Indiana University Athletics
Baseball Opens 2016 Home Slate with Western Carolina on Friday
3/10/2016 5:26:00 PM | Baseball
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - As far as Indiana baseball is concerned, the Hoosiers' opening homestand couldn't come soon enough.
IU (3-7) hopes a return to the friendly confines of Bart Kaufman Field for a three-game series against Western Carolina (4-8) helps snap the program out of its early-season funk. Senior pitcher Kyle Hart is even bringing up the possibility of starting an unbeaten streak at home just as the men's and women's basketball programs did at Assembly Hall.
"I think the comfort level is huge, especially in baseball," the Friday starter said. "Maybe we can get like the basketball organizations and start winning some games at home."
Indiana has taken its share of lumps over the first three weeks of the season away from home, sometimes in frustrating fashion.
The Hoosiers have been trailing by one run or tied in the sixth inning or later in six of their seven losses. Last time out, IU picked up a 2-1 victory in the ninth inning victory against Butler in Port Charlotte, Florida, before returning to Bloomington.
Chris Lemonis said the way his team has suffered its losses this season is both reason to be frustrated and optimistic. He said the first steps to turning those close losses into wins are to tighten up defensively and find someone to lean on offensively.
"The positive is we're getting great starts, and we're in every one of these games," Lemonis said. "We've just got to be able to flip the switch a little bit."
Freshmen Ryan Fineman and Luke Miller's emergence last weekend may be an early sign of the offense catching up to speed with the starting pitching that's anchored Indiana up to this point. Fineman, a catcher, and utility man Miller combined for 15 hits across the Hoosiers' four games last weekend.
Fineman and Miller are just two of the bats Lemonis is leaning on to pick up the slack in close outings to push the Hoosiers over the top.
"Our pitching staff has done a great job all year long to keep us in the game," Fineman said. "We've just got to get that one key hit, which I think we're going to do. We really are going to pull things together."
If Hart can replicate his outing from a week ago when he takes the mound Friday, he won't be asking for much help.
The reigning Co-Big Ten Pitcher of the Week struck out 10 batters over six scoreless frames in a win against Illinois State. He'll enter his next start with a 2-1 record and an ERA of just 1.08.
Though he has experiencing pitching on Fridays already, this year marks the first of Hart's career that he's been dubbed the regular ace. He said he's frequently had conversations with former Hoosier standout Joey DeNato about taking the responsibility and running with it.
With a little run support, Hart's next outing could help build some momentum to carry through the weekend. After losing six of their first seven games, the Hoosiers have split their last four and have just three weeks to figure things out before opening the Big Ten season against Rutgers April 1.
"I think we're going through stretches at a time playing great baseball," Hart said. "For the most part, I think we're really competitive for seven-ninths, maybe eight-ninths of the game. We've just got to close out that one inning."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - As far as Indiana baseball is concerned, the Hoosiers' opening homestand couldn't come soon enough.
IU (3-7) hopes a return to the friendly confines of Bart Kaufman Field for a three-game series against Western Carolina (4-8) helps snap the program out of its early-season funk. Senior pitcher Kyle Hart is even bringing up the possibility of starting an unbeaten streak at home just as the men's and women's basketball programs did at Assembly Hall.
"I think the comfort level is huge, especially in baseball," the Friday starter said. "Maybe we can get like the basketball organizations and start winning some games at home."
Indiana has taken its share of lumps over the first three weeks of the season away from home, sometimes in frustrating fashion.
The Hoosiers have been trailing by one run or tied in the sixth inning or later in six of their seven losses. Last time out, IU picked up a 2-1 victory in the ninth inning victory against Butler in Port Charlotte, Florida, before returning to Bloomington.
Chris Lemonis said the way his team has suffered its losses this season is both reason to be frustrated and optimistic. He said the first steps to turning those close losses into wins are to tighten up defensively and find someone to lean on offensively.
"The positive is we're getting great starts, and we're in every one of these games," Lemonis said. "We've just got to be able to flip the switch a little bit."
Freshmen Ryan Fineman and Luke Miller's emergence last weekend may be an early sign of the offense catching up to speed with the starting pitching that's anchored Indiana up to this point. Fineman, a catcher, and utility man Miller combined for 15 hits across the Hoosiers' four games last weekend.
Fineman and Miller are just two of the bats Lemonis is leaning on to pick up the slack in close outings to push the Hoosiers over the top.
"Our pitching staff has done a great job all year long to keep us in the game," Fineman said. "We've just got to get that one key hit, which I think we're going to do. We really are going to pull things together."
If Hart can replicate his outing from a week ago when he takes the mound Friday, he won't be asking for much help.
The reigning Co-Big Ten Pitcher of the Week struck out 10 batters over six scoreless frames in a win against Illinois State. He'll enter his next start with a 2-1 record and an ERA of just 1.08.
Though he has experiencing pitching on Fridays already, this year marks the first of Hart's career that he's been dubbed the regular ace. He said he's frequently had conversations with former Hoosier standout Joey DeNato about taking the responsibility and running with it.
With a little run support, Hart's next outing could help build some momentum to carry through the weekend. After losing six of their first seven games, the Hoosiers have split their last four and have just three weeks to figure things out before opening the Big Ten season against Rutgers April 1.
"I think we're going through stretches at a time playing great baseball," Hart said. "For the most part, I think we're really competitive for seven-ninths, maybe eight-ninths of the game. We've just got to close out that one inning."
Players Mentioned
Jacksonville Baseball Classic - Notre Dame Press Conference
Sunday, February 22
Jacksonville Baseball Classic - UCF Press Conference
Saturday, February 21
Jacksonville Baseball Classic - LSU Press Conference
Friday, February 20
Big Ten Tournament Press Conference - vs. Rutgers
Wednesday, May 21