IU anxious to get more games in series

The IU baseball team is ready to get back to action after having its last five games cancelled or postponed because of rain or snow. The undefeated Hoosiers (2-0) travel to Johnson City, Tenn., Friday to face the 3-3 East Tennessee State Buccaneers in a four-game series. The series begins a stretch of 12 consecutive games played away from Sembower Field. \nBut Coach Bob Morgan said IU is eager to play.\n"We hope to pick up where we left off," said Morgan, referring to the Hoosiers' 15-0 and 14-1 victories over Taylor a week and a half ago. "It's been tough coming back inside after being outside. It's an adjustment. Hopefully we won't lose anything and we'll play really well."\nIU was forced to practice inside this week because of the two snowed-out games against DePauw and Indiana Wesleyan. Those games have been postponed until later this month. It was a similar situation last weekend. IU's three-game series against Bethune Cookman was canceled because of rainy weather in Daytona Beach, Fla. Again, IU was relegated to practicing indoors during its stay in not-so-sunny Florida. \n"It makes it tough to keep up the intensity," Morgan said. "We keep bringing them in here, and they're biting at the bit. We've got to be mentally strong enough to be able to handle it and maintain where we were when we left off."\nMorgan is particularly concerned with his pitching staff during these days of uncertain weather.\n"There's a fine line trying to have them ready," he said. "We've been holding them back because we may pitch, may play. Then we hold 'em back again. Do we throw them in the bullpen or not?\n"It's been in limbo. Hopefully it's not gonna effect us."\nEast Tennessee State climbed back to .500 after picking up a three-game sweep of North Carolina A&T. The Buccaneers had opened the season by losing three straight to South Carolina.\n"They've got a very, very good pitcher who throws 89-91 mph with a good curveball," said Morgan, referring to senior right-hander Reid Casey, who is 1-1 with a 3.16 ERA. "It'll be a good challenge for us. They're a very sound ball club. They play with a lot of intensity. It'll be up to us to match their intensity."\nEven though the Buccaneers pose a threat, and IU has been on hiatus, the team is confident. Senior Gibran Hamdan, one of the leaders on the team, said IU will be ready for the challenge.\n"We're all looking forward to going down there and getting back to action," he said. "All of our guys are ready to go."\nSophomore outfielder Ryan Donley agreed.\n"If anything, it'll help us because we're so anxious to get out there," he said. "We've been practicing hard everyday, and we should be able to win all of them"