Ballclub expects 4 wins in Gent Classic

After the Hoosiers' Wednesday game against Butler was postponed due to inclement weather, IU will be traveling south this weekend for the Gent Classic. The team heads to Shreveport, La., to play Centenary and Little-Rock Arkansas twice.\nIU plays a doubleheader Friday facing Centenary first at 3 p.m. before taking on University of Arkansas Little Rock at 6 p.m. They will then see Centenary again on Saturday and battle once more with Little-Rock Arkansas on Sunday. \n"They are going to be good ball clubs and we are going to have to play well," said IU coach Bob Morgan. "Hopefully we can build upon them and get better each week." \nIU holds a 3-1 all-time advantage over Centenary. The last time they met in 1996, IU swept the two-game series. Centenary is coming off a 6-1 victory Wednesday over nationally ranked No. 3 Louisiana State University. Pitcher J.C. Biagi threw a two-hitter in the victory. \nSenior outfielder Joe Kemp and junior outfielder Zach Boswell were named to the All-Tournament Team for their performances at the Service Academics Classic. Boswell is second in slugging percentage for the Hoosiers with .778. He has accumulated two doubles, two homeruns and three RBIs in six hits this season. \n"We are going to try to come out early and set a tone and show them we're all about business," Boswell said. "We need to try to cut down our mental and physical mistakes and come out with some victories."\nIU will look for an offensive spark from junior first baseman Ryan Parker. Parker, with a career .472 slugging percentage, has had seven hits including two doubles, a triple and three RBIs on his way to a .500 batting average. His current .786 slugging percentage also tops all other Hoosiers. \n"We are just trying to build off of what we did last weekend," Parker said referring to the 2-1 record the Hoosiers came out with in last week's Service Academics Classic. "We need to improve our situation on hitting and scoring runners when we get the opportunity."\nKemp will have a difficult time as he tries to extend his hitting streak from 2004 which is currently at 11 straight games. So far in 2005, Kemp has gone 6-for-17 a .353 batting average, including two home runs, seven RBIs and five runs scored. Not only is Kemp a force on offense. The Bowie, Md. native also pitches. Kemp threw one shutout inning for IU's home opening win against DePauw and earned a win over Memphis in last weekend's tournament. He was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 27. \nContact Staff Writer Andrew Shaffer at asshaffe@indiana.edu.