Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Heads To Missouri For Four-Game Series
March 05, 2009 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals continue their road warrior ways to open the 2009 season as they head to Columbia, Mo., for a four-game series against Big 12 power Missouri ... Ball State enters the weekend with a 4-2 record on the year after picking up a 2-0 record last weekend at the Austin Peay Baseball Invitational ... The Cardinals are led by seventh-year head coach Greg Beals.
Missouri enters the weekend with a 3-7 overall record ... The Tigers have won two straight heading into the weekend with wins over Arizona State and most recently an 8-0 victory over Western Illinois ... Missouri spent the first two weeks of the season in the national rankings after posting a 39-21 record last season ... The Tigers are led by 15th-year head coach Tim Jamieson.
Series History . . .
This weekend will mark the Cardinals' first ever meeting against Missouri in program history ... Ball State has only faced a team from the Big 12 Conference three times prior to this weekend's games ... The Cardinals have dropped games against Kansas and Oklahoma State while having a victory over Iowa State.
Hazelbaker Named MAC West Player Of The Week . . .
Junior centerfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday ... Hazelbaker is the second straight Cardinal to earn MAC Player of the Week honors as freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen claimed the honor last week in his collegiate debut.
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.
Fab Freshman . . .
Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen continues his torrid start to his collegiate career as he has a .577 batting average (15-of-26) through the first six games of his career ... Nielsen is fourth in the Mid-American Conference in batting average but leads the MAC in hits (15) and total bases (26) ... He is also third in the MAC in slugging percentage (1.000) and on-base percentage (.621).
Nielsen owns five multiple hit games in his young career and has reached base at least twice in every game this season ... He earned MAC West Player of the Week honors in the opening week as he 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.
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 six games though, Ball State has pounded out 10 home runs to lead the Mid-American Conference in that category ... Six different players have hit the long ball this season with freshman Ian Nielsen leading the way with three home runs ... Redshirt freshman Aaron Etchison and sophomore Kolbrin Vitek each have tallied two home runs this season.
Welcome Addition In The Pen . . .
Junior college transfer Morgan Coombs has adjusted well into the Cardinals' bullpen and help Ball State transition from the loss of all-time saves leader Kyle Heyne to the MLB draft ... Coombs is tied for the team-lead with four appearances on the year ... He owns a 2-1 record on the season with a 1.23 ERA ... He has worked 7.1 innings and only allowed one earned run.
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will once again send four right-handers to the hill this weekend in Brenden Stines, Brad Piatt, Adam Quinn and Kolbrin Vitek. Stines gets the nod Friday night as he brings a 3.00 ERA into the game. Friday will mark the second start of the season for Stines who worked two innings in relief last weekend against Austin Peay and was charged with one earned run. He has worked 6.0 innings this year and has struck out five batters while walking one.
Piatt gets the ball in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader and brings a 1-0 record to the hill with a 3.00 ERA. He got a no decision last Friday against Indiana as he was charged with two earned runs in four innings of work. He picked up his first win of the season at Furman as he worked five innings in the Cardinals' victory.
Quinn earns his second start of the season and his second appearance after not seeing time on the hill in the rain shortened weekend at Austin Peay. He registered a no decision against Furman as he worked 2.2 innings and was charged with two earned runs.
Vitek once again gets the Sunday start and brings a 1-1 record into the weekend. He is coming off of a stellar outing against Austin Peay as he limited the Governors to just one hit in five innings. He struck out five batters without walking anyone.
Missouri will counter with right-hander Kyle Gibson, right-hander Ian Berger, left-hander Kelly Fick and right-hander Nick Tepesch. Gibson brings a 1-1 record into the weekend with a strong 1.38 ERA. He picked up a hard luck loss last Friday night as he worked 7.0 innings and allowed just two runs while striking out eight against No. 8 Arizona State.
Berger picked up the loss last weekend against Oregon State as he allowed three runs in 2.0 innings while walking three batters. He also worked one inning against Western Illinois Wednesday.
Fick recorded his second loss of the season last weekend as he worked six innings and allowed three runs to Northern Illinois ...He notched his first win of the season Wednesday night against WIU as he threw one scoreless inning.
Tepesch is coming off of a strong outing last Sunday as he defeated No. 8 Arizona State. He worked 6.1 innings and held Sun Devils to just one run as he struck out a career-high eight batters.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 4-2 overall record after posting a 2-0 weekend at the Austin Peay Baseball Invitational ... The Cardinals picked up wins last weekend against Big Ten foe Indiana and host Austin Peay ... Ball State has posted a .329 batting average on the year with a .531 slugging percentage ... The Cardinals have tallied 12 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs through six games ... On the mound, BSU owns a 3.91 ERA and opponents are batting .274.
Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen leads the team in batting at .577 (15-of-26) and owns a 1.000 slugging percentage ... Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker is second on the team with a .483 (14-of-29) average and has driven in a team-high nine runs while also scoring nine runs ... Senior second baseman Nate Fields has tallied nine hits on the year.
Right-handers Brad Piatt and Kolbrin Vitek have both picked up wins on the hill for the Cardinals' starters ... Junior Morgan Coombs owns two victories in relief to highlight the bullpen while senior left-hander Tom Mueller has appeared in four games and has not allowed a run.
Scouting Missouri . . .
Missouri enters the weekend with a 3-7 record on the year ... The Tigers have won two straight after opening the season nationally ranked ... Missouri owns a .259 batting average on the season and a .359 slugging percentage ... The Tigers have tallied 14 doubles, four triples and four home runs ... On the hill, Missouri owns a 4.66 ERA with an opponents' batting average of .277.
Center fielder Ryan Lollis leads the team with a .395 (15-of-38) batting average ... Lollis has driven in a team-high 11 runs and has scored 13 runs ... Right fielder Aaron Senne adds a .297 (11-of-37) batting average on the year ... Catcher Trevor Coleman leads the team with two home runs.
On the mound, Kyle Gibson owns a 1-1 record with a 1.38 ERA while Kelly Fick owns the other victory on the year ... Tyler Clark has made a team-high six appearances and has not allowed a run in 4.1 innings ... Scooter Hicks has recorded the Tigers' only save.
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 . . .
The Cardinals will play a two-game midweek series at Southern Illinois Tuesday and Wednesday on their way back to Muncie. Ball State opens its home portion of the 2009 season next weekend as it hosts Chicago State in a four-game series.
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