Hoosiers begin 13-game homestand

If you ask baseball coach Bob Morgan about the Hoosiers' opponents this week, he might start talking about this weekend's series with Penn State, which kicks off the Big Ten regular season. The problem is that IU has a doubleheader against Taylor today and a match-up with Valparaiso Wednesday, just days before Penn State visits.\nMorgan's focus this week is the beginning of the Big Ten season, and the games against non-conference foes Taylor and Valparaiso are a good way to prepare his pitching-depleted squad for the weekend.\n"Yes, we do want to win. Don't get me wrong, but at the same time, our real focus is getting ready for the weekend," Morgan said.\nWith senior right-hander David Ferris on the bench for the rest of his IU career with torn ligaments in his pitching elbow, Morgan is looking to put a load of young talent in a position it's never been in -- on the mound for an extended time. Morgan said he plans to throw at least six pitchers in today's seven-inning contest with the Tigers.\n"We're trying to get them out there, get the experience and at the same time try to win some games," Morgan said. \n"We wouldn't normally try to bring some kids along in mid-week games, but they're going to get thrown to the wolves this weekend in the Big Ten games, so every time we can get them out there it's going to help," he said.\nJunior left-hander Matt Rice will start the first game for the Hoosiers and freshman left-hander Chris Behrens will take the hill in the second match-up. Behrens said he has seen an improvement in the pitching staff lately, stemming from the spring break trip the team took to Homestead, Fla., where it competed in the Homestead Challenge.\n"Our control and getting guys out has improved every weekend so far, so there's no reason that we shouldn't keep on doing that," Behrens said. "I think we're just going to get better, as we have been, throughout the weeks."\nPitching coach Jeff Calceterra wants his staff to do exactly what Behrens said it would do by eliminating the mistakes he saw earlier in the season.\n"Trying to cut our walks down to a minimum and being more aggressive on the mound has been one of our priorities in the last 10 games, so hopefully we'll continue that into tomorrow," Calceterra said. "Our ability to locate the fastball early in the counts and being able to throw our off-speed for strikes has been a key for us."\nMorgan said he wants to see senior third baseman Vasili Spanos prepare for this weekend's games by playing against Taylor. Spanos has been out with an ankle injury, but is expected to start the first game today. \nMorgan said he considers Spanos a catalyst in the IU lineup.\n"What would really do it would be getting Spanos back, because he's one of our top players," Morgan said. "If we have Spanos in there, we can count on him to solidify a lot of things for us. He was our four-hole hitter as a freshman; he's our four-hole hitter this year if he can play. We need that guy that people fear and have to pitch around because it makes everyone else around him a lot better"