Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Begins MAC Tournament Play Wednesday At 4 p.m.
May 19, 2009 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals enter the 2009 Mid-American Conference Tournament as the number two seed after claiming the MAC West Division championship with a 26-23 overall record and a 14-10 MAC mark ... Ball State has won five straight MAC games heading into the tournament ... The Cardinals are under the direction of seventh-year head coach Greg Beals ... Ball State will face No. 7 seed Eastern Michigan in the first round Wednesday at 4 p.m. ... Eastern Michigan enters the tournament with a 24-33 overall record and a 13-14 MAC record ... The MAC Tournament is a double-elimination style format.
The other game on Ball State's side of the bracket matches No. 3 seed Ohio against No. 6 seed Toledo ... The winners of those two games will meet Thursday at 7:30 p.m., while the losers will meet Thursday at 9 a.m. ... The other side of the tournament features first-round match-ups of No. 1 seed Bowling Green versus No. 8 seed Central Michigan and No. 4 seed Kent State against No. 5 seed Miami ... A complete MAC Tournament bracket is available on the back page of the notes packet.
MAC West Champions . . .
Ball State earned their Mid-American Conference record seventh MAC West Division title this season after closing the year with five straight wins to chase down Toledo for the division title ... The Cardinals have now won seven of the 13 MAC West Division titles since divisional play began in 1998 ... Only Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan have won MAC West titles with both teams claiming three each.
MAC Tournament History . . .
Ball State will be making its 14th appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament this week ... The Cardinals are 20-24 all-time in the event and have appeared in 12 of the last 13 tournaments ... Ball State has won at least one game in the tournament 10 times and won the tournament championship during the 2006 season ... Wednesday's first round contest against Eastern Michigan will mark only the second meeting between the two teams in MAC Tournament play ... The Cardinals and Eagles met in the opening round of the 2004 tournament with Eastern Michigan taking home a 10-4 victory.
Ball State has met Kent State 15 times in tournament history with the Cardinals owning an 8-7 mark all-time against the Golden Flashes ... The Cardinals are also 4-1 against Central Michigan, 3-1 against Bowling Green, 1-0 against Akron, 1-0 against Toledo, 2-2 against Western Michigan, 1-6 against Miami and 0-2 against Northern Illinois in tournament history.
Ball State Versus The Field . . .
The Cardinals went head-to-head with five of the other seven Mid-American Conference Tournament teams during the 2009 regular season ... Ball State posted a 5-8 record against those teams, including a 3-2 mark against the teams in its portion of the bracket ... The Cardinals did not face Ohio or Miami this season due to the rotation MAC schedule.
Versus No. 7 Eastern Michigan . . .
The Cardinals dropped two out of three at Eastern Michigan three weeks ago, marking their last losing weekend of the regular season ... The two teams played three one-run contests with two of the games heading into extra innings ... The Cardinals and Eagles have met 129 times prior to Wednesday's contest ... Ball State trails the all-time series 68-60-1 against Eastern Michigan.
This season at Eastern Michigan
5/1/09 at Eastern Mich. L, 5-6
5/2/09 at Eastern Mich. W, 12-11 (10)
5/3/09 at Eastern Mich. L, 13-14 (10)
Versus No. 3 Ohio . . .
Ball State and Ohio did not meet this season ... The Cardinals and Bobcats have met 88 times in the all-time series with BSU trailing 52-36 ... The two teams last met during the 2007 season (Apr. 6-8) in Athens with the Bobcats taking the first two games by 11-6 and 7-6 scores before Ball State claimed the series finale 6-4.
Versus No. 6 Toledo . . .
Ball State and Toledo have met 104 times in program history with the Cardinals holding a 57-47 advantage in the series ... The Cardinals have won three straight against the Rockets, including a two-game sweep last weekend ... Ball State and Toledo have only met one time in MAC Tournament play with the Cardinals claiming a 10-1 victory May 21, 1999.
This season vs. Toledo
5/14/09 vs. Toledo W, 15-6
5/15/09 vs. Toledo W, 8-6
Versus No. 1 Bowling Green . . .
Ball State and Bowling Green have met 96 times prior to the tournament with the Falcons owning a 52-42-2 mark in the all-time series ... The Cardinals were swept earlier this season at Bowling Green ... Despite that, the Cardinals are 13-7 in the last 20 meetings against the Falcons ... The Cardinals and Falcons have have met four times in Mid-American Conference Tournament history with Ball State posting a 3-1 record all-time against BGSU ... The teams last met in tournament play May 26, 2005 with the Cardinals claiming a 5-4 victory.
This season at Bowling Green
4/11/09 at BGSU L, 2-3
4/11/09 at BGSU L, 6-7
4/12/09 at BGSU L, 7-9 (10)
Versus No. 8 Central Michigan . . .
Ball State and Central Michigan have met 126 times in series history with the Chippewas holding an 80-46 edge all-time ... The Cardinals dropped two out of three from CMU earlier this season and were swept last season in Mount Pleasant ... Ball State is 4-1 all-time against the Chippewas though in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, including a 7-5 victory last season to eliminate CMU from the tournament in Chillicothe.
This season vs. Central Michigan
4/17/09 vs. Central Mich. L, 6-9
4/18/09 vs. Central Mich. L, 8-12
4/18/09 vs. Central Mich. W, 12-4
Versus No. 4 Kent State . . .
Ball State and Kent State have met 100 times in series history with the Golden Flashes holding a 55-45 advantage in the series ... The two teams split a rain-shortened two-game series in Muncie this season after Ball State swept three games in 2008 ... The Cardinals and Golden Flashes have met 15 times in Mid-American Conference Tournament history with the Cardinals holding an 8-7 advantage in the series ... The teams last met May 27, 2006 in the MAC Tournament championship game when the Cardinals took home a 7-4 victory to earn their first ever MAC Tournament title.
This season vs. Kent State
3/27/09 vs. Kent State L, 9-10
3/28/09 vs. Kent State W, 4-2
Versus No. 5 Miami . . .
Ball State and Miami did not meet this season due to the rotating Mid-American Conference schedule ... The two teams have met 120 times in series history with the Cardinals trailing the all-time mark, 52-68 ... The teams last met during the 2007 season (March 30-April 1) with the RedHawks claiming a three-game sweep ... Ball State has faced Miami seven times in MAC Tournament play and have a 1-6 mark all-time against the RedHawks ... The two teams last met in tournament action May 27, 2005 when Miami eliminated the Cardinals 9-3.
Opening Round Starters . . .
Second-seeded Ball State will send senior right-hander Brenden Stines to the mound in game one while seventh-seeded Eastern Michigan will counter with right-hander Corey Chaffins ... Stines will be making his 17th appearance and 13th start of the season Wednesday afternoon ... He owns a 4-4 overall record and has a 5.08 ERA on the year ... He has worked 62.0 innings this year and has tallied 42 strikeouts ... He has tallied back-to-back victories over Northern Illinois and most recently Toledo ... He tossed 6.0 innings and allowed three earned runs in the win over the Rockets ... Earlier this season, Stines lasted 5.0 innings and allowed five runs in the no decision at Eastern Michigan.
Chaffins will be making his 14th appearance and 11th start of the season Wednesday ... He has a 5-3 record and a 7.11 ERA in 63.1 innings ... He has struck out 67 batters while walking 31 ... Last weekend, he worked 6.0 innings in the victory over Central Michigan and allowed six runs on 11 hits ... Earlier this year, he picked up the win over the Cardinals as he went 7.2 innings while allowing five runs and striking out a career-high 14 batters.
Winning The Arms Race . . .
Ball State ended the regular season with the top-rated pitching staff in the Mid-American Conference as the Cardinals own a team ERA of 5.22 ... The Cardinals' ERA is .30 runs lower than second place Kent State and is 1.01 runs lower than last season's 6.23 team ERA ... All three of the Cardinals' weekend starters Brenden Stines (5.08), Brad Piatt (5.34) and Kolbrin Vitek (5.96) have marks under 6.00 ... Also, the Cardinals' bullpen has been one of the top staffs in the conference with senior left-handed captain Tom Mueller leading the way ... Mueller owns a staff-best 1.30 ERA in 34.2 innings this spring ... His 1.30 ERA would be third-lowest in a single season in Ball State history ... Larry Reveal owns the record of 0.98 in 1968 while Bill Hajec posted a 1.22 ERA in 1965.
Turning Up The Play In MAC . . .
Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek led all players in the Mid-American Conference this season in batting in conference action with a .455 average ... Vitek posted 45 hits in 99 at-bats against MAC foes and tallied a .828 slugging percentage ... He tallied 14 doubles, seven home runs and drove in 30 runs.
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker was second in MAC games in batting at .430 as he tallied 40 hits in 93 at-bats ... Hazelbaker posted a .882 slugging percentage in conference play as he hit 11 doubles, five triples and seven home runs while scoring 39 runs ... He also had a .576 on-base percentage with 29 walks.
Touching Home Plate . . .
Junior center fielder and leadoff hitter Jeremy Hazelbaker has set the Ball State single season record for runs record this year ... Hazelbaker enters the Mid-American Conference Tournament with 73 runs scored ... The 73 runs scored leads the MAC and is the top mark in Ball State history ... He just past former Ball State greats Larry Bigbie and Thomas Howard ... Bigbie held the record with 71 runs scored in 1999 while Howard was second with 70 runs scored in 1986 ... Hazelbaker is also 10th in NCAA Division I in runs scored this year.
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 45 ... He is already tied for third all-time in Ball State single season history for free passes, just four shy of the record ... He is tied with former Cardinals Scott French (2001) and Thomas Howard (1985) ... Brad Snyder holds the record of 49 walks during the 2003 season while Dean Anna recorded 46 walks last season.
Leading The Way . . .
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker, the Cardinals' leadoff hitter, enters the Mid-American Conference Tournament leading the MAC in batting with a .426 average ... Hazelbaker owns a 19-point advantage for the conference's batting title over Bowling Green's Tyler Elkins ... He also leads the MAC with a stellar .547 on-base percentage ... He has a 39-point advantage in the on-base race over Ohio's Marc Krauss.
Hazelbaker also leads the league runs (73), walks (45), and triples (8) ... He third in stolen bases (29), fourth in slugging percentage (.718), fifth in total bases (140) and eighth in doubles (16).
As of May 10, Hazelbaker ranks second in the nation in on-base percentage, third in runs per game, 11th in batting average, 19th in triples per game, 20th in walks per game, 60th in hits and 46th in slugging percentage.
Five-Finger Discount . . .
The Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference this season in stolen bases ... Through 49 games, Ball State has recorded 113 stolen bases on 137 attempts ... The 113 stolen bases leads the MAC and is 37 more than second place Miami has with 76 swipes ... Ball State ranks eighth in NCAA Division I in stolen bases per game at 2.4 (as of 5/10) ... The Cardinals' 113 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 61 bases in 70 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 32 steals in 35 attempts while Hazelbaker has converted 29-of-35 stolen base attempts ... The two are first and third in the MAC in stolen bases, respectively ... Fields ranks 11th in NCAA Division I while Hazelbaker is 16th.
Also, sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek is third on the team with 17 stolen bases ... The Cardinals' first three batters in the lineup have swiped 78 bases this season which combined is more than any other team in the MAC this season ... Sophomore shortstop T.J. Baumet is fourth on the team with 10 stolen bases in 10 attempts.
Triple-Threat . . .
Junior Jeremy Hazelbaker has also tracked down the Ball State single season record for triples as he leads the Mid-American Conference with eight three-baggers ... Hazelbaker moved into a tie with Kent Lynch for the BSU record as Lynch tallied eight triples in both 1981 and 1983 ... So far this season, Hazelbaker has tied the single-game record of triples with a pair against Toledo (May 15) last time out.
Fab Freshman . . .
Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen enters the Mid-American Conference Tournament third on the team in batting with a .354 average ... Nielsen leads all Mid-American Conference freshmen in batting average this year while also leading freshmen in hits (73) and RBI (52) ... He has 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 18th in NCAA Division I in doubles with 132 ... BSU is fourth in the nation in double per game at 2.76 ... Ball State is just one double 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 24 doubles while junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker and junior catcher Zach Dygert are tied for second with 17 ... Nate Fields is third with 15 ... Last season, the Cardinals were second all-time in single season doubles with 130.
Vitek's 24 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).
Scouting Ball State . . .
Ball State enters the 2009 Mid-American Conference Tournament with a 26-23 overall record and a 14-10 mark in MAC play ... The Cardinals own a .319 batting average this season and have scored 385 runs (7.86 runs/game) ... Ball State has a .529 slugging percentage on the strength of 132 doubles, 20 triples and 67 home runs ... On the mound, the Cardinals have a 5.22 ERA on the year and are holding opponents to a .292 batting average ... BSU has struck out 322 batters while walking 187.
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker leads the team with a .426 batting average and a .547 on-base percentage ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek is second on the team with a .394 batting average and leads the team with 60 RBI ... Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen is third in batting at .354 while junior catcher Zach Dygert is fourth at .344.
In the bullpen, senior left-hander Tom Mueller leads the team with 27 appearances and has a 1.30 ERA in 34.2 innings ... Right-hander Aaron Hammons has also appeared in 27 games and has a 3.86 ERA in 30.1 innings while recording a save last time out ... Junior closer Morgan Coombs leads the team with six saves as he has appeared in 23 games with a 3.62 ERA in 32.1 innings.
Scouting Eastern Michigan . . .
Eastern Michigan enters the Mid-American Conference Tournament with a 23-33 overall record and a 13-14 mark in MAC play ... The Eagles have a .284 batting average and have scored 367 runs (6.55 runs/game) ... EMU is slugging .479 on the year courtesy of 83 doubles, 12 triples and 89 home runs ... On the mound, Eastern Michigan has a 6.53 ERA and opponents are batting .308 ... The Eagles have struck out 345 batters while walking 255.
Jim Gulliver leads the team with a .348 batting average and is third on the team with 12 home runs and 54 RBI ... Kyle Rhoad is second on the team with a .347 average and leads the team with 32 stolen bases ... Andrew Marshall leads the team with 17 home runs while Matt Skirving is second with 16 long balls.
In the bullpen, Kevin Wammes leads the team with 24 appearances and three saves ... Wammes has a 4.88 ERA in 24.0 innings ... Scott Hoffman has appeared in 20 games as both a reliever and starter and has a 7.57 ERA in 60.2 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 earlier this season ... Beals (214-170) 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) ... Beals also tallied his 98th career Mid-American Conference victory with the win over Toledo 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 49 games though, Ball State has pounded out 67 home runs ... 12 different players have hit the long ball this season ... Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek and sophomore shortstop T.J. Baumet lead the team with 12 home runs apiece ... Baumet has hit nine of his 12 home runs over the past 14 games, including eight in his past 10 MAC contests ... Freshman Ian Nielsen is third on the team with nine home runs while junior left fielder Kory Benbow and junior catcher Zach Dygert are fourth with eight home runs each.
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 three Pitcher of the Week accolades this season ... 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, Vitek and senior right-hander Brenden Stines have 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.
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.
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.
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