A 'grand' weekend for IU coach

After a home loss and a postponed game on Friday, IU baseball coach Bob Morgan finally snatched his elusive 1,000th career victory this weekend becoming the 12th active coach and just the 26th in Division I history to reach the 1,000 win plateau. The Hoosiers split the four game series with Big Ten foe Illinois and now stand at 16-5 on the season. \nIU's 4-0 victory in the series opener solidified Morgan's spot on the prestigious list.\n"It's a great milestone to accomplish, and it is a tribute to the great people that I've had around me. It's not a one-man show," Morgan said. "But it certainly means a lot to me." \nSenior pitcher Jacob Cary was remarkable on the mound in the opener. He hurled his third straight complete game, giving up just five hits while walking one and striking out three. On the season, Cary is a perfect 5-0 with a 2.25 earned run average, and a solid three to one strikeout to walk ratio.\n"It was just one of those things where I didn't even realize what kind of game I was throwing," Cary said. "Hopefully when coach Morgan thinks of this game he'll think of me."\nUnfortunately, Morgan didn't have much time to cherish the milestone victory. Due to inclement weather on Friday, the Hoosiers were forced to play back-to-back double-headers with the Illini on Saturday and Sunday. \nThe Hoosiers fell in Saturday's nightcap, 9-2. Junior pitcher Adam Pegg was tagged for four runs off of five hits in just 1.2 innings of work while three Illinois pitchers combined to silence IU's bats to the tune of just two runs on three hits.\nSunday saw the Hoosiers splitting another double dip. They faltered, 7-2, in the opener but turned around to win the series finale, 4-3, on the strength of a three-run sixth inning. \nIn game three, starter Chris Behrens allowed five runs in just 2/3 of an inning while Illinois pitcher Joe Ziemba tossed a complete game.\n"We just didn't get good starts in games two and three," Morgan said. "It put us in a hole early, and it really hurt us."\nIU sent freshman Josh Lewis to the mound in game four in just his second career start. Lewis pitched four strong innings surrendering two runs on four hits. \n"We weren't really sure who we were going to pitch in game four," Morgan said. "We started Josh Lewis and as a freshman he had a great start for us."\nRecently Morgan has stressed IU's need for better situational hitting. Junior Seth Bynum must have been listening.\nThe Hoosiers trailed, 2-1, in the top of the sixth inning when Bynum stepped up to the plate. With runners on first and second the shortstop smashed a clutch home run to left field, putting IU on top for good. \nSenior Ryan Smith pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to pick up his fourth save of the season.\n"Everyone is very happy that we at least got out of there with a split," Calkins said. "That's important to do especially on the road."\nMorgan, whose career record now stands at 1,001-508-6, said he was satisfied with his team's first conference weekend.\n"We would have liked to have won three out of four," Morgan said. "But if you get a split on the road in the Big Ten against a good team like Illinois, you certainly haven't hurt yourself"