Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Chicago State In Weekend Series
March 12, 2009 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State opens up the home portion of the 2009 season this weekend as it hosts Chicago State in a four-game series ... The Cardinals host the Cougars Friday at 3 p.m., a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. and a single game Sunday at 1 p.m. ... Ball State enters the weekend with 6-6 record on the season ... The Cardinals split a two-game midweek series at Southern Illinois this week ... Ball State posted a 10-4 victory Tuesday before falling short Wednesday 10-8 ... The Cardinals are led by seventh-year head coach Greg Beals ... Chicago State enters the weekend with a 0-12 record on the year ... The Cougars most recently dropped a three-game series at St. Louis ... Chicago State is led by first-year acting head coach Mike Caston.
Series History . . .
This weekend will mark the second time that Ball State and Chicago State have met ... The Cardinals are 1-0 all-time against the Cougars.
Benbow Named MAC West Player of the Week . . .
Junior left fielder Kory Benbow has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the league office announced ... Benbow is the Cardinals' third straight weekly winner to start the 2009 season joining freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen and junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker.
Benbow posted a .600 batting average (nine-of-15) in the Cardinals' four-game series against Big 12 power Missouri ... He tallied a series-best nine hits in the four games as he drove in five runs and scored four runs ... He tallied 17 total bases on the weekend for a 1.133 slugging percentage while notching two doubles and two home runs.
In Saturday's first game, Benbow tied his career-high with five hits and reached base a career-high six times in the Cardinals' victory ... With the weekend, he raised his batting average 159 points to .359 on the year ... He also posted a .684 on-base percentage for the weekend.
Series' Starters . . .
Ball State will send four right-handers to the mound this weekend in junior Brad Piatt, senior Adam Quinn, freshman Cal Bowling and sophomore Kolbrin Vitek ... Chicago State will counter with right-handers James Tucker, Albert Carpen and William Lawrence.
Piatt gets the ball on Friday for the third time this season as he owns a 2-0 record with a 2.57 ERA ... He has worked 14.0 innings this season in three starts and has only allowed four earned runs ... Quinn will make his third start of the season as he has an 0-1 record and an 8.22 ERA in 7.2 innings of work.
Bowling garners his first career start as he owns a 0-0 record with a 14.40 ERA ... He is coming off of a 3.2 inning outing against Southern Illinois as he did not allow a run or a hit against the Salukis ... Vitek takes the hill Sunday for his fourth start of the season ... He owns a 1-1 record with a 6.35 ERA as he has worked 11.1 innings and allowed eight earned runs ... He has walked three batters and has struck out 11 batters.
Tucker will be making his team-leading fifth start of the season for Chicago State as he owns an 0-4 record on they year with a 14.25 ERA ... Carpen and Lawrence will both be making their first starts of the season this weekend.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 6-6 overall record ... The Cardinals are batting .333 on the season and have scored 91 ones through 12 games ... Ball State has tallied 29 doubles, three triples and 18 home runs ... The Cardinals own a .527 slugging percentage on the year ... On the mound, the Cardinals own a 5.07 ERA on the year ... BSU has walked 51 batters and has struck out 71.
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker leads the team in batting with a .464 (26-of-56) average ... He also owns a .625 slugging percentage and has scored 19 runs this season ... Junior left fielder Kory Benbow is second on the team with a .396 batting average ... Benbow leads the team with a .771 slugging percentage as he has driving in a team-high 17 runs this season ... He has tallied six doubles and four home runs, both which are tied for the team lead.
Scouting Chicago State . . .
Chicago State enters the weekend with a 0-12 overall record ... The Cougars have been out-scored by a 180-39 margin ... CSU is batting .248 this season while opponents are hitting .417 ... The Cougars have tallied 15 doubles, one triple and three home runs this season ... On the mound, Chicago State owns a 16.40 ERA as it has walked 87 batters while striking out 53.
Patrick Hernandez leads the team with a .412 batting average (14-of-34) ... Matt Haug leads the team with nine RBI.
Cardinals Take Weekly Honors . .
Ball State has earned Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week the first two weeks of the season as freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen earned the honor the first week and junior centerfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker earned the honor the second week of the season.
Nielsen posted a .588 batting average (10-of-17) in the four games and recorded a .650 on-base percentage as he reached base 13 times ... He tallied two home runs on the weekend, including a solo shot in his first career collegiate at bat Friday afternoon.
Nielsen drove in six runs and scored four times while posting a 1.000 slugging percentage ... He reached base at least four times in three of the games on the weekend, including a four-hit output in the Cardinals' victory Saturday in game one of the doubleheader.
Hazelbaker led the Cardinals to a 2-0 weekend and the top spot at the 2009 Austin Peay Baseball Invitational as he posted a .600 batting average (six-of-10) for the weekend ... He drove in six runs, scored four runs and posted a 1.200 slugging percentage in the two victories.
Against Big Ten foe Indiana Friday afternoon, he tallied his first home run of the season as he recorded a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Cardinals a heart stopping 5-4 victory ... He followed that up with a four-hit performance against Austin Peay Sunday as he drove in a career-high five runs in the victory ... He tallied a double, triple and two singles against the Governors.
Using The Long Ball . . .
Last season, Ball State tied a single season record for home runs with 95 long balls on the year ... The Cardinals prepared for a downturn in the power department this season after losing 46 home runs to either the Major League Baseball Draft or graduation ... Through the first 12 games though, Ball State has pounded out 18 home runs to lead the Mid-American Conference in that category ... Seven different players have hit the long ball this season with freshman Ian Nielsen, sophomore Kolbrin Vitek and senior Nate Fields have each have tallied four home runs this season to lead the team.
Gridiron To The Diamond . . .
Ball State received an addition to the pitching staff this spring from an unlikely source, the Mid-American Conference West Division champion Cardinal football team ... Redshirt freshman Perci Garner joined the Ball State baseball program in January after serving as the Cardinals' third string quarterback this fall ... Garner has already appeared in two games this spring, working 1.2 innings and allowing one run.
Garner was a two-sport star at Dover High School in Ohio ... He was named the East Central Ohio League Pitcher of the Year as a senior as he posted a 5-3 record with a stellar 0.83 ERA.
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.
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.
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.
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State will head to South Bend Tuesday afternoon as the Cardinals take on Notre Dame at 5 p.m. Ball State will open Mid-American Conference action next weekend when it hosts Akron in a three-game series.
####
