No. 9 IU clubs No. 10 Louisville 7-2

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Several players said it was the longest home run they’ve ever seen.

“We were all speechless,” relief pitcher Luke Harrison said. “I’ve never seen a ball hit that far. Ever.”

Junior preseason All-American catcher Kyle Schwarber drilled a home run over the center field wall against Louisville in the top of the ninth inning  Tuesday.

The three-run shot sealed No. 9 IU’s 7-2 victory against the No. 10 Louisville Cardinals and left his teammates in awe.

“It’s just like any other home run,” Schwarber said. “This time it just went really far.”

With the Hoosiers leading 4-2 in the top of the ninth, Schwarber stepped up to bat with runners on first and second. On a 2-1 count, Schwarber drilled the pitch to deep center field.

“I knew it was gone,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said.

The ball not only carried the wall in center field, which is 402 feet from home plate, but it also cleared the approximately 50-foot tall batter’s eye.

As Schwarber rounded third, Smith, who is also the third base coach, told him, “Hell yes, Kyle.”

The blast put IU up 7-2, which would be the final score.

Schwarber said this was either the farthest or second farthest ball he’s ever hit. He said when the ball came off his bat, he knew it was gone.

“I’ve watched a lot of baseball in my life,” Smith said. “And you won’t see too many like that. It’s fun when you see one of the best power hitters in the country show why he’s one of the best power hitters in the country.”

With the victory, IU swept the season series from the Cardinals three games to none. In the three games, the Hoosiers beat the Cardinals by a combined score of 22-7.

Both IU and Louisville are ranked in the top 15 in most of the national polls, so the game was of great importance for the Hoosiers in trying to secure a national seed come postseason time, the players said.

IU and Louisville are two of the best teams from the North, and Smith credits Cardinals Coach Dan McDonnell for making college baseball in the north relevant.

Most of the country’s powerhouse programs come from the South where the weather is more conducive to playing year round.

The announced crowd was 2,433 people in Jim Patterson Stadium, with a good portion of the crowd donning cream and crimson.

Several of the players said Louisville was one of their biggest rivals, and they always enjoy playing the Cardinals.

“They’ve set the standard for baseball in the Midwest,” Smith said. “So I’m proud we caught up to them a little bit. I’m sure going forward these are always going to be good games, and they’re always well attended.”

After the win, IU moved up one spot in the projected RPI rankings to No. 3 in the nation. Finishing the season is important for the Hoosiers because they are trying to become one of eight teams to be awarded a national seed.

If they’re named a national seed, IU will get to be the location of not only the regionals in Bloomington, but also the super regionals. If the Hoosiers get through those two weekends and win at home, they’ll go back to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

IU will have its final regular season series this weekend against Minnesota. The three game series will be a Thursday-Friday-Saturday format with Thursday and Friday starting at 8 p.m. and the series finale scheduled for a 3 p.m. first pitch Saturday.

IU has played well as of late. In their past 26 games, the Hoosiers are 24-2. With just one win against Minnesota (26-20, 12-9), IU (36-12, 19-2) will clinch the outright Big Ten regular season title.

It’ll be the seniors final time playing in Bart Kaufman before postseason play. Senior ace Joey DeNato, who is 11-1 on the year with a 1.91 ERA, will throw the opening game on Thursday to try and clinch the conference title.

“It’ll be just like any other game,” DeNato said. “I’m going to have the same mentality coming out, and hopefully we can get the ‘W’ that day.”