Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Opens Season At Furman This Weekend
February 20, 2009 | Baseball
LIVE VIDEO ($7.95) & LIVE STATS
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals open the 2009 regular season this weekend as they travel to Greenville, S.C. for a four-game series against the Furman Paladins of the Southern Conference ... The four-game series will be webcast online at www.furmanpaladins.com for a cost of $7.95 ... Ball State is entering its 90th season of baseball ... The Cardinals own a 1,353-1,264-14 record during the first 89 seasons ... The Cardinals are coming off of a 28-25 record last season and a 12-11 mark in Mid-American Conference action ... Ball State is led by seventh-year head coach Greg Beals ... Furman opens the 2009 season coming off of a 33-24 overall record and a 17-10 mark in Southern Conference action ... The Paladins are led by 16th-year head coach Ron Smith.
Series History . . .
This weekend marks the second time that Ball State and Furman have met on the diamond ... The two teams met during the 2004 season with the Paladins claiming a 4-3 victory March 5, 2004 ... The game was played in Conway, S.C., at the Country Inn & Suites Shootout hosted by Coastal Carolina ... In that game, Furman scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take the lead ... The Cardinals rallied for one run in the top of the ninth inning and had a runner at third base at the end of the game ... Former Cardinal center fielder Mike Sullivan tallied three hits from his leadoff position in the loss while Mike Johnston worked six innings in the loss as he was charged with four earned runs.
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will send four right-handed pitchers to the hill this weekend in Brenden Stines (Friday), Adam Quinn (Saturday Game One), Brad Piatt (Saturday Game Two) and Kolbrin Vitek (Sunday) ... Stines will get the nod for the opening day start as he posted a 3-3 record last season in 16 games pitched ... He was second on the team with 12 starts last season and posted a 7.95 ERA ... He has started 25 games over the past two seasons as he owned a 4.20 ERA in 2007.
Quinn will be making his third career start for the Cardinals Saturday afternoon and his first start since the 2007 season ... He posted a 1-0 record last season in 14 appearances as he worked 18.1 innings ... He last got the nod for a start against IPFW May 15, 2007 and Saturday will mark the first weekend start of his career.
Piatt will start the second game of the double header Saturday after making 17 appearances last season, including 11 starts ... He posted a 2-3 record in 60.2 innings of work ... He made seven weekend starts and four midweek starts last season as he posted a 7.12 ERA.
Vitek continues to hold down the Sunday starter spot as he made 13 starts last spring, most in a weekend position ... He posted a 6-1 record last season as he turned in a 5.65 ERA ... He worked the second most innings on the staff at 65.1 innings and tallied 69 strikeouts compared to just 19 walks.
Furman will lean on three right-handers and one left hander this weekend in Ian Parry (Friday), Barry Benton (Saturday Game One), Jay Friedman (Saturday Game Two) and J.P. Goldsberry (Sunday) ... Parry is the only returning starting pitcher from last season as he posted a 5-5 record with a 3.88 ERA ... Left-hander Benton as well as right-handers Friedman and Goldsberry all pitched under 20 innings last season.
Vitek Named To Watch List . . .
Sophomore pitcher/third baseman Kolbrin Vitek has been named to the 2009 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Watch List, The College Baseball Foundation announced ... The Wallace Award is presented annually to the nation's top collegiate baseball player in conjunction with the College Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. ... The award is named after former Texas Tech star Brooks Wallace ... Vitek is one of five players from the Mid-American Conference on the watch list.
Vitek made an impact on the Cardinals both on the mound and at the plate last season as a true freshman ... He spent the entire season in the Cardinals' weekend rotation and served as Ball State's usual designated hitter in the games he did not pitch ... He was named to Collegiate Baseball's Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team as a “multiple position athlete.”
As the Cardinals' Sunday starter for most of the season, Vitek posted a team-best 6-1 record with a 5.65 ERA ... He led Ball State with 69 strikeouts while walking just 19, and he ranked second in the Mid-American Conference with 9.51 strikeouts per nine innings ... Ball State won 11 of the 13 games he started.
In addition to his 13 starts on the mound, Vitek started 31 games as Ball State's designated hitter and three games as the Cardinals' first baseman ... At the plate, he logged a .305 batting average with five home runs and 24 RBI ... He also added four doubles and three triples.
Cardinals Picked Second . . .
Ball State was picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the preseason coaches' poll.
Ball State returns 16 letterwinners from last season's 28-25 team that posted a 12-11 mark in MAC play ... The Cardinals are led by second team All-MAC catcher Zach Dygert who posted a .293 batting average last season which included 13 home runs and 38 RBI ... Also, senior second baseman Nate Fields returns to the club after leading the team last season with a .331 batting average with nine home runs and 11 doubles.
Sophomore pitcher/third baseman Kolbrin Vitek returns after earning Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball ... Vitek was named to the Wallace Award Player of the Year Watch List this season as he is coming off a dual threat freshman campaign ... He posted a .305 batting average in 34 games in the field while turning in a 6-1 record with 69 strikeouts to just 19 walks on the mound for the Cardinals.
Switching Positions . . .
The Cardinals will have some familiar faces in new places this season as senior Nate Fields, junior Jeremy Hazelbaker and sophomore T.J. Baumet have all switched positions this season ... Fields moves from the outfield to second base this season ... He posted a team-high .331 batting average last spring as he started 38 games last year ... Hazelbaker moves from second base to center field this season to replace former Cardinal Wayne Bond Jr. ... He posted a .244 batting average in 31 starts last season as he drove in 26 runs ... Baumet split time last season mostly between third base and second base but will move to shortstop as he replaces former Cardinal Dean Anna who was drafted by the San Diego Padres ... Baumet turned in a .237 batting average in 49 starts last season as a true freshman.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State returns 16 letterwinners from last season's 28-25 team that posted a 12-11 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals return five starters in the field and also return 10 pitchers that saw action last spring ... Head coach Greg Beals returns for his seventh season at the helm and Beals owns a 188-148 record during his tenure in Muncie.
Junior catcher Zach Dygert returns after earned Second Team All-MAC honors last year ... Dygert posted a .293 batting average with 13 home runs and 38 RBI on the year ... The Cardinals also return senior second baseman Nate Fields who finished tied for the team lead with a .331 batting average last year and drove in 35 runs ... Kory Benbow, Ryan Chenoweth and Jeremy Hazelbaker also return to the starting lineup this season.
Sophomore pitcher/third baseman Kolbrin Vitek also returns after earning Freshman All-America honors last year ... Vitek posted a .305 batting average last season and a 6-1 record on the mound ... Senior Tom Mueller and sophomore Heath Riley lead the bullpen as the two combined for a 7-1 record and 57 appearances last season.
Scouting Furman . . .
Furman enters the season coming off of a 33-24 record last season and return 21 letterwinners from that team ... The Paladins were picked to finish eighth in the Southern Conference out of 11 teams ... Sophomore designated hitter Reese Wade leads Furman into the season as a First Team Preseason All-SoCon pick ... Wade posted a .401 batting average as a freshman last season as he tallied 57 hits ... Catcher Matt Hemmingway also returns after posting a .313 batting average on 62 hits last season.
On the mound, reliever Nick Karow headlines the pitching staff as he posted a 5-0 record with nine saves last season as he posted a 3.71 ERA.
Mueller Named Captain . . .
Senior left-hander Tom Mueller has been named the Cardinals' 2009 team captain ... Mueller, a native of Westfield, Ind., tied a Ball State single season record last year with 30 appearances on the mound ... He made 29 relief appearances and one start ... He posted a 5-0 record on the season with a 4.37 ERA ... He worked 35.0 innings and tallied 25 strikeouts compared to just 11 walks.
Looking Ahead . . .
The Cardinals will continue their season-opening string of road games next weekend as they travel to Clarksville, Tenn. to take part in the Austin Peay Tournament ... Ball State will face Indiana, Cleveland State and host Austin Peay on the weekend ... The Cardinals will play only three games next weekend as their Saturday evening game against Austin Peay has been cancelled due to a men's basketball game on campus Saturday night.
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