Hoosiers' winning season ends with loss in Big Ten Tourney

IU rebounded recently from its only losing season in coach Bob Morgan's 19 years as head coach by going 35-20 (15-14 in the Big Ten) compared to last year's 24-31-1 (7-19 in the Big Ten) record. Its season came to an end after beating Iowa and losing to Ohio State and Michigan State last weekend at the Big Ten Tournament. \nOhio State, who beat the Hoosiers 11-10 in 10 innings in a crucial contest, eventually went on to win the tournament by going 3-0 at Siebert Field in Minneapolis, Minn. The Buckeyes are the only team representing the Big Ten at the NCAA Baseball Tournament.\n"The Big Ten doesn't get the respect it deserves as a baseball conference," Morgan said. "If we made the finals of the tournament, we probably would be going to the NCAA's. The Ohio State game was the deciding game in the tourney for us. It was like a 15-round prizefight, and they came out on top. We had the chance to beat them in 12, but we didn't get it done. I think if we win that game we win the tournament."\nIU finished the season with a .330 team batting average, while its opponents hit .296. They outscored its opponents 420-292. \n"We reestablished IU as a team that can compete with anybody," senior shortstop Eric Blakeley said. \nBlakeley was named to the All-Tournament team as the starting shortstop after he batted .308 with a solo home run in the game versus Ohio State. The third-team All-Big Ten selection hit .330 in a career-high 218 at-bats. He tallied 24 extra-base hits, including 12 doubles and a career-high 10 home runs. His 60 RBI was a career-high and was second on the team. He was a member of 47 of IU's 64 double plays, and he started all 55 games at shortstop for the Hoosiers.\nOther Hoosiers also had great seasons. Junior centerfielder Kennard Jones was named one of three Big Ten Players of the Year by hitting .404 with 75 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. Junior third baseman Vasili Spanos was a first team All-Big Ten selection, hitting .385 with 16 home runs and 65 RBI's. Junior righthander Nick Vitielliss was a second-team All-Big Ten selection by going 8-1 with a 3.58 ERA. Senior lefthander Zach Otte earned third-team All-Big Ten by going 7-3 with a 2.56 ERA.\n"We got a taste of success this year," said senior first baseman Gibran Hamdan, who hit .335 with six home runs and 38 RBI's. "We built up something they'll be able to go off of next year. They'll be a strong team"