Second place on the line against OSU

The baseball team takes to the road this weekend against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, trailing the second place Buckeyes by just one game in the Big Ten race. The Hoosiers head to the unfriendly confines of Bill Davis Stadium after receiving quite a scare from non-conference opponent Wright State on Wednesday night.\nThe Raiders grabbed an early 8-1 lead on the strength of a seven-run second inning before IU could muster a substantial rally in the top of the sixth.\nThe five-run Hoosier sixth was highlighted by back-to-back RBI triples from seniors Brad DeStefano and Vasili Spanos, but it was junior Kevin Mahar who provided the real heroics.\nWith the Hoosiers trailing 9-8 in the eighth, Spanos was intentionally walked with two on and one out. After freshman Ryan Parker struck out, Mahar made the Raiders pay, finding nothing but green grass with a bases clearing double to put IU up for good 11-9. \nMahar finished three for five with a game high five RBIs. \n"I was just trying to get my hands going. I just felt good, and I was seeing the ball really well," Mahar said. "I was just hitting the ball really well yesterday."\nCoach Bob Morgan said he was pleased with his club's comeback victory.\n"We got down 8-1, and we showed some perseverance. We were persistent," Morgan said. "We hung in there, swung the bats and were able to pull out a victory."\nBut it is no secret the Hoosiers will have to perform much better if they want to see success this weekend against the Buckeyes. \nOSU sports a standout pitching staff that is aced by sophomore Scott Lewis. The left-hander is fresh off a school record 20 strikeout performance against Iowa last weekend. Lewis' amazing feat was precluded by senior Greg Prenger's perfect game against Oakland in the nightcap of a double-header last Wednesday.\nTo put Lewis' dominance into perspective, he leads the Big Ten in strikeouts with 78. The closest pitcher to him is Northwestern's J.A. Happ who has fanned only 49.\nMorgan said he knows his team has a tough road ahead. \n"They have excellent pitching. They aren't quite as good of a hitting team as they've been in the past, but they're a very good team," Morgan said. "We know it's a tough chore." \nSurprisingly the Buckeyes don't own the Big Ten's best earned-run average. The top spot belongs to IU whose staff owns an impressive 3.50 ERA. OSU follows with a 3.74 ERA but does showcase a league leading .241 batting average against. \nA big reason for the Hoosiers' statistical prominence is their relief pitching. IU's main relief staff of freshmen Chris Hynes and Austin Rhoads along with seniors Kevin O'Brien and Ryan Smith have combined to give up just 26 runs in 93.1 innings of work, for an average ERA of 2.75. \nMorgan said his pitchers, especially the youngsters, will have to be ready to provide quality innings this weekend.\n"All the young pitchers have to be ready to give us some innings," Morgan said. "Right now Hynes is a freshman, and he's doing a real good job for us. He's been out there quite a bit already."\nHynes (2-0, 2.08 ERA) said the relievers aren't worn down because they rest their arms during the week.\n"We want to take three out of four," Hynes said. "Obviously we just want to come out and play good baseball."\nGood baseball is certainly what the Hoosiers will need if they want to take a series from an OSU team that has won seven straight.\nThe series opens under the lights at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night that will be followed by a double-header on Saturday and the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.\n"We're going over to a hostile environment. Their fans are tough on the players, and they draw a lot of people. But we just have to control what we can control and how we play," Morgan said. "We can't let the environment or the fans or anything distract us. Our main focus has to be on playing as well and as hard as we can"