Team still on fire after Florida trip

The Hoosiers have a busy weekend in hopes of continuing their winning ways.\nThe University of Detroit Mercy comes to town for a doubleheader starting 1 p.m. Saturday at Sembower Field. The three-game series ends Sunday with a game at noon.\nIU is on a tear at this point of the season, winning nine straight games dating back to its win against DePauw March 7.\nDuring that span, the Hoosiers have dominated opponents, outscoring them 93-32. The nine-game winning streak has bumped IU's record up to 13-3.\nOne of the reasons for the high-octane offense is junior third baseman Vasili Spanos, who leads the Big Ten with seven home runs.\nThe Hoosiers as a team are hitting a scorching .352 batting average and have three everyday starters hitting at least .400, including Spanos, junior Kennard Jones and sophomore Mark Calkins.\nThe Titans (4-7) have struggled at the plate early this season with only three starters hitting over .300. \nBut they did record a 6-4 upset over Big Ten powerhouse and then-No. 22 Ohio State last week and also swept Toledo earlier this week. IU coach Bob Morgan said the Titans must be a pretty decent team, but he's more concerned with how IU plays.\n"Most of our concentration is going to be on how we play because that's the only factor we control," Morgan said. "I was disappointed with the Valpo game. We just need to make plays defensively and our pitchers need to throw more strikes."\nDetroit should be playing with more confidence despite their poor record after winning three games in the past week. Senior Bill Geiger said IU looks forward to this match-up, especially because the Big Ten season begins next week with a four-game weekend series.\n "It kind of inspires us that they beat Ohio State," Geiger said. "It shows that they can win against good teams. Being prepared for weekend series is vital because it comes down to who has the will to win when both teams are run down."\n Pitching is a bigger concern for Morgan, who said the bullpen has been pitching well but the starting pitching rotation needs to develop more.\nJunior Jacob Cary and senior Zach Otte are scheduled to start on the mound Saturday, and senior Matt Rice is Sunday's probable starter.\nIU does have the clear edge in the pitching department. Detroit's team ERA is twice that of IU despite the Hoosiers' struggles at times.\nAlthough IU's starting pitching has gotten into some trouble, Otte believes that he and the rest of the pitchers will be ready.\n"A big thing for us was going down to Florida and getting some starts under our belts," Otte said. "At the beginning of the season, we were getting ourselves out of situations, but we got into those situations by walking batters in the first place.\n"Now we're throwing more strikes and looking forward to playing a good team to get us ready for the Big Ten season"