IU hopes to trump the Evansville Purple Aces

Fresh off of a third-place finish in a spring break tournament, the IU baseball team (7-7) will carry it’s momentum to Evansville today as they battle the Evansville Purple Aces.\nThe last time the two clubs met was last year on April 10. The Purple Aces tore into the Hoosier pitching as IU used six different hurlers in an 8-1 defeat.\nBut pitching is a stronger part of this year’s squad. After a tough start to the season defensively, where sophomore catcher Josh Phegley said he thought Hoosier pitchers were forcing their pitches, IU has only allowed six runs in its last two games.\n“Our pitching (has improved), just in responding to adversity after an error,” IU coach Tracy Smith said. “We did a much better job of shutting down the big inning.”\nOne such pitcher who has responded to adversity is lefty sophomore Matt Bashore. \nBashore was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week yesterday. The award came on the heels of 12-strikeout performance against Portland on Friday, as IU beat the Pilots 7-0.\nBashore’s dominant shutout of Portland was not without the adversity Smith talked about.\nWith three men on-base, no outs and the Flyers’ top-three hitters coming up, Bashore turned up his game. He sent the next three batters back to the bench, all on strikeouts.\nAnother pitcher who has stepped up for IU this season is freshman Kyle Leiendecker, who will get the start against Evansville today.\nIn his last start against Pepsi/Johnny Quik tournament host Fresno State, Leiendecker moved to 3-0 on the season. He pitched 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, only allowing three hits. \n“I just went out there and threw strikes,” he said. “I was just putting it out there in the strike zone and they were hitting it, but (not scoring).”\nWhile the Hoosiers are seeing a resurgence in their pitching, the defense has still suffered. Through its 14 games, IU has accumulated 30 errors, but Leiendecker said he has not noticed them when he starts.\n“I think the (defense is) behind me every time,” he said. “They don’t make errors when I’m on the mound.”\nSmith said the errors are attributed lapses in concentration and he now has a defensive lineup set. This is promising for the Hoosiers, because when IU has made less than two errors in a game, they are 4-1. On the flip side of that statistic, however, when they make two or more errors their record plummets to an abysmal 3-6.\nToday’s game against the Purple Aces is IU’s third attempt to put together a three-game win streak, which they have yet to do. \nThe Hoosiers’ hopes of continuing their streak could be helped by another one. Evansville is currently riding a six-game losing streak as the Purple Aces have put together a disappointing 1-15 season record. \nIU and Evansville will square off at 4 p.m today.