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(10/10/05 5:16am)
If there is one philosophical recommendation I would make toward you, the reader, it is: in one way or another, everybody needs \na little Tom Petty in their lives. \nSo allow me, your local columnist, to perform a "breakdown" of the game and the season thus far for IU using the lyrical genius Mr. Petty.\nThe play of the game goes to wide-out James "don't do me like that" Hardy who made a one-handed catch right at the end of the second half after an interception by Tracy Porter gave IU great field position. \nThe game served as a true Homecoming for alumni who had been waiting for years for one day when pride could be restored the IU football program. It is on the wings of coach Hoeppner, Blake Powers and Hardy that the Hoosiers are "learning to fly" by building momentum from victories on the field and a fan base from a public relations campaign off the field. \nWhat "I need to know," and what I will soon learn, is whether or not the Hoosiers, packed with young stars and veteran leadership, are for real this season. \nArmed with a 4-1 record, the Hoosiers will travel straight "into the darkness" of a war zone that is the Big Ten conference. Michigan (my preseason pick to win the Big Ten) is having its worst start this season since going 3-3 in 1990 and "free fallin'" its way out of the coaches' poll. In contrast, Penn State, a Big Ten bottom feeder last year, is 6-0 and in first place. The Big Ten is such a dogfight that "even the losers" have a chance to turn their seasons around. \nDespite high hopes in the beginning of the season, a 4-1 record for the Hoosiers is "too good to be true" for most fans. But it might seem to some that the Hoosiers are No. 5 in the Big Ten standings for "all the wrong reasons." The opponents they have beaten so far have gone a combined 7-14 this season. \nBut with six games remaining in the 2005 schedule -- against teams that have been nationally ranked at some point this season -- Hep and the Hoosiers are "runnin' down a dream" to achieve a bowl berth by the season's end for the first time since 1993. I wouldn't be surprised if the Purdue matchup Nov. 19 is the "all or nothin'" game that decides IU's future in December. \nSaturday's game should be "something big." Iowa and IU, No. 4 and 5, respectively, in the Big Ten, will battle like "two gunslingers" to see which one will drop down in the rankings. After a road win at Purdue, the Hawkeyes' two-game winning streak and 3-0 home record will \nbe a tough task for the Hoosiers. \nOne thing seems for certain: with renewed optimism and a coach that has earned the confidence of faithful fans everywhere, the Hoeppner Era is "built to last."\nAnd with the win against Illinois, the Hoosiers have launched themselves into the second half of their schedule and "into the great wide open" of a Big Ten conference that gives IU its best shot of coming out a winner in a long time.
(10/07/05 5:01am)
Have you ever been dumped? \nThings were going great. You hit some rough patches in the beginning, but once they were conquered, it seemed like the two of you were destined for greatness. Nothing, and certainly not the problems that ended your previous relationships, could stop what can only be termed as a "great love." \nThis is what we call -- in the business of love -- a honeymoon period. \nAnd so was the story for the first three weeks of the season. But after a 41-24 thrashing from a nationally-ranked Wisconsin opponent and IU's first loss of the year, it will be interesting to see how the team rebounds from honeymoon to heartbreak. All the side effects of a separation are relevant. Those glass-half-full types believe true love and winning can once again reign. Doubters have voiced their opinion that the times will never be as good as when the Hoosiers were 3-0. It is the doubters who remain halfway on the bandwagon, while the cynics have jumped. They believe those past problems with relationships will continue to plague them. To them, nothing will change. And to them, the Big Ten conference has caused more problems, delivering more blows and bruises to IU than a young Ike Turner. \nI guess it is time to ask: Which one are you? \nBut rather than spend time on you (let's face it -- the column is called "Playin' it Shaffe," and it does wonders for my ego), I am going to tell you what I think. So please ... do not pee on this column. \nIf the Hoosiers' hopes are the Titanic, then I'm a part of the band. And the band goes down with the ship. \nA case of puppy love was inevitable when a first year coach goes 3-0 for the first time since 1905. But the Hoosier spanking last Saturday might have been just the disciplinary action necessary to turn a team with a rejuvenated attitude from a pound of puppies into a pack of wolves. \nOf course, the Hoosiers losing a game was inevitable. It is just one of those certainties in life, like growing old or ending up face first in a toilet on your 21st birthday. But along the way to a quick 3-0 start, the Hoosiers picked up steam for the future and a lot of fans in the process. I haven't seen a bandwagon fill up this quickly since the Cubs played in the 2003 National League Championship Series. \nNow that half the campus has just stopped reading this column, let me continue. \nA pack of wolves like IU should destroy a pitiful 2-3 Illinois squad. After an impressive comeback win against Rutgers and a gimme game over San Jose State University, the Fighting Illini have done anything but fight -- losing three straight games by a combined score of 131-41. \nWhat the game will amount to when the clock reads 00:00 is whether Hep's Hoosiers can rebound from their first loss or whether they'll remain hindered by heartbreak after passing the honeymoon period.\nSo for those who don't believe, get off the wagon, or rather, the ship. As for me? I'll be staying and holding on for dear life to those Titanic dreams with Kate and Leo because true love only comes along once. \nI just hope the Hoosiers don't break my heart.
(10/03/05 5:06am)
MADISON, Wis. -- "Crowds help win games" seemed to be the mantra of Coach Hoeppner to IU fans. Unfortunately on Saturday afternoon, the Hoosiers were the away team to a University of Wisconsin crowd of more than 82,000 -- a community known as Mad Town. \nAfter watching the game, it became increasingly apparent why the Badgers have won ten straight home games dating back to last season. From the top of the press box, the student sections at Camp Randall Stadium were situated on the left side of the field. While there may have been only 10,000 students at the game, it was a seamless flow of fans who gathered and garnered cheers at the expense of Hoosier hiccups and hang-ups. \nIt was the true definition of home field advantage. \nAs for the game, IU never had momentum. It seemed like every special team play the Hoosiers received concluded with "half the distance to the goal." Each penalty pushed Hoeppner closer and closer to becoming a mad man -- a mad man in Mad Town.\nBut that home field advantage would be embodied in the last minutes of the game. On the Hoosiers' final drive, the UW students broke out into a chorus of "Build me up Buttercup" by The Foundations. Even as the ball was snapped and the play was in progress, the students' voices echoed the song between the stadium walls.\n"I need you. More than anyone, darling. You know that I have from the start. So build me up Buttercup, don't break my heart."\nSomehow the Wisconsin fans had been remarkably accurate. IU football fans had been built up by an off-season public relations campaign and three consecutive wins. It had thus far been a season built up on the expectations and realities of a stunning start. Under an icon in Coach Hoeppner, hope had defined the time.\n"Why do you build me up, Buttercup baby, just to let me down?"\nIronic, I guess, that it was Badger fans collectively chanting those lyrics at the game's end. Iconic, I guess, that it was Hoeppner's first loss -- a frustrated Hep, at that -- who, after consecutive penalties in the first quarter, ripped off his headset and spiked it to the ground. Idiotic, I guess, that I thought the Hoosiers would go into Camp Randall Stadium and slide by with a win like a chair sliding across the hardwood floor of Assembly Hall. \nStill, missed opportunities marked the Hoosiers' loss. A Yamar Washington fumble reneged a Tracy Porter interception. A Blake Powers fumble reneged IU's best starting field position all game.\nFor each point scored by UW, Bucky the Badger laid atop a wooden plank held up by male cheerleaders and performed pushups. With two minutes remaining in the first half, and 89 pushups later, Bucky could barely breathe. \nStill, the effects of their first loss will not be seen until next Saturday when IU plays host to Illinois. If the Hoosiers can rebound and post a 4-1 record, then hope can still define the time. Coach Hep is right. Crowds help win games. And with the Homecoming game Saturday, the question remains: How will you help?
(09/30/05 5:12am)
Remember that feeling you get after Little 500 week? Seven days of drinking like a fish, and you've convinced yourself that seven Budweisers and three Jager bombs are a part of a balanced breakfast. Eventually, after a barrage of bars and consumption of kegs, you wake up Sunday morning to the feeling that Gary Coleman is tap dancing in your head. \nNow compare that with football. After a jubilant 3-0 start and a newly fashioned fan-friendly bandwagon that stretches an entire football field, IU will travel to Madison, Wis., in an attempt to remain undefeated.\nSo far, the Hoosiers have duped the doubters. But can they become contenders and earn the respect of football fans everywhere by gaining ground in what has shockingly become a wide-open Big Ten race? \nIf the road to success is paved with obstacles, then, my fellow readers, the Hoosiers' 2005 football schedule is full of them. \nThis weekend's game against Wisconsin might be the toughest contest this month for the Hoosiers.\nOf course, you might ask -- what about Oct. 15 when IU travels to Iowa, or Oct. 29 when the Hoosiers head to Michigan State? \nOK. What about momentum?\nIf Wisconsin was a snowflake and its season schedule was a sloping hill, the Badgers are an Acme-sized snow boulder coming straight toward IU and gaining speed. \nThe Badgers are off to a 4-0 start after defeating Michigan last week, 23-20, earning a No. 17 national ranking. Head coach Barry Alvarez beat Michigan for only the second time since 1994 and head coach Lloyd Carr for the first time.\nYou can't buy that kind of a high for your football team. Well, maybe Ricky Williams can, but, seriously, no one else. \nDating back to last year, the Badgers have a nine-game winning streak at Camp Randall Stadium. They have a running game that is No. 14 in the nation, averaging 239.3 yards a game. They have beat their last four opponents by a combined score of 158-67. But that isn't the bad news about facing the Badgers. Junior running back Brian Calhoun, a threat on the ground and in the air, is the bad news.\nSo far this year, Calhoun is ranked No. 3 in the nation in rushing, No. 4 in all-purpose yards and No. 5 in scoring. The man is a tour de force whenever he steps onto the football field. If the Hoosiers have a chance at four straight wins this season, they must stop Calhoun. \nBut hey -- defeat is not bitter if you don't swallow it. \nIn recent years, IU has had success against Alvarez's ranked squads. The Hoosiers scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to edge the No. 23 Badgers, 32-29 in 2002. IU accumulated 631 yards of total offense in a blowout at Madison, 63-32, in 2001. \nSophomore quarterback Blake Powers, who has averaged 239 yards per game and thrown 11 touchdowns, must be masterful against the Badgers. Wisconsin has allowed only 262 rushing yards all season, and the play of wide receivers James Hardy and Jahkeen Gilmore will be equally important in igniting the offense. \nNow that the Kentucky game is over, now that student seizures of celebration have subsided and nine conference games remain, it is time to see how good Hep's Hoosiers really are. \nAll of Bloomington is feeling the effects of a happy hangover, for Hoosier football is at a 3-0 start. But now it is time for the team to work. It needs to grab a bucket of water, a ton of Tylenol and get healthy. Because come Saturday morning, Coach Hep and the Hoosiers have a big test.
(09/19/05 5:10am)
The Walk. \nIt hits you right away like a warming sensation throughout your body. It covers the goose bumps, which have grown their own goose bumps, and curls the corners of your mouth upward into a smile. At first, your legs start to lose control. It is such a sudden rush, unexpected even, that your heart hurts. \nWhat is it?\nIt is the feeling of appreciation, approval, support and encouragement. It is the feeling that people care. \nYears had passed, and it seemed to the people of Bloomington, that no one had heard a word from the football team it so desperately wanted to identify with. A win here, a loss there, but for the most part, nothing had united the country of the cream and crimson. \nUntil "The Walk." \nI was granted the honor of participating in this weekend's rendition of "The Walk." The team and I entered the grass lots on Woodlawn Avenue, packed deep with tailgaters. The team entered like warriors of ancient Rome -- battle-weary but home at last -- and ready to reclaim a glory that was lost somewhere in time. As we marched, the cheering commenced and the warming sensation took over. \nSoon we were under a crimson banner that read "The Walk," and in front of us massed the loyal, the little and the loud. I was caught up in the excitement. I slapped the hands of kids who thought I was an IU football player, and in turn, I thought I was an IU football player. But that wasn't what gave me goose bumps. Amid cheers of horrific grammar (for example, I heard several inebriated students yell "git 'er done"), there was a message more subliminal, still more substantial, than something that could surface from stuttered slang. \nThere was pride. For the first time in a long time, there was pride. \nSo there the players and I were, at the threshold of the stadium stairs. Below us, a red carpet, before us, a sea of cream and crimson, and behind us, trumpets tuning to the "Rocky" soundtrack. \nCoach Hoeppner said after the game, "The feeling we got... when we were in front of Assembly Hall and turned toward Memorial Stadium was special. I've said that crowds help win games, and this crowd helped us win this game." \nIn front of a crowd of 40,240, the IU football team found out what home field advantage was all about. The stadium pulse beat with every first down. The fans at Saturday night's game seemed to have stood together as one voice behind Hep's Hoosiers. A voice that vibrated between the stadium walls. No matter what happened, win or lose, the fans were there for the long haul. \nThere is something to be said about coach Hep's new vision for "The Rock." There is something to be said for the first 3-0 start for a first-year coach at IU since 1905. There is something to be said for a resurgence in the Hoosier spirit. \nBut if there is something to be said, the fans will say it. \nI heard a lot of shouting towards the players as we took "The Walk." The people of Bloomington reveled in their men of courage. The team was like a group of victorious Romans returning from a long campaign across the world. And for the first time in a long time, an ecstatic public rejoiced their arrival. \nWelcome home, warriors.\n(Writer's note: Joe "Not-John" Kleinsmith went 6-for-6 with a field goal in Saturday night's win over the Wildcats and their quarterback is Andre Woodson, not David Hamilton. My bad.)
(09/16/05 5:08am)
Two weeks have passed. Two wins have transpired. One pretty, one not-so-much. And ahead lies an opponent so close in distance to Bloomington you would be hard-pressed not to label it a "rival." Still, coach Hoeppner has had enough time to evaluate the talent of the 2005 IU football team. But why wait for what coach Hep has to say? \nI say, trust your local columnist. I'll plug in the holes. \nLast week, the triple option that ran on almost every play by Nicholls State developed into the kryptonite that heavily chinked the armor of the Hoosier defense. Three NSU running backs ran for more than 90 yards each during the game. Regardless, the defensive line and, more importantly, linebackers Kyle Killion, Josh Moore and John Pannozzo must show improvement in their ability to stop the option. With a depleted wide receiving corps, University of Kentucky quarterback David Hamilton and running back Rafael Little will carry most of the offensive load. After last week's game, be sure Kentucky will not hesitate to refine themselves at option for Saturday's game. \nOne of the Hoosiers' real problems is situated in the kicking game. Freshman place-kicker John Kleinsmith might be young, but his foot could make the difference between a .500 season and another disappointment for IU. And quite frankly, he stinks. \nI find it amazing that a Division I-A school, which prides itself on seven NCAA titles in men's soccer, is hard-pressed to find a place-kicker in football. I understand these are two different sports and, yes, maybe I've seen "necessary roughness" one too many times, but you're telling me IU can't find one mediocre soccer player who can kick a football 30 yards? Kleinsmith has been horrendous so far this season. Consider it a bit of foreshadowing, but when IU is in a close game against a conference foe, don't depend on Kleinsmith to drill a 35-yard field goal. In fact, I would have more confidence in Scott Norwood. \nOut with the bad. Out with the kicker. Now in with the good. \nThe biggest surprises this season have been the Hoosiers' wide receivers. James Hardy has emerged as a superstar in his replacement of former IU wideout Courtney Roby. Not since Roby's 2002 season has another player recorded back-to-back 100-yard games. Hardy managed to do it in the Hoosiers' first two games. With James Bailey, Jahkeen Gilmore and Marcus Thigpen, quarterback Blake Powers has more than enough reasons to spread the ball across the field this year. \nPowers' play is another reason football fans look forward to the future. Powers has thrown for more than 275 yards in both games for the Hoosiers and has completed 50.7 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns. He is just the "power" IU will need to fuel an offensive tank running on empty for the past few seasons. See -- I used the word "power" to describe Mr. Powers. Seriously, this is Pulitzer Prize-winning writing here, people.\nBut let's not kid ourselves, sports fans. So far this season, IU has faced Central Michigan and Nicholls State, neither of which possess in their individual pinkies the talent of a Michigan or Ohio State squad.\nThe quick change in gears might lead to a Hoosier season stall out. \nIndeed, the road ahead is tough and paved with obstacles. Nothing short of excellence will propel the Hoosiers beyond a decade dug in a ditch of desperation. \nSo sit down, strap in and come out. Support your fellow cream and crimson. Support your right to tailgate. Support your athletics program (even though you already do, financially). \nHell, support yours truly.\nI will be alongside coach Hep and the players as they take "The Walk" two hours before game time against Kentucky. \nI have talked the talk. Now it's time to walk "The Walk"
(09/12/05 5:16am)
Sports have always served as a distraction from the world and its realities. However, no current circumstance could be more real to the football players of Nicholls State than the haunting images of southern Louisiana broadcast this past week. \nNicholls State is located in Thibodaux, La., a 60-minute ride from New Orleans. The towns they call home have been engulfed by Hurricane Katrina, consumed by the relentless water that has pounded the region and tested both life and land. \nBut give the Nicholls State players credit. They could have laid down and lost, but they didn't. For 55 minutes they left everything on the field because their best effort was all they had left to give. \nI could have written this column about so many other things. It could have been about opening day at "The Rock." It could have been about the Hoosiers starting 2-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1993-94. It could have been about the play of IU sophomore cornerback Tracy Porter. But none of those things matter when those poor boys from Thibodaux showed the Hoosiers just what having heart was all about. \n"I couldn't be prouder of these men and the way they played tonight," Nicholls State coach Jay Thomas said at the postgame press conference. "I think the way we played says a lot about the character of the team." \nCharacter can come from the most unexpected places sometimes. \nCharacter is what held a local resident of Hammond, La., together as he stood by his home. What was once a proud, towering log cabin now sat in front of him an enormous pile of wood chips. The man looked away, hiding tears from the MSNBC reporter and surveying once more the obliteration of a lifetime of work.\nWhen asked what he planned on doing next, the man shrugged his shoulders, smiled for the first time in the entire television interview. \n"Rebuild, I guess," he replied. "What else is there to do?" \nWhen terrorists attacked New York and Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001, there was an outpouring of love and loyalty. We had a sense of community. We stood as a united country, willing to use every finger on both of our hands to help those who needed healing. I was living in New Jersey at the time and I knew people who lost family members in the Twin Towers. Now another tragedy has come full circle in America: a disaster, which has not only tested our domestic capabilities, but also showed so vividly the segregated society we still live in today. \nTowns have been leveled, cities have been deserted, and an entire coastline of our country is helpless to the havoc wrought upon their lives.\nStill, Nicholls State gave one of the most shocking and inspiring performances against a university nearly four times its size. They showed heart. They showed character. \nSome people wonder how those players will be able to cope and move on after one of the deadliest hurricanes in modern American history had just taken place more than a week ago. Some people, like the MSNBC reporter, wonder what to do next. \nPlay football, I guess. What else is there to do?
(09/09/05 5:17am)
An article appeared in the Indiana Daily Student Wednesday that discussed a new tailgating strategy the University will implement starting with Saturday's game versus Nicholls State. \nAssistant Athletics Director Kit Klingelhoffer said 10 minutes after kickoff, the IU Police Department will be walking outside Memorial Stadium to relay the following: If you are tailgating, you better have a ticket for the game. And if you have a ticket for the game, you better be inside the stadium. This goes for both the parking lot AND the grass lots. \nIn short -- the end of tailgating during IU football games as we know it. \nKlingelhoffer said the new policy will "curb unruly behavior" during football games. Instead, IUPD and the athletics department have taken a course of action that is counterproductive in appealing to the student body. And all of this is coming from an athletics department that should be grateful to the patronage of its students. Of course, this is the same athletics department that has accumulated a $5 million debt during the last half-decade. The same athletics department that has charged each student $30 on his or her tuition bill and dubbed it as an "athletics fee" despite a student-wide vote opposing the fee. The same athletics department that is still paying off the salaries of previous football coaches Cam Cameron and Gerry DiNardo and former Athletics Director Michael McNeely. Cameron was paid out $84,000 in 2004. DiNardo is set to make $1.06 million in the next two years. McNeely has been receiving a yearly sum of $839,460 since November 2002. \nFor an athletics department that has been piggy-banking its troubles on the student body for the last few years, they sure have one hell of a way to say "Thank you." \nBut that is not my point. This is: Tailgating during IU football games has never discouraged people from entering the stadium, Mr. Klingelhoffer. Having a losing record since 1995 is what has discouraged fans from coming to games. \nIn essence, IUPD will be pushing students and family members (without tickets) away from Memorial Stadium and an atmosphere that promotes cream and crimson camaraderie, and, yes, a little bit of drinking.\nHow have other Big Ten programs maintained such a high record of attendance at their football games? Do they push people from tailgating and place them in the stadium? No. Teams like Michigan and Ohio State fill their stadiums because they win. Period. \nWinning puts fans in the seats, not the butt of a baton held by an IU police officer. \nMy problem is not the athletics department trying to get more people to attend football games or even with the athletics department as a whole. My problem is that they are out of line trying to implement a policy for the students that is both unenforceable and ineffective. My problem is that the policy is unnecessary when ticket sales are up 23 percent overall from last year, and 47 percent for students. \nPeople will go to games. Forcing them will only create a backlash. \nIf there is one certainty in sports, collegiate or professional, it is that winning will solve everything. If we win, people will show up to the games.\nOh, people will come, Kit. People will most definitely come.
(09/05/05 5:13am)
Hope springs eternal once more in Bloomington as the football team kicks off another season. But this year is different. Since arriving in January as the new head coach, the Terry Hoeppner PR machine has invaded our campus like cicadas on a hot summer day. Armed with optimism, a 48-24 record in his six seasons at Miami of Ohio and handfuls of Uncle Sam knockoff posters, coach Hep has promised to restore glory to an otherwise laughable decade of Hoosier football. \nHow laughable? Since 1995, the Hoosiers have had a record of 29-72. Not once across this stretch did IU have a winning record or clinch a bowl berth. In fact, not since the 1993 Independence Bowl has the cream and crimson played football in December. Would you call it comical? I haven't laughed this hard since I saw "The Notebook" ... errr ... I mean "Wedding Crashers." \nBut Hoeppner does have Bloomington believing one thing: Why not? After a desert-like decade of football seasons that have brought nothing but heartache, Hoeppner has been the athletics department's oasis, bringing excitement, confidence and, most importantly, people in the seats. \nNow I'm not saying confidence breeds winning -- on the contrary, winning breeds confidence. And in his first game for the cream and crimson, coach Hep showed a vastly improved Hoosier offense and the possibility for the Hoosiers to gallop to a 5-0 start. Just look at the schedule. \nAfter a 20-13 victory over Central Michigan, the Hoosiers' first home game against Nicholls State should be easier than Tara Reid on ... well ... any night. While IU has nothing to toot its horn about, the Hoosiers are nonetheless a Division I team and should take pleasure in pounding out a second straight win. In fact, the game should serve more as a mini-camp for coach Hep to evaluate talent than a must-win game early in the season. And understand, it is a must-win game. \nBut coach Hep's true test will come between weeks three and five when the Hoosiers host Kentucky, travel to Wisconsin and return to Bloomington to face Illinois. Let me begin by saying we can win every single one of these games. Kentucky has been pinned on Hoeppner's calendar for the last six months and serves as an immediate trial for 2005 expectations. The Hoosiers will then hitch to Madison to face a star-depleted Badger team that should supply the Hoosier's first big win of the season. Simply stated, there is no reason a team, which starts 4-0, should lose its homecoming game to (by that time) a 2-3 Illinois squad. \nSo you see? 5-0 right there. Sure it may seem a little positive, OK, optimism run amuck, but you're talking to the guy who thought Patrick Ewing Jr. was going to be better than his father. Whoops.\nSince Hep has taken the helm, 16,662 season tickets have been sold. This is a 3,100 ticket increase from 2004, including a 47 percent increase in student tickets sold. \nStill none of this -- initial ticket sales or patriotic posters -- will matter unless the team wins. \nYet, when all is said and done, the Hoosiers did win their first game of season. And an away game, at that.\n"Winning is a great feeling," sophomore quarterback Blake Powers said in a press conference after the game. "I'll take a win no matter what the score."\nNow that's the Hoosier spirit.
(09/02/05 5:34am)
In 2005, the Big Ten is a big deal. Sports Illustrated has ranked eight of the 11 conference teams in the Top 50. The Coaches Poll (minus the AP, which I found stands for "Artificially Professional") has three teams: Ohio State, Michigan and Iowa in its Top 10 with cross-state rival Purdue at No. 16. \nBut really, what do coaches know? Before you fill in your latest parlay, check out my Big Ten preview. What has this world come to if you can't trust your local columnist? Chaos! Anarchy! Blasphemy! OK, that's enough.
(05/02/05 6:05am)
In their season opener against Ohio State, the 22-21 Hoosiers were impressive. Junior center fielder Reggie Watson had four hits, accumulating two runs, one double and one stolen base. Senior right fielder Joe Kemp tallied three RBIs and his eighth home run of the season on two hits. \nThe junior right hander Josh Lewis, who earned his sixth win of the season, was the story on Friday. Lewis silenced the Buckeyes' offense for the first 3 and 2/3 innings and sat down seven of the last eight batters he faced in six innings of work. He gave up five hits and one run with seven strikeouts in the first of a four-game series as IU won 10-1. \n"We had a lot of momentum going into Saturday," said sophomore infielder Michael Nilles. "But our inability to make routine plays really hurt us." \nThe tables turned in Saturday's doubleheader for the Hoosiers. Facing the Big Ten's best pitching duo, IU was held to a combined three runs in both games by the league-leading .971 fielding percentage and second overall 3.80 ERA of the Buckeyes. \nOSU pitcher Cory Luebke shutout the Hoosiers in all seven innings of work and gave up his first of a total four hits in the fifth inning to junior first baseman Ryan Parker.\nDespite throwing six innings, senior pitcher Brian Lortz gave up three runs on six hits, earning his first complete game of the season as well as his fifth loss. The Hoosiers were shutout 3-0 in the first game. \nThe Big Ten's No. 1 offense still could not muster enough runs against OSU in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader. Once sophomore pitcher Matt Saba replaced sophomore Adam Poole with an early 5-1 deficit, Saba held OSU down and gave IU the chance to comeback. \nBy the time Buckeye reliever Rory Meister took the reigns the score was 5-3 with the Hoosiers threatening to make it close. But Meister surrendered no hits and no runs with four strikeouts. He earned his first save of the season and gave the Hoosiers their second loss in the series, 7-3. \n"We thought we would turn things around in Big Ten competition," Watson said. "We were not able to put everything together." \nIn Sunday's finale, IU struck early with two runs in the first inning. Junior left fielder Zach Boswell singled to bring in both Kemp and Parker. Freshman left-hander Brad Davidson gave up four runs on three hits in four innings, notching the score at four runs for each team. OSU would score in every inning following the fourth to put the 10-4 game almost out of the Hoosiers' reach. \nIU mounted a comeback in the eighth inning due in part to singles from Kemp and Parker. But with the score at 10-8 and the tying run on second, Watson struck out, ending the inning and the rally. The Hoosiers dropped to 5-15 in Big Ten play. \n"We have been producing offensively, but other teams were capitalizing off our pitching," Boswell said. "It is frustrating to lose three out of four every time out." \nIU returns home to play a four-game set against conference opponent Michigan State next weekend including a doubleheader on Saturday. Friday's game starts at 3 p.m. at Sembower Field. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Shaffer at asshaffe@indiana.edu.
(04/15/05 6:27am)
In the fifth inning of the first game against Minnesota last week, junior second baseman Jay Brant received a ground ball hop straight to his jaw. Brant left the game and consequently lost his 19-game hitting streak, the longest such streak by a Hoosier this season. \nBut Brant returned. \nIn the fourth and final game against the Gophers he recorded one RBI, three hits and three runs as IU won 8-6. \nSince then, Brant has been on a tear. Wednesday against Miami of Ohio Brant went 3-for-4 including two runs and two doubles hit. He leads IU with 13 doubles on the season and with a .432 batting average. Brant's 48 runs scored and 52 hits also top the Hoosier offense. The Indianapolis native has recorded a hit in 23 of his last 24 games played. \n"I've been able to get into a rhythm, be selective and swing at good pitches," Brant said. "When you keep it simple like that you tend to have good results."\nDespite fielding five errors in the game, IU earned a much needed win against nonconference opponents Miami. Senior right fielder Joe Kemp, currently the Big Ten's RBI leader, also made a relief appearance against the Redhawks. In the final inning, Kemp came in and faced four batters surrendering only one walk and one hit before winning his first save of 2005. \n"Any way that I can go out and help the team get a win is always good," Kemp said. \nIU returns to Big Ten play this weekend as the team travels to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes in a four-game set at Banks Field including a doubleheader on Saturday. The 11-15 University of Iowa comes off a thrilling 8-7 victory with a run in the bottom of the ninth against Northern Illinois. \n"If we go up there and pitch, play defense, and swing the bats well we can play with anybody in the Big Ten," Kemp said. "We definitely want to go up there and win three games at all cost."\nThe Hawkeyes' win extended their streak to four games. It also gives Iowa six victories in their last eight games. The Hoosiers are 2-6 so far this season in conference play and attempt to reach .500 with a sweep of this weekend's series. \n"We have got to be consistent with all phases of the game," said IU coach Bob Morgan. "We are making the game too hard for ourselves. We have got to cut down the errors, concentrate, and execute."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Shaffer at asshaffe@indiana.edu.
(04/13/05 5:47am)
With a 2-6 Big Ten record, the IU baseball team is examining its problems.\nIU coach Bob Morgan said the Hoosiers have not been playing efficient defense. Compound that with a struggling pitching staff, he said, and there are sufficient reasons for the Hoosiers' disappointing conference play in the past two weeks.\nThe one win at Minneapolis came in the final game as the Hoosiers did damage early to the Gophers' starting pitcher, ripping him for four runs in four hits in just two-thirds of an inning. Junior second baseman Jay Brant and junior left fielder Zach Boswell had three hits each. While Brant ended his team-high 19-game hitting streak earlier in the series, he recorded three runs in Sunday's game. Boswell recorded two RBIs and one run. It was Boswell's sacrifice fly in the eighth that brought in Brant and secured the Hoosiers' second Big Ten win of the season. \n"I was seeing the ball real good the whole weekend," Boswell said. "I was just seeing good pitches, and I hit them."\nJunior center fielder Reggie Watson also tallied two runs in the game. Watson currently leads the team with five triples.\n"Every game is important, but going into a Big Ten weekend right now it is important for momentum," Watson said. "If we can get this win and go into Iowa with our heads up, I think everything will be going good for us."\nAfter dropping its second straight Big Ten series 1-3 last week at Minnesota, IU travels to Oxford, Ohio, to face a tough Miami University of Ohio team. The Redhawks are at the top of the East division of the Mid-American Conference and are riding a six-game winning streak, including their first series sweep this year when they took three games against Birmingham-Southern College.\nWednesday's game will be especially meaningful for the Red Hawks. The team will sport their black jerseys, which are normally reserved for road games, in memory of three students who died in a campus fire Sunday.\nThe game also has a student-mentor flavor to it -- Miami head coach Tracy Smith spent two seasons under Morgan before heading to Oxford. Smith was the pitching coach at IU and guided the Hoosier hurlers to their lowest ERA in the Big Ten in 1996.\nAlthough IU maintains an advantage in the all-time series against Miami, the Redhawks have taken the last two games, including IU's 10-5 loss last year at Sembower Field. Smith holds a 4-3 lead over Morgan since arriving at Miami.\n"What you hope for is to play well and hopefully carry it over to the weekend," Morgan said. "We've been disappointed with how we have been playing lately. We have not been playing good defense."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Shaffer at asshaffe@indiana.edu.
(04/08/05 5:30am)
IU coach Bob Morgan visited Ballard High School in Louisville, Ky., looking for a utility infielder, David Trager.\nTrager's teammate, Chris McCombs, saw an opportunity and approached Morgan about watching a game he was pitching. Morgan agreed, and a year later the 6-foot right-hander has struck out 15 batters in eight appearances for the Hoosiers. \nBut for McCombs, it is all about feeling right at home in Bloomington. \n"At first I never thought I'd end up here," he said. "But I like the coaches. I felt wanted here and I like that."\nWith a 3-1 record, including Wednesday's win against Indiana State, freshman pitcher Brad Davidson has been the most pleasant surprise for the Hoosier pitching staff that struggled last year. In five starts and seven appearances in 2005 the Novelty, Ohio, native has punched out 22 batters. He is second on the squad with seven of those strikeouts having caught the batter looking. \nDavidson says he could not be happier at IU.\n"It is close to home," he said. "It is a great school and a great program with great guys." \nSo far this season the freshman lefty and righty have a combined record of 4-2 and attribute their success to the friendship they share off the field. Both are residents of the Harper wing in Foster Quad, and each played football as well as baseball in high school. Yet individually, the two pitchers deliver different styles at their opponents. \nMcCombs commands the fastball, but specializes in the curveball -- a pitch to which he credits his accomplishments on the mound. Davidson, however, masters the whole spectrum of pitching. Consistent and commanding, his strength is the off-speed change-up he delivers complete with sound mechanics, Davidson said.\nThe two freshmen draw fundamentals from their days playing football to their present roles as starters on a Big Ten pitching rotation. \n"You put the effort in to get better," McCombs said. "The extra hours of work you put in makes all the difference."\nFor Davidson it is the constant mental preparations that contribute to his 3.80 ERA and his three wins that rank him second among active pitchers at IU. \n"The mental games the coaches play with you are the same as football," he says. "You run, you workout and you practice something and do it again until it is perfect."\nStill, Davidson and McCombs are in the learning process under Morgan and have had their share of bad starts this spring. Last week Davidson gave up eight runs in two innings of work as the Hoosiers fell 12-9 to Northwestern. Similarly, McCombs relinquished six runs in only 1 and 1/3 innings losing to Valparaiso earlier in the season. \nFortunately for the Hoosiers, the good days of their two freshman pitchers have outweighed the bad. McCombs didn't give up his first earned run until March 29 against Valparaiso. McCombs went on another streak of 10 and 2/3 innings after that game before surrendering another earned run against Vermont. Davidson showed off his best stuff against Yale during the Hoosiers' spring break trip. He allowed no runs on five hits in seven innings including six strikeouts as IU blanked the Bulldogs 8-0. \nBoth freshmen draws strength from their pre-game rituals, whether satisfying the hunger of their stomach or their soul. Since his senior year of high school McCombs has eaten a peanut butter sandwich before each game, while Davidson chooses to pray before the start of a game. \n"I pray to God to be with me," he said. "I pray for strength against being tired, injured and to give me my game." \nBoth Davidson and McCombs travel with IU this weekend when they play a four-game set against conference foe Minnesota in Minneapolis starting Friday at 3 p.m. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Shaffer at asshaffe@indiana.edu.
(04/06/05 4:41am)
Wednesday's match-up between IU and Indiana State at Sembower Field will not only be a duel between players, but between coaches as well. \nIn 21 seasons with IU, head coach Bob Morgan has accumulated 1,059 career wins, putting him No. 11 among the winningest active coaches in Division I baseball. In 30 seasons as ISU head coach, Bob Warn has accumulated 1,032 victories putting him No. 13 on the same list. \nIU enters the game with a record of 15-9 after dropping three of four games at home against Northwestern during the weekend. The 8-7 loss Monday was the third in a row for the Hoosiers and their longest losing streak so far this season. IU finished its first Big Ten series 1-3 despite junior centerfielder Reggie Watson batting 11-for-19 with a .579 average and sophomore infielder Josh Richardson going 9-for-16, tallying .562. \n"We need to just play our game and get back to where we were at," Richardson said. "(Indiana State) is a good ball club and they should give us a good game." \nCurrently, three Hoosiers have a batting average above .400. Senior third baseman Corby Heckman's .429 average barely trails junior second baseman Jay Brant's .437 average. Junior left fielder Zach Boswell rounds up the IU .400 club with a .414 average so far this season. \nBoswell hit his fourth homerun of the season on Monday and wrapped up the afternoon 2-for-4 with three RBIs and one run while Brant extended his hitting streak to a Hoosier-high 18 games in 2005. \nComing off its third straight loss, IU will need more than its offense to win games. \n"We need to play some good defense," Watson said. That and the pitching need to be back to where it was before this (past) weekend." \nIn the second game of the Hoosier season, IU and Indiana State faced off in a close match that ended when ISU pitcher Jason Murray hit Heckman with bases loaded resulting in Brant walking 90 feet to home and victory. A three-run, seventh inning at the Service Academy Classic in Millington, Tenn., gave the Hoosiers the momentum they needed to beat the Sycamores. \n"We beat (Indiana State) earlier in the year," Morgan said. "We're not playing as well as we had been before. We're not as disciplined as we should be." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Shaffer at asshaffe@indiana.edu.
(03/29/05 4:58am)
The Big Ten's No. 1 offense heads into conference play next week when the Hoosiers play host to Northwestern in a three-game set at Sembower Field. But players must deal with the 6-8 Valparaiso Crusaders at 3 p.m. today at home.\nLed by junior second baseman Jay Brant's 12-game hitting streak, the Hoosiers enter the week at 13-5 with a .348 batting average that tops the Big Ten. Contributing to the league-leading offense has been junior first baseman Ryan Parker and junior left fielder Zach Boswell, who each ended their hitting streaks in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday at 15 and 10 games, respectively.\nIn the last nine games the Hoosiers were 7-2 with three Hoosiers setting the pace with a batting average better than .400. Brant leads the Big Ten hitting .442, and senior third basemen Corby Heckman and junior left fielder Zach Boswell each have averages above .430.\n"I think we've got a lot of momentum going in and everybody is real excited," Heckman said. "We are the most prepared for Big Ten play since I have been here at IU."\nThis past weekend IU split a doubleheader with Longwood University in Farmville, Va. In the first game, senior right fielder Joe Kemp went 4-for-5, tallying three RBIs, a pair of doubles and one run scored. Heckman added one RBI, one run and two hits for the Hoosiers as well. Brant and center fielder Reggie Watson each contributed two runs and two hits in the game.\nNot only did Brant extend his hitting streak to 12 games, but the Indianapolis native also captured his team leading 10th stolen base. His week's efforts earned him Big Ten Player of the Week after hitting .567, going 17-30. Brant accumulated eight RBIs, scored 13 runs and stole four bases during the seven-game tournament in Bradenton, Fla., during spring break.\n"I think we are well-prepared because we played a lot of Big Ten caliber teams in Florida," Boswell said. "We just got to keep hitting the ball and throwing strikes and we'll be fine."\nAfter meeting in-state opponent Valparaiso today, IU will play a three-game match against Northwestern before traveling next weekend to Minneapolis to play Minnesota. \nDespite last year's sub-par 25-30 record including a 9-22 performance in conference play, the Hoosiers remain optimistic that this year will be different.\n"We are doing much better than we were last year because we are scoring a lot more runs and our pitching has stepped up for us all year," Watson said. "Everybody is feeling pretty high going into this weekend."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Shaffer at asshaffe@indiana.edu.
(03/25/05 5:15am)
After coming off a tournament in Bradenton, Fla. -- where IU won six of seven games -- the 12-4 Hoosiers will travel this weekend to Farmville, Va. to play a three game set against Longwood University. \nThis will be the first time IU has faced the Lancers as well as the first time they have stepped onto a baseball field since March 20. Wednesday's home game against Ball State was postponed due to inclement weather. \nTwo weeks ago senior second baseman Jay Brant was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week. For games against Butler, Bowling Green, Bucknell and Yale, Brant went 12-for-15, scoring nine runs, and recording an .800 batting average. Not only did Brant show quickness in his hands, but displayed speed on his feet as well. During the four game stretch he stole three bases and drove in five runs to tally up a 1.133 slugging percentage. \n"I've just been able to find a rhythm up at the plate, which is really important," Brant said. "I've been able to control my at-bats by swinging at the pitches I like."\nCurrently Brant is crowning a 10-game hitting streak, only four hits shy of the season record held by senior right fielder Joe Kemp and junior first baseman Ryan Parker who actively holds a 14-game hitting streak. \nThe player coming off the best week of his career is senior left fielder Zach Boswell. In the period ending March 20, Boswell was named Big Ten Player of the Week for his performances against Illinois State, Vermont, Kent State and St. Francis in the Florida tournament. In those games Boswell posted a 5-for-5 performance, adding three doubles and four RBIs. He also boasted a 1.214 slugging percentage and .706 on-base percentage including one home run. So far this season Boswell leads the team with a .458 batting average and .763 slugging percentage. \nBoswell presently holds the Big Ten lead in slugging percentage and walks with 12. Reggie Watson leads the Big Ten in triples with four, while Parker holds top honors the conference with 23 RBIs. Heading into the match-up against Longwood, Brant is tops in the league in runs scored (27), hits (31) and total bases (48). \n"We're looking to stay hot and keep the bats going," Parker said. "We just want some momentum going into this Big Ten series."\nOn the defensive side of the ball, freshman pitcher Brad Davidson will start for the Hoosiers Friday against the Lancers. Davidson is coming off a seven-inning scoreless performance against Yale March 14. He also has not allowed one run in his two starts spanning 12 innings. \nIU coach Bob Morgan believes the Hoosiers' team chemistry has produced hits and wins for the team so far this season.\n"We've played well and we've swung the bats well," Morgan said. "The players have been playing off each other. One guy steps up and then another guy steps up. It's been contagious in the right way."\nThe Hoosiers offense has been red-hot thus far in 2005. Their .354 batting average ranks first in the Big Ten conference and the team's 3.79 ERA ranks third behind Michigan and Illinois respectively. \nThis will be the first time in school history that IU has played Longwood. Nonetheless, Morgan is confident the Hoosiers will continue to dominate with focus and without fear. \n"How well we play is the key for us," Morgan said. "We just control them and that is how we play." \nAfter a three game set at Farmville, Va. the Hoosiers are set to play Valparaiso, at 3 p.m. Tuesday on Sembower Field. It will be only the third time IU has played a game at home in 2005. The Hoosiers enter Big Ten competition later that week against Northwestern at home in another three game set. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Shaffer at asshaffe@indiana.edu.
(03/23/05 5:27am)
After earning six wins in nine days at a tournament in Bradenton, Fla., the Hoosiers return to action at home against Ball State today. IU will be playing at Sembower Field for only the third time this season with a 1-1 record, including their latest loss to Butler last week. Behind a powerful offense and stellar pitching, the Hoosiers hope to continue accumulating wins before heading into Big Ten play next week. \nIn Florida the Hoosiers put together a highlight reel. Against Bucknell the team completed 21 hits on its way to a 14-4 victory. Two games later against Illinois State, IU tore apart the Red Birds with 17 runs in another 10-run lead, 17-7 win for the Hoosiers.\n"We are going to do a lot of what we did in Florida," sophomore infielder Josh Richardson said. "We are going to let our pitching lead us, and hopefully we'll keep swinging the bats."\nThe Big Ten announced Monday that junior left fielder Zach Boswell had been named Big Ten Player of the Week in the period ending March 20. During that week, Boswell led IU with a .643 batting average, including a 5-for-5 performance against Kent State in which he hit three doubles and four RBIs, adding to an already impressive 9-for-14 week at the plate. Boswell has a nine-game hitting streak on his way to posting a .458 batting average on the season and a .763 slugging percentage.\nBut Boswell was not the only Hoosier making noise in the Big Ten last week. Senior second baseman Jay Brant completed a 4-for-5 performance against Yale, scoring three runs and an RBI on the heels of being named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week two days before. Brant leads the team in runs scored with 27 and total number of hits with 31, along with the team's second-highest batting average behind Boswell with .443. \nDespite giving up 11 unanswered runs last week in their home loss to Butler, the Hoosiers are confident after last week's winning performance that they will hold on to early leads.\n"We are able to jump out early and set the tempo in the game," sophomore infielder Mike Nilles said. "Our pitching and defense is good enough to shut down teams."\nIU will take on Ball State Wednesday at 3 p.m. on Sembower Field before playing a three-game set against Longwood in Farmville, Vt., next weekend.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Shaffer at asshaffe@indiana.edu.
(03/11/05 5:25am)
At the end of the fifth inning, the Hoosiers had a 10-run lead over the Butler Bulldogs. Three innings and 11 unanswered runs later, IU found itself down by one to its instate rival. That is how the score remained as the Bulldogs, with a nine-run sixth inning, came back and defeated IU Thursday at Sembower Field. \nThe Hoosiers came out swinging hard in the first inning. After senior right fielder Joe Kemp singled to move junior second baseman Jay Brant, junior first baseman Ryan Parker shot a laser 415 feet over the centerfield fence. Later in the inning, freshman designated hitter Brad Udoff earned his first hit and RBI bringing in junior left fielder Ryan Boswell. \nIn the second, junior center fielder Reggie Watson singled into shallow center for his 14th hit of the season. Then Brant tripled into left-center, bringing Watson home to score the Hoosiers' fifth run of the day. Despite a Butler pitching change, Kemp singled to bring in Brant and record his 12th hit of the season. With the bases loaded, relief pitcher Jason Vollmer stopped the bleeding, turning senior third baseman Corby Heckman's dribbler into a fielder's choice and forcing Udoff to look at a third strike fastball. \nThe Bulldog defense hurt more than helped in the third inning with two errors assisting the Hoosiers offense to three runs. First, a Brant single scored senior catcher Kurt Weigle. Soon after Parker blooped a single against the shallow right field foul line bringing in Brant and Kemp to extend the Hoosier lead. \nThe IU offense was relentless when in the fourth Weigle scorched a ball back to Vollmer for his first hit and RBI of the game scoring Heckman who hit a fly ball almost identical to Parker's. After the fourth inning the Hoosier lead was in double digits, 10-0. \n"We played the best ball we played all year," Kemp said. "But pitching and defense is what wins you games and loses you games." \nThe teams switched personalities in the sixth inning and for the rest of the game. 15 batters and nine runs scored in the sixth, leaving the Bulldogs down only one, 10-9. First, they scored five runs off of Brad Kramer including two runs with a line drive back at the freshman pitcher. With bases loaded and junior pitcher Clint Crosier on the mound, Butler added two more runs to its inning total with a ground ball through the legs of sophomore third baseman Michael Nilles. Butler designated hitter Joe Dempsey doubled into left field bringing in two more runs against Crosier. A catcher interference call brought the Bulldogs to within one run of IU, 10-9.\n"As a team we were hitting real well," Parker said. "This just shows you that the game isn't over until it's over. We just lost momentum and they started believing."\nButler never looked back officially earning back all 10 runs when freshman Alex Rinearson hit a fly ball into shallow right field to bring in the game tying RBI. Freshman Joe Pauley gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game with a sacrifice fly off of sophomore pitcher Joe Trucchio. \nEven with the top of their line-up at bat for the ninth inning, the Hoosiers failed to respond once to the onslaught of runs produced by the Bulldogs and allowed for one of the biggest comebacks in Sembower history. \n"The guys that came in weren't ready to pitch. Bottom line," Morgan said. "Offensively we were awesome. I'm just disappointed the guys who came on to the mound didn't do their job."\nSo far this season the Hoosiers have played in more tournaments away from home than they have played games at home. After playing Butler Thursday the Hoosiers will be on their way to the Sunshine State. \nIn the next eight days the Hoosiers face seven teams in Bradenton, Fla. Starting Saturday, IU plays Bowling Green, Bucknell, Yale, Illinois State, Columbia, Vermont and Kent State. It will be the third road tournament road trip for the Hoosiers so far this season. \nIU returns to action at home against instate rival Ball State at 3 p.m. March 23 on Sembower Field.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Shaffer at asshaffe@indiana.edu.
(03/10/05 5:16am)
It has been more than a week since IU was scheduled to face Butler. That game, along with Tuesday's versus Xavier, was cancelled because of inclement weather. Despite three home games scheduled so far this year for IU, the Hoosiers have played only once in Sembower Field, when they defeated DePauw 5-0. Thursday they hope to take back their home-field advantage despite weather conditions calling for rain. \nLuckily the Hoosiers have won consistently on the road. After coming out 2-1 in a tournament in Millington, Tenn., IU turned around and went back on the road to take three out of the four games in the Gent Classic in Shreveport, La., on their way to capturing the championship title. \n"It proves that we can win on the road, and it gives us some momentum," said junior outfielder Zach Boswell. "I think it prepares us for home games even better." \nLeading the Hoosiers offensively this year is senior first baseman Ryan Parker. So far this season, Parker has completed a .735 slugging percentage contributing to his eight RBIs, five doubles and one home run. The home run came Friday against Centenary, when the Hoosiers won a close game, 4-3. Parker's .441 batting average this season along with his 15 hits also tops the IU offense. \nBut even the weather can affect the best bats in the Hoosier line-up. \n"It's disappointing to not be able to get outside," Parker said. "But I think we got a lot of good games in."\nThe games off for IU will benefit one standout Hoosier. Senior third baseman Corby Heckman went down in the final game of last week's tournament with a minor ankle injury. Heckman factored in nine hits and three runs in the Hoosiers' seizing of the Gent Classic. He is also second in the offense with a .414 batting average while contributing 12 hits. The lost games will give the Spencer, Ind., native time to rest his ankle and be ready to play in Bradenton, Fla., during spring break. \nFor eight days, the Hoosiers will be in Florida playing seven games. It is another line of road games that challenge the Hoosiers away from Sembower Field. Despite predicted weather conditions, the Thursday Butler game is the Hoosiers' final hope for a home game before heading into spring break.\n"Weather is baseball's worst enemy," said IU coach Bob Morgan. "It would be nice to get a game in before we head to Florida next week, but it's all a little frustrating."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Shaffer at asshaffe@indiana.edu.