Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Miami In Home Opening Series This Weekend
March 31, 2010 | Baseball
LIVE AUDIO (91.3 WCRD Friday & Sunday Only)
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State opens the home portion of the 2010 schedule this weekend after playing its first 23 games on the road ... The Cardinals host Mid-American Conference rival Miami in a three-game series at Ball Diamond ... The two teams will meet Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. in cross-divisional play ... Ball State enters the weekend with an 8-15 overall record and a 2-1 mark in MAC play ... The Cardinals opened league play last weekend with a series victory at Ohio ... BSU was one of five MAC West Division teams to win two out of three ... The Cardinals are led by eighth-year head coach Greg Beals ... Miami enters the weekend with a 11-12 overall record and a 1-2 mark in MAC play ... Miami opened MAC play last weekend by dropping two out of three at home against Central Michigan ... The RedHawks are led by fifth-year head coach Dan Simonds.
Vitek Named National Player of the Week . . .
Junior second baseman Kolbrin Vitek was named the Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (March 29) as he was dominant at the plate and on the mound in the Cardinals' series victory at Ohio ... He posted a .500 batting average (6-of-12) in the three-game series and a .571 on-base percentage ... He was equally dominant on the mound as he tossed 7.0 shutout innings of two-hit baseball in the Cardinals' 4-0 victory at Ohio ... He limited the Bobcats to only three base runners and none of the three base runners advanced past first base ... He struck out five batters and only faced 23 batters in 7.0 innings
Home Openers . . .
Friday's game marks the 90th home opener in Ball State baseball history, dating back to 1920 ... The Cardinals are 62-27 all-time in home openers, including victories in 13 straight ... Last year, Ball State opened the home portion of the 2009 schedule with a 10-1 victory over Chicago State ... The Cardinals last lost a home opener during the 1996 season when they fell to Purdue 11-7 ... Ball State has opened its home schedule two other times against the Miami RedHawks ... The Cardinals are 0-2 all-time in home openers against Miami with losses in 1927 and 1958.
This weekend also marks the 37th season that Ball State has been part of the Mid-American Conference ... The Cardinals own a 63-37-1 record all-time in MAC home-opening weekends ... Ball State has been particularly tough at home to start MAC play recently as it is 40-3 over the past 14 years in league home-opening series ... Last year, the Cardinals took two out of three from Akron at Ball Diamond ... This year marks the fourth season that Ball State has opened the home portion of its MAC schedule against Miami ... The Cardinals are 6-1 all-time against the RedHawks in such series with a 3-0 sweep in 2006, a 2-0 sweep in 1986 and a 1-1 split in 1975.
Series History . . .
Ball State and Miami have met 120 times prior to this weekend's three-game series ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 68-52 margin ... The two teams have not met since 2007 due to the rotating Mid-American Conference schedule ... That season, Miami swept a three-game series in Oxford by scores of 12-4, 2-1 and 16-5 ... The RedHawks have not travelled to Muncie since the 2006 season when the Cardinals posted a three-game sweep at Ball Diamond by scores of 19-13, 5-0 and 4-2.
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State opened Mid-American Conference play last weekend with a series victory at Ohio ... The Cardinals won Friday's game by a 10-1 margin, dropped the first game of Saturday's doubleheader 4-2 before claiming the series victory with a 4-0 win in game two of the double dip.
In the series finale, three Cardinal pitchers combined to limit Ohio to just two hits and only five total base runners, none of which advanced past first base ... Junior right-hander Kolbrin Vitek was dominant in the start as he tossed 7.0 shutout innings and only allowed two hits ... Vitek struck out five batters and only faced 23 batters in seven innings, while tossing just 70 pitches ... Relievers Seth Hobbs and Aaron Hammons each added a scoreless inning to seal the victory ... The shutout is BSU's first since April 18, 2007 when it blanked Ohio State 4-0 ... The shutout is also the first shutout of Ohio at Bob Wren Stadium since May 18, 2005 when Vanderbilt accomplished the feat.
Did You Know? . . .
Head coach Greg Beals notched his 100th career Mid-American Conference victory last weekend with the Cardinals' 4-0 victory over Ohio ... Beals owns a 100-72 career record in league play.
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will stick with the same rotation for the second straight week as it sends three right-handers to the mound in Perci Garner Friday, Cal Bowling Saturday and Kolbrin Vitek Sunday ... Miami will counter with left-hander Tyler Melling Friday, right-hander Brooks Fiala Saturday and right-hander Mac Thoreson Sunday.
Garner will be making his eighth appearance and second start of the season Friday ... He owns a 2-0 record with a 4.70 ERA in 23.0 innings of work and leads the team with 29 strikeouts ... He made his first career start at Ohio last Friday and posted 5.0 innings and only allowed one unearned run.
Bowling will be making his team-leading seventh start of the season Saturday ... He has an 0-3 record with a 5.47 ERA this season in 24.2 innings of work ... He earned a no decision last weekend against Ohio ... Vitek will also be making his seventh start of the year ... He has a 1-2 record with a 3.49 ERA in 28.1 innings and has struck out 18 batters ... He is coming off of a 7.0-inning shutout performance against Ohio.
Melling will be making his seventh start of the season Friday ... He owns a 1-2 record with an 8.04 ERA in 31.1 innings ... He had a no decision last weekend against Central Michigan as he worked 4.2 innings and allowed two runs on six hits.
Fiala will also be making his seventh start of the year and has a 2-1 record with a 6.95 ERA in a team-high 33.2 innings ... He earned the RedHawks' victory over CMU last weekend as he tossed 7.1 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits ... Thoreson will be making his fourth start of the year and eighth appearance ... He has a 1-2 record with a 3.31 ERA in 16.1 innings ... He took the loss in the series finale against the Chippewas last weekend despite going 6.1 innings and allowed two runs on seven hits.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with an 8-15 overall record and a 2-1 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals are batting .276 on the season and have scored 124 runs in 23 games ... On the mound, Ball State owns a 5.15 ERA and is holding opponents to a .284 batting average ... The Cardinals have struck out 135 batters while walking 97.
Junior second baseman Kolbrin Vitek leads the team offensively with a .404 batting average ... Vitek also leads the team in hits (38), runs (26), RBI (22), doubles (8), stolen bases (7) and home runs (5) ... Freshman Blake Beemer is second on the team with a .341 batting average as his playing time has increased recently ... Junior shortstop T.J. Baumet chips in a .304 batting average and is second on the team with 31 hits from the leadoff position ... Senior catcher Zach Dygert is second on the team with 20 RBI.
In the bullpen, right-hander Seth Hobbs leads the team with 10 appearances ... Hobbs has a 4.22 ERA in 10.2 innings of work ... Right-hander Heath Riley has a 4.81 ERA in 9.1 innings of work has he is second on the team with nine appearances ... Left-hander Derek Grabner made two appearances last weekend and worked 4.2 scoreless innings ... Closer Aaron Hammons has appeared in five games and has a 3.86 ERA in 4.2 innings.
Scouting The RedHawks . . .
Miami enters the week with a 11-12 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... Miami is batting .272 on the season and has scored 151 runs in 22 games ... On the mound, the RedHawks own a 6.69 ERA and opponents are batting .328 against ... Miami has struck out 135 batters while walking 68.
Adam Weisenburger leads Miami with a .321 batting average and is tied for the team lead with 25 hits ... Adam Eaton is second on the team with a .313 batting average ... Eaton leads the team in hits (25), runs (23), RBI (22) and stolen bases (12) ... Kyle Weldon is second on the team with 18 RBI.
In the bullpen, Kyle Donawerth leads the team with 14 appearances ... He has a 2.03 ERA in 13.1 innings of work as he has struck out 17 batters while walking just two ... Matt Rosinski has appeared in 12 games and has a 6.00 ERA in 18.0 innings ... Closer Jordan Jankowski leads the team with four saves as he has a 5.73 ERA in 11.0 innings.
Tough Schedule . . .
The Cardinals have played one of the toughest schedules so far this season, according to Boydsworld.com in its Iterative Strength Ratings (ISR) ... Ball State has the 27th toughest schedule in the nation (as of March 25) ... The Cardinals have the highest rated schedule of any team in the Mid-American Conference and is the only MAC team rated in the top 50.
Below is a list of current strength of schedules for MAC teams:
27. Ball State
70. Miami
77. Northern Illinois
92. Bowling Green
108. Eastern Michigan
120. Kent State
151. Western Michigan
159. Toledo
175. Ohio
189. Akron
192. Central Michigan
245. Buffalo
Cardinals Tabbed Favorites . . .
Ball State earned their Mid-American Conference record seventh MAC West Division title in 2009 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.
Ball State enters the 2010 season as the preseason favorite to claim the MAC West Division and MAC Tournament titles, as chosen by the league's head coaches in the preseason poll ... The Cardinals received a league-high 72 points to claim the MAC West Division's top spot and were chosen by five coaches to claim their second MAC Tournament title in program history.
Dygert Named To Watch List . . .
Senior catcher Zach Dygert has been named to the 2010 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award delivered by Papa John's Pizza ... The Johnny Bench Award is awarded awarded annually to the nation's top collegiate catcher based on athletic ability, sportsmanship, team leadership and character.
Dygert, a 48th round draft pick by the Washington Nationals last season, is a two-time All-Mid-American Conference selection. He finished last season fourth on the team with a .350 batting average as he tallied 69 hits. He was second on the team with 58 RBI and also scored 42 runs ... This season, he is second on the team with 20 RBI and three home runs during the first 23 games of the year ... He recorded a big eighth inning home run this season to lead the Cardinals to an upset victory over No. 15 Arkansas in the first weekend of the year.
Dygert is one of four catchers from the MAC on the 2010 Johnny Bench Watch List. He is joined by Toledo's Aaron Dudley, Bowling Green's Tyler Elkins and Akron's John Turk.
Weekly Honors . . .
Right-hander Perci Garner was named to the Collegebaseball360.com Primetime Performer Weekly Honor Roll (March 22) ... Garner led the Cardinals to an upset victory over No. 7 Louisville as he worked 4.0 innings of two-hit relief to give Louisville just its second loss of the season (17-2) ... He allowed one run on two hits while striking out six batters, including all three in the seventh inning ... He combined with two other BSU pitchers to limit U of L to its lowest run and hit total of the season.
Junior second baseman Kolbrin Vitek was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week (March 1), marking his second straight weekly honor from the league to open the season ... Vitek, a preseason All-America selection, paced the Cardinals' attack at UAB as he posted a .389 batting average (7-of-18) and a .944 slugging percentage in the four-game series ... He tallied three home runs on the weekend while scoring a team-high six runs and driving in four runs.
Senior right-hander Morgan Coombs was named the Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Week and the inaugural CollegeBaseball360.com National Primetime Pitcher of the week (Feb. 22) after leading the Cardinals to a 5-2 victory over nationally ranked Arkansas ... Coombs tossed 5.0 strong innings of relief and did not allow an earned run during the outing as he limited Arkansas to just four hits ... He struck out a career-high eight batters in the victory.
Vitek was also named the MAC West Player of the Week for his performance against No. 15 Arkansas ... Vitek, a preseason All-America selection, posted a .500 batting average (7-of-14) in the three-game series against the nationally ranked Razorbacks ... He tallied a season-high four hits in the Cardinals' 5-2 victory over Arkansas as he scored three runs and drove in a run ... This is the fourth MAC weekly honor of his career.
Vitek Earns Preseason Honors . . .
Junior second baseman Kolbrin Vitek has been tabbed as one of the top players in not only the Mid-American Conference but in the country as he has received preseason All-America honors by three different publications ... Vitek was named Second Team All-America by Baseball America, Louisville Slugger and Ping! Baseball.
Vitek earned First Team All-MAC honors at the utility position last season as he played third base and was one of the Cardinals' weekend starters ... 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.
Vitek continued his strong play over the summer as he was picked as Baseball America's top prospect in the Great Lakes League (GLSCL) ... He won the league's first Triple Crown in 23 years as he hit .400, tallied six home runs and drove in 38 runs ... He also stole 10 bases and was named the GLSCL All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.
Dygert Named Team Captain . . .
Senior catcher Zach Dygert has been named the 2010 team captain by head coach Greg Beals ... Dygert posted a .350 batting average last spring and was second on the team with 58 RBI when he earned First Team All-Mid-American Conference accolades ... He was selected in the 48th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft by the Washington Nationals ... Collegebaseballinsider.com rated Dygert as the best fielding catcher in the MAC for the third straight season in its preseason publication.
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State steps back out of Mid-American Conference play Tuesday as it travels to Indiana for a midweek contest ... The Cardinals return to MAC play next weekend with a three-game series at Bowling Green.
