Ball State University Athletics
Three Cardinals Earns National Accolades From Ping!Baseball
June 11, 2009 | Baseball
Hazelbaker, a fourth round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox, was a First Team All-Mid-American Conference selection. He turned in a breakout junior season in which he won the MAC regular season batting title by 23-points as he posted a .429 average on the year. He also held a 29-point advantage all players in the MAC in on-base percentage as he reached base at a .550 clip. His .429 batting average is fifth best in a single-season in Ball State history while his .550 on-base percentage is the highest mark in Ball State history.
Hazelbaker, the Cardinals' leadoff hitter, led the league in runs (77), walks (48) and triples (8) while finishing second in the MAC in hits with 87. The all-around threat also was third in the MAC in stolen bases with 29 and fourth in the conference in slugging percentage at .724. Hazelbaker set the Ball State single-season records for runs scored, triples and on-base percentage. He finished second in NCAA Division I in on-base percentage, fourth in runs and sixth in triples.
Vitek earned honors at the utility position after earning First Team All-MAC honors for his work at the plate and on the mound. He finished second on the team and sixth in the MAC with a .389 batting average. He also led the MAC in doubles (25), was second in RBI (67), third in slugging percentage (.736), third in total bases (153) and was fourth on the mound in opponent batting average (.268).
Vitek led the conference in MAC games with a .455 average and a .828 slugging percentage against conference foes as he drove in 30 runs. He also posted a 4-3 record with a 5.65 ERA in 11 starts this season as part of the weekend rotation. He set the Ball State single-season record for walks per nine innings at 1.41 as he only allowed nine free passes in 57.1 innings.
Nielsen has already earned two other Freshman All-America honors (Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA) this year and was named Second Team All-MAC selection in his rookie campaign. He started all 51 games for the Cardinals at first base and led all MAC freshmen in hits (76) and RBI (53) and was second in batting average (.352). He tallied 15 doubles, two triples and nine home runs as he posted a .565 slugging percentage. He posted 24 multiple-hit games and 15 multiple-RBI games while earning MAC West Division Player of the Week honors twice during his rookie campaign.
The 2009 season is the third year for the All-Ping!Baseball awards and marks the first ever honors for Ball State. The Cardinals finished the 2009 season as MAC West Division champions after posting a 26-25 overall record and a 14-10 mark in MAC play. Ball State wrapped up its season at the 2009 MAC Tournament in Chillicothe, Ohio May 21.
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