Season opening weekend games canceled by weather

The IU baseball team will have to wait at least another couple days to start their season. The squad had been scheduled to play Morehead State over the weekend in Morehead Ky., but rain, snow and ice canceled the season opener. \nCoach Bob Morgan said before the cancellation he thinks his team is ready to play.\n"We just want to go out and play a game," Morgan said. "We need to assess where we are as a team right now."\nIU is coming off a 2002 campaign where they defied forecasters, finishing 35-20 at 4th place in the Big Ten, which earned them a spot in the conference tournament for the first time in five years. \nMorgan, commencing his 20th season at the helm of Hoosier baseball, said he hopes to build on that success, although he'll have to wait until at least Tuesday when IU is scheduled to host DePauw.\n"We had a solid season last year, and we have a good group of guys returning as well as some promising newcomers," Morgan said. "I am looking forward to seeing how it will all come together."\nThe most prominent returning starter is pre-season All-American candidate Vasili Spanos. The accolades came pouring in for the River Forest, Ill.-product after a season in which he smashed 16 long balls, knocked in 65 runs and led the Big Ten in both slugging (.782) and on-base percentage (.509). \nBut Spanos is humble about his accomplishments. \n"It means a lot to me and it's a great honor, but it's just baseball," Spanos said. "I'm just ready to go out and have another good season and help this team win." \nWith help from Spanos' monstrous .385 batting average, the Hoosiers ranked as the 12th best hitting team in the nation last season, batting .330 as a team. \nThe senior 3rd baseman said he thinks hitting will again be a forte for the Hoosiers, who return four starters to their batting order. \n"I think we'll be a good hitting team like last year," Spanos said. "And it looks like we have some good young pitchers as well."\nThe pitching staff returns six players this season, one of whom was supposed to be senior Nick Vitielliss coming off a stellar junior campaign. After going 8-1 with a 3.58 ERA in 74 innings, the senior was slated to be IU's number one starter. But coaches learned this week that Vitielliss must undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm. The surgery will replace a torn tendon on his throwing arm.\n"We've had some injuries, and Nick is going to be a big loss for our club," Morgan said. "But that just means our senior leaders and younger pitchers will have to step up and fill the role." \nOne pitcher looking to do that is junior Adam Pegg. After a solid year in which he went 5-4 with a 3.34 ERA in a relief role, Pegg could earn more starts this year. \n"I want to get more starting opportunities and be a leader," Pegg said. "Our pitching has to come along. We have guys hurt and we'll just have to battle through."\nNo makeup date has been scheduled yet for the Morehead State games. If the season opener is rescheduled, IU will face a team returning 19 players that went 29-27 last season. The Eagles' season was already underway. They were swept by Tennessee two weeks ago and outscored 37-5 in the three game set.\nThe cancelled games may not have much of an impact on the team. Morgan said before the announcement that he isn't concerning himself or his team with just Morehead State.\n"I'm not going to worry about Morehead State or any other team we play this year as much as I am going focus on us as a team," Morgan said. "It's a long season. We play 56 games and I just want to see where we stand as a team."\nIU is now scheduled to open their season at home Tuesday at 3 p.m. against the Tigers.