has relied on its pitching staff in recent seasons, registering a 2.89 ERA in 582 innings pitched as a staff a year ago, ranking 11th in the country. The Titans tossed nine shutouts in 2015, the fourth most in the nation.
Meanwhile, Indiana is still looking to establish an offensive identity after striking out 29 times and leaving 36 runners on base in three games against Middle Tennessee. Stringing together quality at bats is near the top of the Hoosiers' early list of things to improve on this weekend.
"We left way too many runners on base," said sophomore outfielder Logan Sowers, who had two home runs in 12 at bats. "We had too many strikeouts. We need to do a better job of the inside game of just getting ground balls to the right side and scoring the runner from third base. It's a huge part of the game."
Indiana head coach Chris Lemonis said before the season began that the hitting would likely come and go as the mostly unproven Hoosier lineup develops. Though the run support wasn't always there for them, IU's starters—Hart and fellow seniors Evan Bell and Caleb Baragar—combined to allow just four earned runs off eight hits and two walks in 14.2 innings pitched.
"I think if you had asked every starter, they'd say, 'Maybe I had the one inning where I could have improved on," Hart said. "There are just a few pitches in that game that each guy would like to have back, but it was a really good base for us to see those starters get out there and throw a lot of strikes. That's really what it was. Throw to contact and make them hit the ball."
Any sort of evaluation done this early on the marathon season that is college baseball should come with an asterisk. There's only so much a team is ready for in early February.
But as Lemonis said, each win now counts the same as it would in April or May. The road to the NCAA Tournament has to start somewhere which means playing through the growing pains of an inexperienced offense and defensive miscues early on.
But against a Fullerton team that aspires for a similar return to the College World Series, this weekend is as close to a proving ground as the Hoosiers will get in the non-conference all while putting a slow start behind.
"We're a better team than we showed last weekend, and we know that," sophomore outfielder Craig Dedelow said. "We're going to prove it to ourselves and the rest of the nation this weekend."
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