Smith chats on state of team

By Zachary Osterman
zosterma@indiana.edu

When last fans left the IU baseball team, the Hoosiers had just completed a compelling and dramatic Big Ten Tournament run that saw them surge to the semifinals before falling out to rival Purdue. As an unseasonably cold spring gave way to the laze of summer, several players traded aluminum bats for wood and headed out for a summer full of baseball.

They’re back now, and they have some new friends.

As members of the team – new and old – flood back into Bloomington before the start of fall practice on Sept. 7, coach Tracy Smith must take stock of what he returns and what he has that was not there before. Early returns are favorable, said the fourth-year skipper, especially in terms of depth and positional competition.

“When you start getting the program and moving in the right direction, that’s what you need,” Smith said Wednesday morning, singling out the Hoosiers’ increased focus on left-handed hitting. “I’m thrilled about the team’s depth this year, and if the pitchers stay healthy, we should have the same thing on the mound.”

As for the dearth of left-handed pitching, the Hoosiers should sport next spring – IU projects to have six different lefties who could contribute. Smith simply attributed his collection of southpaws to a push toward “balance.”

“For the first time since we’ve been here, I think we have a lot more balance on the staff, arms-wise, of quality lefties and quality righties,” Smith said. “I truly believe that some of those lefties in that lineup, pitching-wise, you’d be hard-pressed, I would think, to find the quality anywhere across the country.”

Crawford moving to center field

The gaping hole left by the departure of Andrew Means for Major League millions will be filled, at least initially, by fleet-footed junior Evan Crawford. An infielder most of his career, Crawford sports a reliable contact swing and plenty of speed. He tried out a bit in the outfield last spring and played 27 of his 30 games in the outfield for the Cotuit Kettleers of the prestigious Cape Cod League.
Smith said Crawford is the Hoosiers’ intended replacement for Means, and he said the junior from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, will get plenty of time to settle into his position.
“Evan told me he’s going to do whatever he needs to do to help the team win,” Smith said in the team locker room at Assembly Hall. “We feel with the loss of Andrew Means, he fits the space Andrew left.”
Crawford batted .335 with one home run, 30 RBI and 18 stolen bases last season.
“There are going to be some other guys that are going to challenge him for that position,” Smith said, alluding again to the Hoosiers’ apparent depth, “but we definitely want to give Evan some reps in center field this fall, and wins and losses don’t matter.”

Schutz impresses in Cape Cod

Smith singled out right fielder Kipp Schutz as one he felt had a solid summer. He feels Schutz picked up toward the end of the summer, finishing with a .260 average and tieing three others with a team-high four home runs with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League.
“Kipp had what I felt was an impressive summer,” Smith said. “When you look at the numbers, the league and he showed some power, he came on there at the end with the average. I think that is a pretty good indicator that he is maturing as a hitter.”
Smith added that Schutz, who hit six home runs for the Hoosiers last year, will be expected to “drive the baseball more this year.”