IU offense 'bad news' for the Bears

After the Hoosiers' loss Tuesday, senior third baseman Corby Heckman said the Hoosiers needed more at-bats before entering the Big Ten season. IU took those extra at-bats Wednesday afternoon and ended up with a season-high 24 runs after three hours and 26 minutes.\nThe Hoosiers defeated Shawnee State yesterday 24-9 in a late addition to the Hoosiers' schedule by IU coach Bob Morgan. Despite the lopsided victory at Sembower Field, Morgan said the team has plenty of room for improvement before entering Big Ten play.\n"We've struggled with our pitching," Morgan said. "We're a one-pitch pitcher team, and we need to use more than just a fastball."\nMorgan said "Windbower" Field was very friendly to IU and its offense Wednesday, which wasn't the case in Tuesday's loss.\n"We had some really hard hit-outs on Tuesday," Morgan said. "Today the hits were getting through, and we were getting on base more."\nSenior right fielder Joe Kemp and junior first baseman Ryan Parker helped the Hoosiers run away with the game after the two sluggers belted back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning. Kemp also made a pitching appearance in the ninth inning, striking out the final Bear batter to end the game.\n"We're really coming together," Kemp said. "We need to keep up the enthusiasm, but I feel pretty good about where we're going."\nBesides Kemp, Morgan used four other pitchers in the game, including sophomore Matt Saba, who was awarded the victory. Saba went four innings, giving six hits and two earned runs. Morgan said he hopes the pitching can return to the form it had during the team's trip to Bradenton, Fla.\n"We need to start playing like we did over spring break," Morgan said. "We were really aggressive down there. We had good defense and good pitching."\nParker said Tuesday's loss to Valparaiso was an eye-opener for the team going into a crucial stretch of games.\n"We learned a lot from yesterday (Tuesday)," Parker said. "Today we did a good job, though. Our pitching and defense really need to keep it up if we hope to finish in the top half of the Big Ten."\nWednesday's win not only provided a confidence boost for the Hoosier starters but also gave some back-up players some quality playing time. Sophomore catcher Bobby Segal recorded his first hit of the season with a bases-loaded triple in the seventh inning. Also, freshman shortstop David Trager and freshman left fielder Arden McWilliams started the game for IU, combining for three hits and three RBIs.\n"We were able to get our younger guys a lot of playing time, which was good," Morgan said. "They (Shawnee State) made a lot of pitching changes, which changed the complexion of the game, and things got kind of out of hand."\nIU will begin Big Ten play Friday when they kick off a four-game home stand against the Northwestern Wildcats.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Matt \nMattucci at mmattucc@indiana.edu.