Pitchers seek stability

To say the Hoosiers are looking for a little more stability in their pitching staff after giving up a school-record 49 runs in three games last weekend against Furman would be an understatement. And the Hoosiers have one day off to try to find that stability before they face Indiana Wesleyan at 3 p.m. today at Sembower Field.\nIU defeated the Wildcats 11-2 last season in Bloomington, and the Hoosiers expect more of the same this season.\n"We should be able to handle this team," sophomore infielder Vasili Spanos said. \nThe Hoosiers came out of the Furman series unscathed on offense, scoring 35 runs during the weekend. If the Hoosiers can't hold the Wildcats offense down, then a repeat of the Furman games becomes more likely.\n"Let's hope our guys make some adjustments and prove (themselves) pitching-wise," head coach Bob Morgan said. "We just have to get them back out there and on the mound."\nDespite the 35 runs, Spanos said he sees room for improvement at the plate.\n"We need to get some key hits," Spanos said. " If our hitting can step up with some clutch two-out hits, we should have a great team for the rest of the year."\n Because today's match-up is a single game, and the next contest for the Hoosiers isn't for three days, Morgan said he plans to send a variety of pitchers to the mound to face the Wildcats. This way, no one pitcher gets worn out before the upcoming tournament at Winthrop.\n"We're probably going to throw about nine pitchers," Morgan said. "Somebody might not throw so well, but we just have to get them out there."\nSophomore pitcher Nick Vitielliss threw for 3 2/3 innings against Furman, giving up two runs on three hits and striking out three. He said he agrees with Morgan and stressed the importance of getting back on the mound.\n"All (the pitchers) have to get out there on Tuesday and prove ourselves that we can get out there and get batters out," Vitielliss said. "The pitchers need the experience of throwing to batters, because we haven't been outside that much."\nVitielliss said he, along with the other pitchers, need to work more on their location than their mechanics.\n"It's just time to get out there and hit the locations," he said. "I think we'll be able to do that … the more experience we have."\nIU and Indiana Wesleyan have met for seven consecutive seasons, but the Hoosiers aren't sure what kind of team they will face.\nBut, Spanos said improvement is more important than the who particular opponent is.\n"We just need to go out and play as hard as we can no matter who we're facing," he said. "We can always get better as a team"