Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Travels To Michigan For Tuesday Twinbill
May 11, 2009 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals wrap up the non-conference portion of the 2009 schedule Tuesday afternoon as they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a doubleheader against Big Ten foe Michigan ... Both contests Tuesday afternoon will be seven-inning affairs ... Ball State enters the week with a 24-21 overall record and a 12-10 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals are coming off of a three-game sweep at Northern Illinois last weekend ... Tuesday's game marks Ball State's final road game of the season ... The Cardinals are 13-14 away from home this season ... BSU is led by seventh-year head coach Greg Beals ... Michigan enters the week with a 27-23 overall record and an 8-13 mark in Big Ten play ... The Wolverines dropped two out of three last weekend at home to Minnesota ... Michigan is 10-13 this season at home at Ray Fisher Stadium ... The Wolverines are led by seventh-year head coach Rich Maloney ... Maloney spent seven seasons as the Cardinals' head coach from 1996-2002 and compiled a 256-144-1 record at Ball State.
Series History . . .
Tuesday's game marks the 16th meeting all-time between Ball State and Michigan ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series 14-1, but the two teams have only met two times since 2000 ... Ball State dropped both games against the Wolverines last season with Michigan claiming an 8-4 victory in Conway, S.C., before taking home a 15-8 victory at Ball Diamond last May ... The Cardinals' lone victory in the all-time series came May 4, 1999 with a 6-5 victory in Muncie ... Former Ball State coach and current Michigan coach Rich Maloney was at the helm of the Cardinals for that victory.
Tuesday's game also marks the fourth different Big Ten team that the Cardinals have played this season ... Ball State is 3-1 against the Big Ten this season with wins over Indiana, Purdue and Ohio State ... The Cardinals' lone loss came most recently at home against Purdue (April 29).
MAC Tournament . . .
For the second straight year, the Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament will be held in Chillicothe, Ohio at VA Memorial Stadium ... Eight teams qualify for the tournament with the top three teams from each division automatically earning a bid ... The final two teams with the best overall MAC record remaining make the field.
The Cardinals have already earned a berth into the 2009 MAC Tournament with their three-game sweep of Northern Illinois ... Ball State can claim the MAC West title this weekend if it wins two out of three against MAC West leader Toledo ... If the season ended today, the Cardinals would make the tournament as the second place team in the MAC West Division and would be the sixth seed overall ... The seeding would fall as follows if the season ended today: 1.) Bowling Green 2.) Toledo 3.) Kent State 4.) Ohio 5.) Miami 6.) Ball State 7.) Central Michigan/Eastern Michigan/Akron.
Stines Honored By MAC . . .
Senior right-handed pitcher Brenden Stines was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week Monday ... Stines becomes the 10th Cardinal to earn weekly honors this season from the MAC.
Stines helped the Cardinals to a three-game series sweep of MAC West rival Northern Illinois as he turned in his top performance of the season in Ball State's 9-1 victory Saturday afternoon. He tallied his third win of the season as he worked seven-strong innings, allowing only three hits. Stines struck out a career-high 11 batters and did not allow an earned run in the gem for the Cardinals. He improved to 3-4 on the year with the victory and owns a 5.14 ERA, which is eighth in the MAC this season, in 56.0 innings.
Touching Home Plate . . .
Junior center fielder and leadoff hitter Jeremy Hazelbaker is closing in on the Ball State single season runs record ... Hazelbaker enters Tuesday's games with 69 runs scored to lead the Mid-American Conference ... His 69 runs scored is already third all-time in Ball State history ... He only trails former Ball State greats Larry Bigbie and Thomas Howard ... Bigbie holds the record with 71 runs scored in 1999 while Howard is second with 70 runs scored in 1986.
No To Free Passes . . .
Sophomore right-hander Kolbrin Vitek has shown great control during his first two seasons on the mound for the Cardinals ... Vitek leads the team and the Mid-American Conference with only nine walks in 51.1 innings as he is allowing 1.58 walks per nine innings ... He would currently rank second all-time in Ball State single season history at 1.58 ... He is tied with former Cardinal Tom Sharon (1974) for second place and trails only former No. 1 draft pick Bryan Bullington, who had a 1.55 walks per nine innings in 2002.
In his two seasons, he has tallied 2.08 walks per nine innings which would be the top mark in Ball State history for a career ... Tom Overstreet (1971-73) holds the career mark at 2.42 walks per nine innings.
Yes To Free Passes . . .
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker leads the team and the Mid-American Conference in walks earned at 42 ... He is already sixth all-time in Ball State single season history for free passes, just seven shy of the record ... Brad Snyder holds the record of 49 walks during the 2003 season while Dean Anna recorded 46 walks last season.
Five-Finger Discount . . .
The Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference this season in stolen bases ... Through 45 games, Ball State has recorded 108 stolen bases on 129 attempts ... The 108 stolen bases leads the MAC and is 37 more than second place Miami has with 71 swipes ... Ball State ranks eighth in NCAA Division I in stolen bases per game at 2.4 (as of 5/3) ... The Cardinals' 108 stolen bases this season second most all-time in a single season ... The team record is 121 stolen bases during the 1997 season.
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 60 bases in 68 attempts at the top of the Cardinals' lineup ... The tandem alone has stolen more bases than eight MAC teams so far this season ... Fields leads the team with 31 steals in 34 attempts while Hazelbaker has converted 29-of-34 stolen base attempts ... The two are first and third in the MAC in stolen bases, respectively ... Fields ranks eighth in NCAA Division I while Hazelbaker is 12th.
Also, sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek is third on the team with 15 stolen bases ... The Cardinals' first three batters in the lineup have swiped 75 bases this season.
Fab Freshman . . .
Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen enters the week third on the team in batting with a .356 average ... Nielsen leads all Mid-American Conference freshmen in batting average this year while also leading freshmen in hits (69) and RBI (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 12th in NCAA Division I in doubles with 124 ... BSU is fourth in the nation in double per game at 2.83 ... Ball State is just nine doubles shy of the single season team record of 133 doubles (1999).
The Cardinals have 12 players who have notched doubles this season with eight of those players with at least five doubles ... Also, seven different Cardinals have reached double figures in doubles this season ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with 23 doubles while junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker is second with 16 ... Nate Fields is third with 15 and Zach Dygert is fourth with 14 doubles ... Last season, the Cardinals were second all-time in single season doubles with 130.
Vitek's 23 doubles are 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 ... Vitek is fifth in the nation in doubles and third in the nation in doubles per game (0.54).
Leading The Way . . .
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker, the Cardinals' leadoff hitter, enters the week leading the Mid-American Conference in batting with a .430 average ... Hazelbaker leads the league in hits (77), runs (68), walks (42), triples (6) and on-base percentage (.553) ... He third in stolen bases (29), fifth in total bases (126), sixth in doubles (16) and third in slugging percentage (.704).
As of May 3, Hazelbaker ranks second in the nation in on-base percentage, second in runs per game, 11th in batting average, 78th in triples per game, 23rd in walks per game, 44th in hits and 58th in slugging percentage.
This Week's Starters . . .
The Cardinals will send a pair of right-handers to the hill Tuesday afternoon with freshman Cal Bowling getting the call in game one while senior Adam Quinn gets the nod in game two ... Michigan will counter with left-hander Mike Wilson in the first game and right-hander Travis Smith in game two.
Bowling will be making his 17th appearance of the year and sixth start Tuesday afternoon ... He owns a 3-0 record with a 6.28 ERA in 38.2 innings ... He has struck out 23 batters while walking 21 ... He worked a third of an inning last weekend in relief and will make his first start since limiting IPFW to one hit in 3.0 innings April 29.
Quinn will be making his 12th appearance and sixth start of the year in game two ... He has a 2-3 record with a 7.61 ERA in 23.2 innings ... He last saw action in a loss against Purdue April 28 as he allowed five runs in 3.0 innings.
Wilson will be making his 12th appearance and fourth start of the year ... He has a 1-0 record with a 5.87 ERA in 23.0 innings ... He last worked May 2 at Ohio State as he tossed one inning of relief and allowed one run on two hits.
Smith will be making his 14th appearance and eighth start of the year in game two ... He has a 5-5 record with a 4.93 ERA in 42.0 innings ... He last saw action May 5 against Western Michigan as he tossed 6.0 shutout innings in the victory as he limited the Broncos to four hits.
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters Tuesday with a 24-21 overall record and a 12-10 mark in Mid-American Conference play as it has won three straight games ... The Cardinals have scored 355 runs (7.89 runs/game) this season while posting a .317 batting average ... Ball State is slugging .526 this season on the strength of 124 doubles, 18 triples and 61 home runs ... On the mound, the Cardinals own a 5.19 ERA and opponents are batting .293 ... The Cardinals have struck out 302 batters while walking 179.
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker leads the team and the MAC with a .430 batting average and a .553 on-base percentage ... Hazelbaker also leads the team with 77 hits, 68 runs and six triples ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek is second on the team with a .379 batting average and leads the team with a .731 slugging percentage ... He leads the Cardinals with 11 home runs and 55 RBI ... Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen is third on the team with a .356 batting average and third with 49 RBI.
In the bullpen, senior left-hander Tom Mueller is tied for the team lead with 26 appearances ... He has a 1.41 ERA in 32.0 innings this spring ... Right-hander Aaron Hammons also has appeared in 26 games and has a 4.03 ERA in 29.0 innings ... Junior closer Morgan Coombs has appeared in 23 games and has a 3.62 ERA in 32.1 innings ... He has a 3-5 record with six saves.
Scouting Michigan . . .
Michigan enters Tuesday with a 27-23 overall record and an 8-13 mark in Big Ten play ... The Wolverines have scored 324 runs (6.48 runs/game) and are batting .292 on the year ... Michigan is slugging .439 on the strength of 97 doubles, five triples and 47 home runs ... On the mound, the Wolverines own a 4.70 ERA and are holding opponents to a .289 batting average ... Michigan has struck out 386 batters while walking 189.
Ryan LaMarre leads the Wolverines with a .347 batting average and is second on the team with 11 home runs ... LaMarre also leads the team with 55 RBI and 49 runs scored ... Kenny Fellows is second on the team with a .335 batting average while Mike Dufrek leads the team with 14 home runs.
In the bullpen, Matt Miller leads Michigan with 21 appearances as he has a 3.32 ERA in 38.0 innings ... Miller is one of three different players with three saves ... Tyler Burgoon is second on the team with 19 appearances and has a 4.15 ERA in 34.2 innings.
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 (212-169) 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).
Beals moved into third all-time in Ball State history in wins over the weekend with the three victories at Northern Illinois ... He moved past both Williams and Rickel for second all-time in wins at 212 ... He only trails Maloney (256) and Quinn (323).
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 45 games though, Ball State has pounded out 61 home runs ... 12 different players have hit the long ball this season ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with 11 home runs while sophomore shortstop T.J. Baumet is second with 10 home runs Freshman Ian Nielsen and junior left fielder Kory Benbow are tied for third with seven home runs apiece.
Last weekend, senior second baseman Nate Fields and freshman third baseman Tim Issler both tallied their first home runs of the year.
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 eight 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 and sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek have earned Player of the Week honors, while junior right-hander Brad Piatt and 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 earned player of the week honors and was named College Baseball Hall Of Fame National All-Star Lineup April 27 ...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.
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.
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 on the mound for the Cardinals.
Looking Ahead . . .
The Cardinals will wrap up the 2009 regular season with a three-game series against Mid-American Conference rival Toledo at Ball Diamond ... The winner of the series will claim the MAC West Division championship and a top two seed in the MAC Tournament.
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