Hoosiers stay hot in Big Ten, take 3 of 4 from Iowa

The IU men's baseball team earned a tie for the first place position in the Big Ten after taking three of four games from Iowa this weekend at Sembower Field. The Hoosiers had a chance for a sweep yesterday but lost in a slugfest, 17-13.\nEight Hoosier pitchers failed to shut Iowa down, and the defense committed five errors. Iowa senior third baseman Ian Mattiace went four of four with two home runs and eight RBI's in the game.\n"The disappointing thing is that we won the first three games and had a chance to sweep," coach Bob Morgan said. "It's hard to beat a team four times in a row. We didn't play as well as we have been today. As good as our defense and pitching were yesterday, they were that bad today. Our offense fought for us today, but it just wasn't enough."\nThe game was a stark contrast from Saturday's doubleheader. Senior left-hander Zach Otte pitched a one-run complete game in the 5-1 victory in game one. He improved to 5-1 on the season. Junior right-hander Nick Vitielliss followed that up with a complete game in which he allowed no earned runs in a 6-1 victory in game two. Vitielliss improved to 4-0 on the season.\nIU and the Hawkeyes played the first game of the series Friday. The Hoosiers were down 7-5 going into the bottom of the seventh, but they scored five runs the next two innings to win 10-7. Sophomore Adam Pegg picked up the win to improve to 4-2 on the season. Junior closer Ryan Smith picked up his fifth save of the year. \nEvery spot in the Hoosier lineup contributed this weekend.\nLeadoff hitter Kennard Jones scored seven runs in the series. He saw his hitting streak stop at 14 Saturday, but he did steal his 18th base out of 22 attempts.\nSenior shortstop Eric Blakeley went seven for 17 in the series. Junior left fielder Mark Calkins went three for five with three RBI's and three runs scored in game one of the series. Junior third baseman Vasili Spanos went seven for 14 with six runs and four RBI's. The two-time Big Ten Player of the Week also hit his eleventh home run of the season. \n"The only time your individual accomplishments matter is when the team does well," Spanos said. "Our team's doing well, so it's a great honor."\nSophomore right fielder Joe Kemp went five for 10 with six RBI's. He returned to the outfield after his stint at designated hitter because of a bone bruise in his throwing arm.\n"I'm coming around a little bit. I'm starting to see the ball," Kemp said. "The big thing for me is to just stay relaxed." \nSenior first baseman Gibran Hamdan hit a three-run homer Sunday. It was his fourth of the season. Freshman catcher Cody Wargo had a big RBI single on Friday, and freshman second baseman Jay Brant went two for four and hit his second homer of the season Sunday to round out the lineup. \nThe Hoosiers are confident in the remainder of the season, despite the end of a six-game win streak.\n"We have a great chance to win the Big Ten as long as we keep playing the way we are," Spanos said.