Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Purdue Tuesday And IPFW Wednesday
April 27, 2009 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals continue their five-game homestand with a pair of midweek contests at Ball Diamond ... Ball State hosts Big Ten foe Purdue Tuesday afternoon and instate foe IPFW Wednesday afternoon ... The Cardinals enter the game with a 19-18 overall record as they have won four out of their last five games ... Ball State claimed a series victory over preseason Mid-American Conference favorite Western Michigan by winning Friday and Sunday ... The Cardinals are led by seventh-year head coach Greg Beals ... Purdue enters the week with a 17-21 overall record after dropping three straight at Big Ten foe Minnesota last weekend ... The Boilermakers have dropped six out of their last seven games with all six losses coming in conference play ... Purdue is led by 10th-year head coach Doug Schreiber ... IPFW comes into the week with a 9-30 overall record after getting swept in a four-game series at Centenary last weekend ... The Mastodons are led by first year head coach Bobby Pierce.
Both games during the midweek will be broadcast by 91.3 WCRD FM and will be available online at www.ballstatesports.com.
Series History . . .
Tuesday's game marks the 79th meeting all-time between Ball State and Purdue ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 42-34-2 record but have won five out of the last seven meetings ... Ball State won the first meeting between these teams this season as it claimed a 17-8 victory over the Boilermakers in West Lafayette ... The Cardinals jumped out to an early 8-0 lead through the first three innings and scored at least two runs in seven of the nine innings ... Ball State tallied 19 hits, including a season-high nine doubles and one home run ... Junior catcher Zach Dygert drove in four runs while junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker and senior second baseman Nate Fields each tallied three RBI at the top of the lineup ... Fields also recorded a season-high four hits in the victory ... Ball State is 3-0 this season against teams from the Big Ten Conference with wins over Indiana, Purdue and Ohio State ... The Cardinals have one more contest against the Big Ten after this week with a road trip to Michigan May 12.
Wednesday's game marks the 11th meeting all-time between Ball State and IPFW ... The Cardinals own a 9-1 record all-time against the Mastodons, including six straight wins ... The two teams first played May 9, 1996 with the Cardinals taking a 4-1 victory ... Last season, Ball State claimed a 24-6 victory over IPFW to run its winning streak to 10 games ... In that game, the Cardinals pounded out 17 hits and scored six runs in three different innings ... Left fielder Kory Benbow drove in seven runs in the victory as he tallied a seventh-inning grand slam ... Dean Anna scored four runs in the victory while Wayne Bond Jr. drove in three runs.
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State claimed the series victory over preseason Mid-American Conference West Division favorite Western Michigan Sunday with an 11-7 victory at Ball Diamond ... Dual-threat sophomore right-hander/designated hitter Kolbrin Vitek continued his strong play as he threw 7.0 strong innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters to improve to 3-2 on the season ... Vitek also did damage at the plate as he tallied his team-leading 10th home run of the season and recorded his MAC-leading 22nd double of the year.
The Cardinals held an early lead on the Broncos only to see WMU take a 7-6 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning ... Sophomore shortstop T.J. Baumet tallied his fourth home run of the weekend in the fifth to tie the game and freshman left fielder Cody Elliott led off the seventh inning with his first career home run to give BSU the lead back for good.
Vitek Honored By MAC . . .
Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week Monday ... Vitek's honor marks the ninth time this season that a Cardinal has earned weekly honors from the MAC and he becomes the first player to in the league to earn both Player and Pitcher of the Week accolades this season.
Vitek used his dual-threat abilities to lead the Cardinals to a 3-1 week including an upset of No. 23 Ohio State and a series victory against preseason MAC West Division favorite Western Michigan ... He posted a .588 (10-of-17) average on the week and a 1.471 slugging percentage as he has 25 total bases in the four games. He also drove in 11 runs and scored seven runs on the week.
Vitek tallied six doubles to move his season total to 22 which leads the MAC and posted three home runs to raise his season total to a team-leading 10 long balls ... He also starred on the mound this weekend as he picked up the victory Sunday afternoon to improve to 3-2 on the year ... He worked 7.0 innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters.
Five-Finger Discount . . .
The Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference this season in stolen bases ... Through 37 games, Ball State has recorded 88 stolen bases on 105 attempts ... The 88 stolen bases leads the MAC and is 30 more than second place Miami has with 58 swipes ... Ball State ranked third in NCAA Division I in stolen bases per game at 2.55 (as of 4/21).
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 51 bases in 58 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 26 steals in 28 attempts while Hazelbaker has converted 26-of-30 stolen base attempts ... The two are first and second in the MAC in stolen bases, respectively ... Fields ranks ninth in NCAA Division I while Hazelbaker is 16th.
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 66 bases this season.
Fab Freshman . . .
Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen enters the weekend third 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 (57) and RBI (41) ... 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 28th in NCAA Division I in doubles with 107 ... BSU is sixth in the nation in double per game at 2.89 ... Ball State is already just 26 doubles shy of the single season team record of 133 doubles (1999) ... The Cardinals have 18 more doubles than any other team in the MAC as both Miami and Buffalo are second 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 22 doubles while junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker is second with 13 and junior right fielder Ryan Chenoweth is third with 12 doubles ... Last season, the Cardinals were second all-time in single season doubles with 130.
Vitek's 22 doubles are already tied for second in Ball State history in a single season with Shayne Ridley (1999) ... Brad Snyder holds the single season record for doubles with 25 in 2003.
Leading The Way . . .
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker, the Cardinals' leadoff hitter, enters the week leading the Mid-American Conference in batting with a .428 average ... Hazelbaker leads the league in hits (65), runs (56), walks (32) and on-base percentage (.540) ... He is third in triples (4), second in stolen bases (26), fifth in total bases (107), fifth in doubles (14) and fourth in slugging percentage (.691).
As of April 19, Hazelbaker ranks fourth in the nation in on-base percentage, eighth in runs per game, 17th in batting average, 35th in triples, 46th in walks per game, 65th in hits and 70th in slugging percentage.
Turning Up The Heat . . .
Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek has turned up his play at the plate over the past seven games as he is 19-of-31 (.613) ... Vitek has driven in 17 runs and scored 14 runs over the past two weeks ... He owns a 1.323 slugging percentage during that stretch with 10 doubles and four home runs ... He leads the Mid-American Conference in batting in league play with a .500 average (33-of-66) ... He has tallied 12 doubles, five home runs and 20 RBI in 16 league games.
This Week's Starters . . .
Ball State will send a pair of right-handers to the mound this week as senior Adam Quinn gets the start against Purdue and freshman Cal Bowling starts against IPFW ... Purdue will counter with right-hander Drew Wurdack and IPFW will send right-hander Josh Shatto.
Quinn will be making his 11th appearance and fifth start of the season Tuesday as he has a 2-2 record with a 6.53 ERA ... He has worked 20.2 innings and has tallied 16 strikeouts while walking 10 ... He worked two shutout innings against Western Michigan Saturday as he allowed just one hit.
Bowling will be making his 14th appearances and fifth start of the season as he has a 3-0 record and a 6.49 ERA ... He has logged 34.2 innings and has struck out 20 while walking 18 ... He worked four innings in relief Saturday as he allowed four runs on six hits.
Wurdack will be making his 14th appearance and fourth start of the year for Purdue ... He has a 2-1 record and a 6.29 ERA in 24.1 innings this season ... He has struck out 26 batters while walking 14.
Shatto will be making his 13th appearance and ninth start of the year for IPFW ... He has a 3-2 record and a 8.44 ERA as he has struck out 26 batters while walking a team-high 36.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters the week with a 19-18 overall record and an 8-8 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have scored 282 runs in 37 games (7.6 runs/game) while posting a .316 batting average ... Ball State is slugging .523 this season on the strength of 107 doubles, 12 triples and 49 home runs ... On the mound, the Cardinals own a 4.85 ERA and opponents are batting .294 ... BSU has tallied 240 strikeouts while walking 145.
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker leads the team in batting at .428 as he has tallied a team-high 65 hits ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek is second on the team with a .400 average ... Vitek also leads the team in RBI (48), doubles (22) and home runs (10) ... Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen is third in hitting at .363 and third in RBI at 41.
In the bullpen left-hander Tom Mueller and right-hander Aaron Hammons lead the team with 21 appearances each ... Mueller has a 1.73 ERA in 26.0 innings while Hammons has a 4.24 ERA in 23.1 innings ... Junior closer Morgan Coombs has appeared in 17 games and has a 2.49 ERA while recording five saves.
Scouting Purdue . . .
Purdue enters the week with a 17-21 overall record and a 5-9 mark in Big Ten play ... The Boilermakers have scored 260 runs in 38 games (6.8 runs/game) while posting a .309 batting average ... Purdue is slugging .437 on the strength of 77 doubles, 10 triples and 26 home runs ... On the mound, it owns a 5.94 ERA and opponents are batting .306 against.
John Cummins leads the team in limited action with a .404 batting average in 20 games ... Brandon Haverman has a .387 batting average on the year ... Dan Black leads the team with 12 home runs and 39 RBI ... In the bullpen, Blake Mascarello has made 15 appearances and has a 4.01 ERA in 24.2 innings ... Kevin Cahill leads the team with 16 appearances and has a 5.79 ERA in 23.1 innings while recording a team-high four saves.
Scouting IPFW . . .
IPFW enters the game with a 9-30 overall record and a 2-14 mark in the Summit League ... The Mastodons have scored 187 runs in 39 games (4.8 runs/game) while posting a .254 batting average ... IPFW is slugging .367 on the strength of 64 doubles, four triples and 25 home runs ... On the mound, the Mastodons have a 7.68 ERA and opponents are batting .315.
Chris Gottschall leads the team in hitting at .363 and in RBI with 39 ... Shaun VanDriessch is second in batting at .322 and second in RBI with 31 ... In the bullpen, Andrew Emge leads the team with 21 appearances as he has a 8.91 ERA in 32.1 innings of work.
On The Air . . .
The Cardinals will have selected games on 91.3 WCRD FM and www.ballstatesports.com this season, both games this week against Purdue and IPFW ... 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 (206-166) 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 37 games though, Ball State has pounded out 49 home runs ... Nine different players have hit the long ball this season ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with 10 home runs while freshman Ian Nielsen, junior left fielder Kory Benbow and sophomore shortstop T.J. Baumet are tied for second with seven home runs apiece.
Cardinals Rack Up Honors . . .
Ball State garnered a weekly Mid-American Conference honor in the first seven weeks of the season and the Cardinals have tallied a total of seven 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 ... Vitek also earned Player of the Week honors this past week.
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 hit the road this weekend for a pivotal Mid-American Conference series at Eastern Michigan.
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