Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Faces Purdue And Indiana Tech In Midweek Action
April 12, 2010 | Baseball
LIVE AUDIO at Purdue (Courtesy of Purdue)
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State steps out of Mid-American Conference play for two non-conference contests this week as the Cardinals travel to Big Ten foe Purdue Tuesday before hosting Indiana Tech Wednesday at Ball Diamond ... The Cardinals enter the week with a 13-17 overall record as they won two out of three at Bowling Green over the weekend ... BSU owns a 7-2 mark in MAC play this season as it has won all three of its league series to open the season ... The Cardinals are led by eighth-year head coach Greg Beals ... Purdue enters the week with a 15-14 overall record ... The Boilermakers dropped two out of three at Michigan over the weekend and have a 2-4 mark in Big Ten play ... Purdue is led by 12th-year head coach Doug Schreiber ... Indiana Tech enters the week with a 17-18 overall record after taking three out of four against Aquinas College ... The Warriors are led by third-year head coach Kip McWilliams.
Series History . . .
Tuesday's game marks the 80th meeting all-time between Ball State and Purdue ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 42-35-2 margin dating back to the first meeting all-time April 11, 1930 (Purdue 9, BSU 7) ... The two teams will be meeting for the 17th consecutive season, dating back to 1994 ... Ball State is 14-25-1 all-time against the Boilermakers in West Lafayette but have won three out of the last four road meetings.
Last season, the Cardinals and Boilermakers split the home-and-home series with each road team claiming victory ... Ball State earned a 17-8 victory on the road April 7 while Purdue notched a 14-6 victory in Muncie April 28 ... In the two games, the Cardinals were led by catcher Zach Dygert who was 4-of-6 with a pair of doubles and four RBI ... Kory Benbow and T.J. Baumet each notched home runs in the contests ... Purdue was paced by Nick Overmeyer who was 8-of-10 at the plate in the two games and drove in six runs.
Wednesday's game marks the ninth meeting all-time between Ball State and Indiana Tech ... The Cardinals lead the all-time series by a 6-2 margin dating back to the first ever meeting April 6, 1963 ... All eight of the previous games have been played in Muncie and the two teams last met April 1, 2008 when the Cardinals defeated the Warriors 11-6 ... Ryan Chenoweth recorded a grand slam in the victory for Ball State.
Vitek Making Noise In The MAC . . .
Junior second baseman/right-hander Kolbrin Vitek is already turning in one of the top seasons in the Mid-American Conference this year both at the plate and on the mound ... Vitek ranks second in the MAC with a .420 batting average and is sixth in the league with a 4.30 ERA ... The two-way standout ranks third in hits (50), second in runs (39), second in home runs (8), second in RBI (34), second in total bases (88), eighth in stolen bases (8), first in on-base percentage (.507) and second in slugging percentage (.739) ... On the mound, he leads the MAC in batting average against at .231.
This Week's Starters . . .
Ball State will send a pair of right-handers to the mound this week as Brad Piatt gets the nod Tuesday at Purdue and Scott Brothers Jr. gets the call Wednesday against Indiana Tech ... Purdue will counter with left-hander Pat Gannon while Indiana Tech has not named a starter.
Piatt will be making his eighth appearance of the season and sixth start Tuesday as he has a 9.64 ERA in 18.2 innings of work ... He has tallied 14 strikeouts this season while walking 12 batters ... He made an appearance over the weekend and worked 2.0 innings Saturday at Bowling Green and allowed no runs on two hits ... His last start came at Notre Dame March 23 when he allowed two runs on two hits in 1.0 inning.
Brothers will be making his 12th appearance of the year and third start Wednesday ... He has a 6.75 ERA in 22.2 innings of work as he has struck out 10 batters while walking seven ... In his first start of the year, he allowed two runs on six hits in a career-high 6.0 innings of work at UAB February 27.
Gannon will be making his seventh appearance and second start of the year for Purdue ... He has a 2-1 record with a 5.40 ERA in 11.2 innings of work as he has struck out nine batters while walking six ... He last appeared April 3 against Minnesota as he worked 2.0 innings of relief and allowed two runs on three hits while walking three batters.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the week with a 13-17 overall record and a 7-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have scored 211 runs this season (7.0 runs/game) while owning a .293 batting average ... Ball State has a 5.57 team ERA and is holding opponents to a .289 batting average ... The Cardinals have struck out 189 batters while issuing 122 walks.
Offensively, junior Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with a .420 batting average ... Vitek also leads the team in hits (50), runs (39), RBI (34), doubles (10), home runs (8), slugging percentage (.739) and on-base percentage (.507) ... Freshman Stephen Claypool is second on the team with a .355 batting average and third on the team with 33 hits ... Classmate Blake Beemer is third with a .329 batting average while senior Zach Dygert is second with 31 RBI.
In the bullpen, right-handers Seth Hobbs and Heath Riley lead the team with 13 appearances ... Hobbs has a 4.61 ERA in 13.2 innings while Riley owns a 5.11 ERA in 12.1 innings ... Left-handers Derek Grabner and Jon Cisna each have tallied 10 appearances while closer Aaron Hammons has a 4.05 ERA in 6.2 innings.
Scouting The Boilermakers . . .
Purdue enters the week with a 15-14 overall record and a 2-4 mark in Big Ten play after dropping two out of three at Michigan ... The Boilermakers have scored 220 runs (7.6 runs/game) this season while batting .324 ... On the mound, Purdue owns a 4.98 ERA and is holding opponents to a .285 batting average ... The Boilermakers have struck out 224 batters while walking 107.
Barret Arthur leads the team in batting with a .356 batting average in 73 at-bats ... Kevin Plawecki is second on the team with a .349 batting average ... Plawecki leads the team in hits (37) and RBI (30) ... Fourteen different Boilermakers have notched home runs this season with Arthur leading the way with five long balls.
In the bullpen, Calvin Gunter leads the team with 12 appearances and has a 4.15 ERA in 17.1 innings ... Gunter is one of five different Boilermakers to have a save on the year and he leads the team with three ... Joe Hasse is second on the team in appearances with 10 and has a 3.86 ERA in 14.0 innings of work.
Scouting The Warriors . . .
Indiana Tech enters the week with a 17-18 overall record after taking three out of four against Aquinas College ... The Warriors have scored 215 runs (6.1 runs/game) this season and are batting .314 ... On the mound, Indiana Tech has a 5.69 ERA and is holding opponents to a .314 batting average against ... The Warriors have struck out 161 players while walking 106.
Offensively, Scott Tabrett leads the team with a .386 batting average and is tied for second with five home runs ... Taylor Hoisington is second with a .371 batting average and leads the team with 39 RBI and 32 runs scored ... Justin Medeiros leads the team with eight home runs and 44 hits on the year.
In the bullpen, Zach Brown leads the team with nine appearances and has a 4.81 ERA in 24.1 innings of work ... John Toshlog has appeared in eight games and has a 1.67 ERA in 27.0 innings ... Corey Schwartz leads the team with two saves and has a 5.73 ERA in 22.0 innings.
Last Weekend . . .
Ball State claimed its third straight Mid-American Conference series victory last weekend by taking two out of three from Bowling Green ... The Cardinals won Friday 12-6 and Saturday 32-10 before dropping the series finale 9-3 ... Ball State's 32-10 victory Saturday set single game records or runs (32), hits (29), RBI (29) and at-bats (58), while also scoring the most runs against Bowling Green in Falcons' history.
The Cardinals were led offensively by senior catcher Zach Dygert who posted a .636 batting average (7-of-11) in the three games with five RBI ... Freshman Stephen Claypool finished 8-of-14 (.571) in the series with six RBI while sophomore Ian Nielsen drove in 11 runs in the three-game series ... Nielsen recorded two home runs, including a grand slam, while scoring four runs in the Saturday victory ... His eight RBI are the most for a Cardinal since Brad Miller drove in eight runs against Valparaiso April 4, 2006.
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 31 RBI and five home runs during the first 30 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.
Vitek Earns National Honor . . .
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
Tough Schedule . . .
The Cardinals have played one of the toughest schedules prior to Mid-American Conference play, according to Boydsworld.com in its Iterative Strength Ratings (ISR) ... Ball State had 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 non-conference strength of schedules for MAC teams prior to league play:
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
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 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 ... He has won four weekly honors in 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 returns to Mid-American Conference play this weekend as it hosts Buffalo in a three-game series ... The series is just the Cardinals' second home weekend of the season.
