Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Travels To No. 23 Ohio State Tonight
April 22, 2009 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State hits the road for its first midweek contest since April 1 as the Cardinals travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a meeting with Big Ten foe and No. 23 Ohio State at 6:35 p.m. ... The Cardinals enter the contest with a 16-17 overall record after dropping two out of three against Mid-American Conference foe Central Michigan last weekend ... Ball State snapped a five-game skid Sunday afternoon with a dominating 12-4 victory over the Chippewas ... The Cardinals are led by seventh-year head coach Greg Beals ... Ohio State enters the week with a 29-8 overall record after the Buckeyes swept a three-game series against Purdue ... Ohio State has won seven of its last eight contests with its only loss coming last week against Kent State ... The Buckeyes are led by 21st-year head coach Bob Todd.
Wednesday's game marks the Cardinals' third meeting this season against a team from the Big Ten Conference ... Ball State is 2-0 this season against Big Ten foes with victories over Indiana and Purdue ... The Cardinals will also play one more Big Ten team after Wednesday's contest as they travel to Michigan May 12.
Series History . . .
Wednesday's game marks the 16th meeting all-time between Ball State and Ohio State ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by an 11-4 margin ... The two teams split a doubleheader in 2007 in Columbus with the Cardinals winning 5-0 in game one and the Buckeyes taking a 3-2 victory in the second game ... The meeting in 2007 was the first between the two teams since 1971 ... Ball State and Ohio State met 13 times between 1964 and 1971 ... The Cardinals are 3-6 all-time against the Buckeyes in Columbus.
In 2007, the two teams played a midweek doubleheader with both games being seven-inning contests ... The Cardinals took game one as Richie Fralick tossed five shutout innings in the victory while Brenden Stines and Kyle Heyne combined for the final two innings as Ball State held Ohio State to just four hits ... Ohio State took game two as it held on to an early 3-1 lead for the victory ... Kory Benbow tallied a first inning home run for the Cardinals in the loss ... Nate Fields posted four hits in the doubleheader in six at-bats to lead the Cardinals' offense.
Last Time Out . . .
The Cardianls snapped a five-game losing streak Sunday afternoon with a 12-4 victory over Mid-American Conference rival Central Michigan Sunday afternoon ... In that game the Cardinals pounded out 16 hits, including six doubles and two home runs ... Senior right-hander Brenden Stines tossed 7.0 strong innings as he allowed just one run on two hits.
Offensively, sophomore designated hitter Kolbrin Vitek paced teh attack with four hits, three of which were doubles, as he scored four runs ... Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker reached base five times as he tallied two doubles, a home run and two walks ... Junior catcher Zach Dygert drove in three runs on four hits for the Cardinals.
Five-Finger Discount . . .
The Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference this season in stolen bases ... Through 33 games, Ball State has recorded 84 stolen bases on 98 attempts ... The 84 stolen bases leads the MAC and is 31 more than second place Miami has with 53 swipes ... Ball State ranks seventh in NCAA Division I in stolen bases per game at 2.55.
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 48 bases in 54 attempts at the top of the Cardinals' lineup ... The tandem alone has stolen more bases than 10 MAC teams so far this season ... Fields leads the team with 25 steals in 27 attempts while Hazelbaker has converted 23-of-27 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.
Also, sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek is third on the team with 12 stolen bases ... The Cardinals' first three batters in the lineup have swiped 60 bases this season ... In the Cardinals three-game series against Central Michigan, they stole 10 bases on 11 attempts including executing stealing home twice on double steals in one game.
Fab Freshman . . .
Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen enters Wednesday's game third on the team in batting with a .358 average ... Nielsen leads all Mid-American Conference freshmen in batting average this year while also leading freshmen in hits with 49 ... 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 89 ... The Cardinals have 11 players who have notched doubles this season with eight of those players with at least five doubles ... Also, six different Cardinals have reached double figures in doubles this season ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with 16 doubles while junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker is second with 12 and senior second baseman Nate Fields is third with 11 doubles ... Last season, the Cardinals set the BSU single season record for doubles with 133.
Leading The Way . . .
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker, the Cardinals' leadoff hitter, enters Wednesday leading the Mid-American Conference in batting with a .440 average ... Hazelbaker leads the league in hits (59), runs (49) and on-base percentage (.548) ... He is second in triples (4), second in stolen bases (23), third in total bases (94), third in walks (27) and third in slugging percentage (.701).
Wednesday's Starters . . .
Ball State will send freshman right-hander Cal Bowling to the hill Wednesday evening while Ohio State will counter with freshman right-hander Ross Oltorik ... Bowling enters the game with a 3-0 record on the season and a 5.53 ERA ... He will be making his fourth start and 12th appearance of the season at Ohio State ... He has thrown 27.2 innings this season and has struck out 16 while walking 18 ... He threw 2.0 innings in relief last weekend against Central Michigan and was charged with three runs.
Oltorik enters the game with a 1-0 record on the season with a 10.62 ERA ... He will be making his ninth appearance and fifth start of the year ... He has worked 20.1 innings this spring and has struck out 11 batters while walking 18.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters Wednesday's game with a 16-17 overall record and a 6-7 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals are in second place in the MAC West Division ... Ball State has scored 233 runs this season in 33 games (7.06 runs/game) and is batting .310 on the year ... The Cardinals own a .492 slugging percentage on the strength of 89 doubles, 11 triples and 35 home runs ... On the mound, Ball State has a 4.42 staff ERA and is holding opponents to a .287 average ... The Cardinals have struck out 210 batters while walking 128.
Offensively, junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker is the catalyst as he leads the team with a .440 batting average, a .548 on-base percentage and a .710 slugging percentage ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek is second on the team in batting at .376 and leads the team with seven home runs and 37 RBI ... Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen is third on the team with a .358 batting average and is tied for second with 35 RBI.
In the bullpen, senior left-hander Tom Mueller leads the team with 19 appearances ... Mueller owns a 1.52 ERA in 23.2 innings as he has struck out 13 while walking 10 ... Right-hander Aaron Hammons is second on the team with 18 appearances and has a 3.98 ERA in 20.1 innings ... Hammons has struck out 25 while walking 11 ... Junior closer Morgan Coombs has three saves and a 2.82 ERA in 22.1 innings.
Scouting Ohio State . . .
Ohio State enters the weekend with a 29-8 record before playing Bowling Green Tuesday evening ... The Buckeyes have scored 308 runs in 37 games (8.32 runs/game) while posting a .328 batting average ... Ohio State has a .504 slugging percentage on the strength of 73 doubles, 22 triples and 40 home runs ... On the mound, the Buckeyes have a 5.11 ERA and opponents are batting .277 ... Ohio State has struck out 281 batters while walking 155.
Offensively, Ryan Drew leads the team with a .387 batting average ... Zach Hurley is second on the team with a .368 average and leads the team with 60 hits and 40 runs scored ... Dan Burkhart is tied for the team lead with seven home runs and 42 RBI.
In the bullpen, Jake Hale leads the team with 24 appearances and owns a 1.12 ERA ... Hale is one of the top closers in college baseball as he has 10 saves on the year and has struck out 42 batters in 32.0 innings ... Drew Rucinski is second on the team with 21 appearances and owns a 3.47 ERA in 49.1 innings.
On The Air . . .
The Cardinals will have selected games on 91.3 WCRD FM and www.ballstatesports.com this season, including Friday and Sunday's games this weekend against Western Michigan ... Also, “The Greg Beals Show” airs each Monday night from 7-8 p.m. on www.ballstatesports.com and 91.3 WCRD FM.
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 (204-165) 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).
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 33 games though, Ball State has pounded out 35 home runs ... Nine different players have hit the long ball this season ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with seven home runs while freshman Ian Nielsen and junior left fielder Kory Benbow are tied for second with six home runs apiece.
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 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 return home this weekend for the first of five straight home games as they host Mid-American Conference rival Western Michigan in a three-game series.
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