Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Central Michigan This Weekened At Ball Diamond
April 16, 2009 | Baseball
LIVE ADUIO (91.3 WCRD FM - Friday & Saturday only)
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals play for the first time this week as they host Mid-American Conference foe Central Michigan in a three-game series at Ball Diamond ... Ball State, which had two games cancelled due to weather in the midweek, enter the weekend with a 15-15 overall record and a 5-5 mark in MAC play ... The Cardinals are in second place in the MAC West Division behind divisional leader Toledo (7-5) ... Ball State has dropped three straight heading into the weekend after being swept at Bowling Green last time out ... The Cardinals are led by seventh-year head coach Greg Beals ... Central Michigan enters the weekend with a 15-20 overall record and a 5-7 mark in MAC play ... The Chippewas sit in sole possession of third place in the MAC West ... The Chippewas dropped two out of three last weekend at Miami before falling 5-4 Wednesday at Illinois-Chicago ... Central Michigan is led by seventh-year head coach Steve Jaska.
Friday and Saturday's games will be broadcast on 91.3 WCRD FM and online at www.ballstatesports.com.
Series History . . .
Ball State and Central Michigan have met 123 times prior to this weekend with the Cardinals trailing the all-time series by a 78-45 margin ... The Cardinals are 24-39 all-time against CMU in Muncie but have won 11 out of the last 15 at Ball Diamond ... Ball State won the last meeting between the two teams as the Cardinals eliminated the Chippewas in the 2008 Mid-American Conference Tournament ... The Cardinals 7-5 victory avenged a series sweep by the Chippewas in Mount Pleasant earlier in the season (5-4, 8-6, 7-3).
In the four games last season, the Cardinals only batted .209 against the Chippewas while scoring 20 runs ... Central Michigan posted a .313 average against the Cardinals as it scored 25 runs in the four games ... In Ball State's victory in the MAC Tournament, catcher Zach Dygert hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to give the Cardinals the lead for good ... Dygert's home run was one of three on the day for BSU as Kory Benbow and Matt Stoecklen also homered for the Cardinals ... Benbow tallied five hits in the four games against CMU while Dygert had four hits ... CMU was led by Dale Cornstubble who tallied seven hits against BSU and drove in five runs.
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State was swept for the fist time this season in a three-game series as the Cardinals dropped three at Bowling Green (2-3, 6-7, 7-9) ... Two of the three losses were of the walk-off variety ... The series marked the first time since April 18-20, 2008 that BSU had been swept in a three-game set (Central Michigan).
Junior catcher Zach Dygert paced the Cardinals' offensive attack as he was six-of-13 (.462) on the weekend and recorded his fourth home run of the year ... Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen added five hits on the weekend and drove in five runs in the three losses ... Right-hander Aaron Hammons made two appearances and did not allow a run in three innings of work.
Five-Finger Discount . . .
The Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference this season in stolen bases ... Through 30 games, Ball State has recorded 74 stolen bases on 87 attempts ... The 74 stolen bases leads the MAC and is 27 more than second place Miami has with 47 swipes ... Ball State ranks seventh in NCAA Division I in stolen bases per game at 2.47.
Ball State also owns the top stolen base tandem in the conference this season in junior Jeremy Hazelbaker and senior Nate Fields ... The two have combined to steal 40 bases in 45 attempts at the top of the Cardinals' lineup ... The tandem alone has stolen more bases than nine MAC teams so far this season ... Fields leads the team with 21 steals in 22 attempts while Hazelbaker has converted 19-of-23 stolen base attempts ... The two are first and second in the MAC in stolen bases, respectively ... Fields ranks 12th in NCAA Division I while Hazelbaker is 24th.
Fab Freshman . . .
Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen enters the weekend second on the team in batting with a .363 average ... Nielsen leads all Mid-American Conference freshmen in batting average this year while also leading freshmen in hits with 45 ... He has already earned MAC West Player of the Week honors twice this season and is the only true freshman to earn Player of the Week honors this year.
Double Trouble . . .
Ball State leads the Mid-American Conference and is 33rd in NCAA Division I in doubles with 77 ... The Cardinals have 11 players who have notched doubles this season with eight of those players with at least five doubles ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with 12 doubles while senior second baseman Nate Fields is second with 11 doubles ... Last season, the Cardinals set the BSU single season record for doubles with 133.
200 Victories . . .
Seventh-year head coach Greg Beals joined some elite company in Ball State baseball history as he became the fifth coach to reach 200 career victories with the Cardinals' 4-2 win over Kent State ... Beals (203-163) joins former Cardinal coaches Pat Quinn (323 wins), Rich Maloney (256), Paul Williams (209) and Bob Rickel (209) ... Beals is the second-fastest coach to reach 200 victories as he reached his milestone in 359 games ... Maloney was the fastest to reach 200 wins as he did it in 312 games, followed by Rickel (398 games), Williams (409) and Quinn (427).
Leading The Way . . .
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker, the Cardinals' leadoff hitter, enters the weekend leading the Mid-American Conference in batting with a .446 average ... Hazelbaker leads the league in hits (50), runs (39), triples (4), stolen bases (18) and on-base percentage (.544) ... He is third in total bases (75) fifth in slugging percentage (.678).
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Once again, the Cardinals will send three right-handers to the hill this weekend in Brad Piatt, Brenden Stines and Kolbrin Vitek ... Central Michigan will counter with three left-handers in Steve Teno, Dan Taylor and Trent Howard.
Piatt will be making his team-leading ninth start of the season Friday as he brings a 4-0 record into the game with a 3.92 ERA ... He has worked 39.0 innings this season and has tallied 23 strikeouts while walking 14 ... He worked six strong innings at Bowling Green last weekend and allowed just one run on four hits in the no decision.
Stines will be making his eighth start and 11th appearance of the season Saturday afternoon ... He brings a 1-3 record into the weekend with a 4.91 ERA ... He has worked 33.0 innings and has tallied 21 strikeouts while walking 12 ... He had a no decision last Saturday at Bowling Green as he worked 6.0 innings and allowed five runs on 10 hits.
Vitek will be making his seventh start and eighth appearance on Sunday but it will be his first mound appearance since April 5 at Buffalo ... He brings a 2-1 record into the start with a 2.86 ERA ... He has worked 28.1 innings and has struck out 34 batters while only walking four ... He tallied four innings at Buffalo last time out and did not allow a run while striking out four in the no decision.
Teno enters Friday's game with a 2-4 record and a 4.89 ERA ... He will be making his ninth start of the season and has tossed a team-high 53.1 innings ... He has struck out 48 batters while walking 14 ... Last time out, he worked 8.1 innings at Miami and allowed five runs on 11 hits in the no decision.
Taylor will be making his ninth start of the season Saturday as he owns a 2-4 record with a 4.62 ERA ... He has worked 50.2 innings this year and has struck out 41 batters while walking 12 ... He tossed a complete game at Miami Saturday as he allowed four runs on nine hits in the loss.
Howard gets the nod Sunday for his sixth start of the season as he owns a 2-1 record with a 6.66 ERA on the year ... He has worked 25.2 innings this year and has struck out 20 batters while walking five ... He garnered the victory last Sunday at Miami as he threw five innings of baseball and allowed two runs on five hits.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 15-15 overall record and a 5-5 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have scored 207 runs in 30 games (6.9 per game) while batting .307 on the year ... Ball State owns a .484 slugging percentage on the year courtesy of 77 doubles, 11 triples and 30 home runs ... On the mound, the Cardinals leads the MAC with a 4.12 ERA and is holding opponents to a .282 batting average ... Ball State has struck out 196 batters while walking 114.
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker leads the team and the MAC in hitting with a .426 batting average ... Hazelbaker also leads the team with 52 hits and 41 runs scored ... Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen is second on the team with a .363 batting average and is second with 45 hits ... Nielsen is third on the team with 27 RBI ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek is third on the team with a .345 batting average and leads the team with six home runs.
In the bullpen, senior left-hander Tom Mueller leads the team with 18 appearances as he has worked 20.2 innings and owns a 1.31 ERA ... Junior right-hander Aaron Hammons is second on the team with 17 appearances and owns a 2.79 ERA in 19.1 innings ... Hammons leads all relievers with 24 strikeouts ... Junior closer Morgan Coombs has appeared in 13 games and has a 2.95 ERA in 21.1 innings.
Scouting Central Michigan . . .
Central Michigan enters the weekend with a 15-20 overall record and a 5-7 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Chippewas have scored 234 runs in 35 games (6.7 per game) while batting .276 on the year ... Central Michigan owns a .379 slugging percentage on the year courtesy of 56 doubles, four triples and 21 home runs ... On the mound, the Chippewas have a 5.95 ERA and are holding opponents to a .324 batting average ... Central Michigan has struck out 266 batters while walking 120.
Billy Anderson leads the Chippewas in batting with a .364 average as he has a team-high 52 hits and has stolen 16 bases ... Matt Faiman is second on the team in batting with a .333 average and is second on the team with 25 RBI ... Nate Theunissen leads the team with five home runs and 30 RBI.
In the bullpen, Matt Loomis is tied for the team lead with 13 appearances as he owns a 3.18 ERA in just 5.2 innings ... Chris Kupillas also has appeared in 13 games and owns a 5.09 ERA in 17.2 innings ... Three other relievers for CMU have appeared in at least 10 games in Zach Cooper, Jesse Hernandez and Devan Kline.
On The Air . . .
The Cardinals will have selected games on 91.3 WCRD FM and www.ballstatesports.com this season, including Friday and Saturday's games this weekend ... Also, “The Greg Beals Show” airs each Monday night from 7-8 p.m. on www.ballstatesports.com and 91.3 WCRD FM.
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 30 games though, Ball State has pounded out 30 home runs ... Nine different players have hit the long ball this season ... Junior left fielder Kory Benbow and sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek lead the team with six home runs apiece while freshman Ian Nielsen and junior catcher Zach Dygert have tallied four home runs.
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 11 games this spring, working 11.0 innings and allowing four runs ... He has tallied 14 strikeouts this season while only walking six batters as he owns a 3.27 ERA.
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 he posted a 5-3 record with a stellar 0.83 ERA.
Cardinals Rack Up Honors . . .
Ball State has garnered a weekly Mid-American Conference honor in the first seven weeks of the season as the Cardinals have tallied six Player of the Week honors and two Pitcher of the Week accolades ... Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen (two), junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker (three), junior left fielder Kory Benbow have earned Player of the Week honors, while junior right-hander Brad Piatt and sophomore right-hander Kolbrin Vitek earned Pitcher of the Week accolades.
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. 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 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, 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 as he drove in a career-high five runs in the victory.
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 the second game of the series, Benbow tied his career-high with five hits and reached base a career-high six times in the Cardinals' victory.
Hazelbaker earned his second MAC West weekly honor this season after as he led the Cardinals to a 4-2 record last week against Southern Illinois and Chicago State ... He posted a .500 batting average (10-of-20) and tallied a .630 on-base percentage for the week as he reached base 17 times in the six games ... Hazelbaker also recorded seven stolen bases on eight attempts for the week ... He scored nine runs in the six games and posted four multiple-hit games on the week.
Piatt earns his first MAC West weekly honor of his career after he improved to 3-0 on the season as he worked seven shutout innings in the Cardinals' victory over Chicago State ... He limited the Cougars to just one hit over seven innings as he struck out a career-high eight batters ... He only walked one batter in the victory as the Cougars didn't have a base runner past second base and only had one base runner reach second base.
Vitek picked up his first weekly honor for Vitek this season and the second honor of his career (March 19, 2008) ... Vitek was dominant on the mound last week in two starts against Notre Dame and Akron as he posted a 1-0 record with a 0.82 ERA ... He only allowed one earned run in 11.0 innings of work in his two starts ... He struck out 15 batters on the week while only walking one batter ... He also was strong at the plate as he posted a .471 (eight-of-17) average over the four games last week.
Hazelbaker led the Cardinals to a series split against preseason MAC favorite Kent State has he posted a .750 batting average (six-of-eight) in the two games ... He became the first Cardinal to hit for the cycle since Ben Schroeder accomplished the feat April 20, 2003 in Ball State's 10-3 victory over Illinois State ... He accomplished the feat Friday afternoon in his first four at-bats of the game as he tallied a first inning double, a second inning home run, a fourth inning single and a fifth inning triple as he reached base five times against the Golden Flashes ... He posted a 1.625 slugging percentage in the series as he reached base eight times in the two games and hit two doubles, a triple and a home run.
Nielsen earned his second honor as he led the Cardinals into sole possession of first place in the MAC West Division with a doubleheader sweep at Buffalo this past weekend ... He was six-of-nine (.667) in the two games against the Bulls and drove in five runs ... Four out of his five RBI came with two outs in the twin bill as he led the Cardinals to a 5-2 conference start.
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.
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.
Looking Ahead . . .
The Cardinals have one midweek game scheduled this week as they will make a Wednesday evening trip to Columbus, Ohio, to face Big Ten foe Ohio State ... Ball State will be home next weekend when it hosts Western Michigan for three games.
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