Ball State University Athletics
Baseball's Vitek, Dygert Sweep Weekly MAC West Honors
March 19, 2008 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State baseball team was well represented when the Mid-American Conference announced its weekly awards Tuesday. The Cardinals notched their first individual awards of the season with Kolbrin Vitek earning MAC West Pitcher of the Week and Zach Dygert winning MAC West Player of the Week.
Vitek logged a 2-0 record with a 0.82 ERA last week on Ball State's spring break trip. The freshman right-hander held Charleston Southern to one run over six innings while striking out a Ball State season-high nine batters last Tuesday (March 11). He took the mound again Sunday against Presbyterian College and held the Blue Hose without an earned run over five innings in a 13-2 win. Vitek struck out seven more batters against Presbyterian to raise his total for the week to 16 in two games.
With his two wins, Vitek -- who also owns a .367 batting average as a designated hitter -- improved his record to 3-0 on the season. The Cardinals have won all four contests he has started. Vitek leads the Ball State pitching staff with 26 strikeouts in 18.1 innings of work.
Dygert led Ball State offensively last week with a .667 batting average, logging eight hits in 12 at bats. The sophomore catcher recorded two hits and at least one RBI in each of the four games he started. He belted home runs in back-to-back games Saturday against 25th-ranked Michigan and Sunday versus Presbyterian College, helping him to a 1.167 slugging percentage for the week. Dygert capped an eight-RBI week by driving in four runs in Sunday's 13-2 win over Presbyterian. He also drew four walks over his four starts on his way to logging a .750 on-base percentage for the week.
Dygert has started 12 of Ball State's 16 games behind the plate and owns a .289 batting average on the season. His three home runs tie him for second place on the team, while his 14 RBI tie him for third among the Cardinals.
Ball State was scheduled to open the home portion of its schedule with two non-conference games this week, but the Cardinals' games Tuesday and Wednesday were rained out. The team is slated to open Mid-American Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at Akron. Ball State is 8-8 after posting a 4-4 record on its 10-day spring break trip.
