Indiana University Athletics
IU Taking it Game-by-Game
5/10/2016 9:50:00 AM | Baseball
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Forgive Chris Lemonis if he's starting to sound repetitive. He knows.
Talking after practice Monday before Tuesday's midweek game against Kentucky, Indiana's head coach continued to reaffirm his stance that the Hoosiers are taking things day-by-day down the closing stretch of the season.
IU sits atop the Big Ten standings but is No. 101 nationally in the RPI. It's created a situation not unlike Michigan a year ago where Indiana can't afford a setback and may have to win the conference tournament to earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament.
"In our world, we're thinking about getting better today," Lemonis said. "It's getting that next one, and that's Kentucky. We're not talented enough to think too far ahead and overthink."
Lemonis' assessment of his team's play may not be as true as his bluntness suggests.
Though Indiana's RPI won't do the program any favors the rest of the year, Indiana is ranked No. 25 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and received votes in the USA Today coaches poll after the win. Since dropping a three-game series against Rutgers to begin the Big Ten, the Hoosiers have won all five conference series and are 16-4 over their last 20 games.
IU jumped into a half-game lead atop the Big Ten standings after taking two of three games against Minnesota just last weekend in a battle for first place. That's a valuable place to sit should Indiana need to win the conference tournament to secure an NCAA bid, but only three games separate No. 1 IU from No. 8 Penn State in a jumbled Big Ten standings.
"Just keeping the momentum, that's all we've been preaching lately," Lemonis said, saying Minnesota may have been the best team IU has seen all year. "It just keeps us running, keeps the carrot out in front of us."
Indiana hasn't shied away from the reality of needing wins in the past. For the better part of the last month, Lemonis and his players have said they've played with their backs against the wall and have responded well.
The pitching, a mainstay in IU's success all season, has been steady. Lemonis lauded his defensive effort against Minnesota, which has become a trend lately. The Hoosiers have become one of the better defensive ball clubs in the conference after starting the year inconsistent.
But perhaps the most noteworthy change as of late for Indiana to hang its hat on has been a resurging offense. Players like junior Craig Dedelow and sophomore Logan Sowers continue to hit well, but it's been the lesser-praised bats of juniors Tony Butler and Alex Krupa that have helped IU average just shy of five runs per game over the last six outings.
Butler and Krupa have both recovered from slow starts to the season at the plate and have been setting the table for the big bats like Dedelow and Sowers to drive them in. Lemonis said everything gets easier for the guys in the middle of the lineup once the top of the order gets the opposing pitcher thinking.
"We're starting to see some guys who were maybe struggling at the beginning of the year starting to play well," Lemonis said. "It makes us a better lineup."
That lineup will once again trot out at Bart Kaufman Field at 5 p.m. tonight for one final midweek home game before the final home series against Illinois this weekend, another midweek against national power Louisville next week in Kentucky and the final regular season series against Nebraska.
At the risk of sounding too much like he's giving coach speak, Lemonis held true to what he's continued to say all year and will continue to say the rest of the way—keep winning. That fixes everything else.
"We dug a hole early in the year, so we put ourselves in that spot, but it is a weird, unique situation," Lemonis said. "The positive is, we've still got a lot to play for."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Forgive Chris Lemonis if he's starting to sound repetitive. He knows.
Talking after practice Monday before Tuesday's midweek game against Kentucky, Indiana's head coach continued to reaffirm his stance that the Hoosiers are taking things day-by-day down the closing stretch of the season.
IU sits atop the Big Ten standings but is No. 101 nationally in the RPI. It's created a situation not unlike Michigan a year ago where Indiana can't afford a setback and may have to win the conference tournament to earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament.
"In our world, we're thinking about getting better today," Lemonis said. "It's getting that next one, and that's Kentucky. We're not talented enough to think too far ahead and overthink."
Lemonis' assessment of his team's play may not be as true as his bluntness suggests.
Though Indiana's RPI won't do the program any favors the rest of the year, Indiana is ranked No. 25 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and received votes in the USA Today coaches poll after the win. Since dropping a three-game series against Rutgers to begin the Big Ten, the Hoosiers have won all five conference series and are 16-4 over their last 20 games.
IU jumped into a half-game lead atop the Big Ten standings after taking two of three games against Minnesota just last weekend in a battle for first place. That's a valuable place to sit should Indiana need to win the conference tournament to secure an NCAA bid, but only three games separate No. 1 IU from No. 8 Penn State in a jumbled Big Ten standings.
"Just keeping the momentum, that's all we've been preaching lately," Lemonis said, saying Minnesota may have been the best team IU has seen all year. "It just keeps us running, keeps the carrot out in front of us."
Indiana hasn't shied away from the reality of needing wins in the past. For the better part of the last month, Lemonis and his players have said they've played with their backs against the wall and have responded well.
The pitching, a mainstay in IU's success all season, has been steady. Lemonis lauded his defensive effort against Minnesota, which has become a trend lately. The Hoosiers have become one of the better defensive ball clubs in the conference after starting the year inconsistent.
But perhaps the most noteworthy change as of late for Indiana to hang its hat on has been a resurging offense. Players like junior Craig Dedelow and sophomore Logan Sowers continue to hit well, but it's been the lesser-praised bats of juniors Tony Butler and Alex Krupa that have helped IU average just shy of five runs per game over the last six outings.
Butler and Krupa have both recovered from slow starts to the season at the plate and have been setting the table for the big bats like Dedelow and Sowers to drive them in. Lemonis said everything gets easier for the guys in the middle of the lineup once the top of the order gets the opposing pitcher thinking.
"We're starting to see some guys who were maybe struggling at the beginning of the year starting to play well," Lemonis said. "It makes us a better lineup."
That lineup will once again trot out at Bart Kaufman Field at 5 p.m. tonight for one final midweek home game before the final home series against Illinois this weekend, another midweek against national power Louisville next week in Kentucky and the final regular season series against Nebraska.
At the risk of sounding too much like he's giving coach speak, Lemonis held true to what he's continued to say all year and will continue to say the rest of the way—keep winning. That fixes everything else.
"We dug a hole early in the year, so we put ourselves in that spot, but it is a weird, unique situation," Lemonis said. "The positive is, we've still got a lot to play for."
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