IU baseball coach to face old squad

After being swept in a four-game series at Ohio State this weekend, the IU baseball team will play at Miami University of Ohio today with a home field of sorts.\nToday’s game will be the first time IU coach Tracy Smith returns to the school he attended as a student and served as the head coach at for nine years before coming to IU for the 2006 season. Tonight’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m.\n“It’ll be good to go back and see some of the kids we recruited and see (Miami) coach (Dan) Simonds who is definitely one of my better friends,” Smith said.\nIn nine seasons at Miami as the head coach, Smith led the team to a school-record 317 wins, 317-220-1 overall record, with two NCAA Tournament appearances and two MAC Tournament champs.\nLast season, the Hoosiers hosted Miami at Sembower Field, defeating the Redhawks 5-0 as then-sophomore Doug Fleenor took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before allowing a hit. Fleenor would throw a complete game one-hitter in earning the win.\nBut as the Hoosiers travel to Miami today, they find themselves in the midst of a seven-game losing streak which started with a 13-0 loss against Purdue on April 15. IU has also lost nine of its last ten games.\nAnd while every win is important for IU, Smith’s players realize this game might mean more to their second-year coach.\n“You want to go out there and win every game you play, but obviously this one a little bit more since (Smith) used to coach there,” senior shortstop Keith Haas said. “This is the first time he’s going back there for a game, last year we played them at home, so he probably wants this one a little more.”\nWhile the Hoosiers did drop all four games at Ohio State this past weekend, Smith was pleased to see his team making progress in its game focus.\n“We came out and did some of the things we set out to do goal-wise, not necessarily \nperformance-based, just being really into the baseball game and being into every pitch,” Smith said. “I thought we did make some strides as far as \nthose things.”\nIn Miami, IU will be facing a 19-15 team that has played well at home, posting a 9-3 record at McKie Field at Hayden Park.\nJust like Ohio State, Miami has a high-powered offense with a team batting average of .291. Sophomore shortstop Jordan Petraitis (.348 batting average, 23 RBIs) and senior outfielder Brandon Hillier (.336 BA, three home runs) lead the way for the Redhawks lineup. \nHoping to snap their seven-game losing streak, the Hoosiers will try to put together a strong offense and defensive showing for the full nine innings. In all four games against the Buckeyes, IU held a lead before eventually falling behind \nin Columbus.\n“As a team, we just need to stay enthusiastic the whole game, all nine innings,” said freshman outfielder Brian Lambert. “Keep fighting and play our game.”