IU continues to push toward Big Ten Tourney bid

Come Saturday, most seniors will be walking the stage and going out to expensive dinners with their parents – but not all of them. A few will instead be running the baseline and swinging for the fences. Friday commences IU baseball’s series against Iowa in Iowa City.\nThis weekend’s game plan consists of the opener on Friday, a double-header Saturday, and the closing game Sunday. Although the team had less practice this week because of finals, they still hope to take the momentum from last week’s games. The Hoosiers took the last two games from Penn State in the four-game series, breaking their 10-game losing streak. \nDespite Iowa’s recent winning streak of nine games, the Hoosiers are optimistic about ending that streak this weekend.\n“(We want to) do the things we know we can do right,” said sophomore pitcher Tyler Tufts. “If we play the baseball we know we can play, we should have no problem (winning).”\nCurrently IU sits 10th in the conference standings, above only Northwestern. With hopes of a conference tournament appearance, the Hoosiers must figure out how to snake their way into 6th place with five remaining series, with three against conference foes.\nIowa most recently defeated Upper Iowa, 16-5. The Hawkeyes saw strong performances from infielder T.J. Cataldo and Travis Sweet. Cataldo had a career-high 5 RBIs against Upper Iowa. Sweet was recently named a Big Ten Co-Player of the Week after leading his team to a sweep of the Northwestern Wildcats. It was their first series sweep since 1991. \nDuring the sweep of the Northwestern Wildcats, Sweet batted .588 with a .696 on base percentage. He also scored 11 runs and tied his previous season total of three home runs. \nAlthough the Hoosiers have not seen the same luck as the Hawkeyes recently, IU coach Tracy Smith isn’t concerned with his team’s performance. Acknowledging the youngness of the team, he knows there is still a lot to build up, including the mental preparedness of the players before each game.\n“I’m just looking for improvement,” Smith said. “Improvement in not only how we’re swinging the bat but just how we approach the game.”\nSophomore outfielder Andrew Means agrees the mental approach to the game is an important one for the Hoosiers to work on.\n“As a team, we just want to go and play solid baseball,” Means said. “Just go out there and not have any mental errors. We’ll worry about the wins after the game.”