Hot hitting prevails in cold weather

It was a tale of three innings as the IU baseball team amassed 16 runs in three frames to defeat DePauw 17-1 on a cold Thursday afternoon at Sembower Field. The Hoosiers scored four, five, and seven runs in the second, fourth and sixth innings, respectively, to subdue the Tigers. \nCoach Bob Morgan said he was happy with his team's performance despite the weather.\n"We put a couple of innings together," Morgan said. "We were able to expand and stretch the lead. It's not a good day for hitting. It's cold."\nOffensively, sophomore Corby Heckman led IU. Heckman continued his hot start in the 2003 campaign batting 4-6, knocking in three and scoring one run. Heckman is batting .387 on the young season, and said his average has increased with his number of chances.\n"I think most of all I am just getting more opportunities," Heckman said. "I'm trying to look for good pitches to hit, because if I do that, I'll have a good chance at the plate."\nSophomore Kevin Inglis (1-0) picked up his first victory of the campaign. Inglis pitched the fifth and sixth innings, allowing one run on three hits. Inglis was one of five Hoosier pitchers on the day, with freshman starter Austin Rhoads with four innings of shutout ball followed by freshman Dan Pezley, senior Kevin O'Brien, and freshman Brian Lortz in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, respectively.\n"I felt pleased, number one, because we were able to play today," Morgan said. "We've had a lot of rain. Offensively, our guys hit some line drives and hit some balls good." \nThe Hoosiers will return to Bradenton, Fla. for the second time in three weeks during break. This time, IU will play eight games in eight days, starting with Saturday's contest against Bradley.\nA number one priority for IU will be developing depth to an injury depleted pitching staff. Morgan said after so many injuries, such as losing staff ace senior Nick Vitielliss for the season, pitching is a top priority. \nJunior pitcher Chris Behrens (1-0) has been impressive so far, surrendering zero earned runs in 10.1 innings pitched. Behrens said Vitielliss' will be missed, but he has confidence in the rest of the staff. \n"That's a big pair of shoes to fill with Nick (Vitielliss) being gone," Behrens said. "That was a really big loss. I think the freshmen can step up and fill that role because we need another starter. I think our pitching will still come through"