Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Buffalo For Three-Game Series This Weekend
April 16, 2010 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State continues its season-high five game home stand this weekend as the Cardinals host Mid-American Conference East Division foe Buffalo in a three-game series at Ball Diamond ... The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 14-18 overall record and a 7-2 mark in MAC play as they have won all three conference series so far this season ... Ball State is coming off of a 15-2 victory Wednesday afternoon over Indiana Tech ... The Cardinals are led by eighth-year head coach Greg Beals ... Buffalo enters the weekend with a 15-15 overall record and a 3-6 mark in MAC play ... The Bulls have won a series at Northern Illinois while losing two out of three against Eastern Michigan and were swept last weekend at home by Toledo ... Buffalo is coming off a 21-4 victory over Niagara Wednesday ... The Bulls are led by fourth-year head coach Ron Torgalski.
Series History . . .
Ball State and Buffalo have met five times prior to this weekend's three-game series and the Cardinals own a 5-0 record all-time against the Bulls ... Ball State swept a three-game series in Muncie during the 2008 season with victories of 3-1, 16-1 and 9-3 ... Last year, the Cardinals swept a rain-shortened series on the road with 15-9 and 3-2 victories ... In the first game, Buffalo jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first inning only to see the Cardinals out-score the Bulls 14-3 the rest of the game, including seven runs in the second inning ... In game two, first baseman Ian Nielsen drove in two runs in the sixth inning to put the Cardinals in front 3-0 ... Nielsen finished the two games going 6-of-9 and drove in five runs while Ryan Chenoweth also tallied five RBI in the two games ... Right-hander Cal Bowling posted a victory in relief in game one as he tossed 4.2 innings of shutout baseball and limited the Bulls to just three hits ... Right-hander Kolbrin Vitek also turned in a strong performance on the hill as he tossed 4.0 innings of three-hit baseball in game two while striking out four batters.
Nielsen's Breakout Week . . .
Sophomore first baseman Ian Nielsen has been on an offensive tear over the last four games as he owns a .526 (10-of-19) batting average during the stretch ... Nielsen has tallied five home runs and driven in 16 during the past four games ... Saturday at Bowling Green, he drove in a career-high eight runs and hit two home runs, including a grand slam ... Wednesday, he notched three home runs and drove in seven runs against Indiana Tech ... He became the first Cardinal since T.J. Baumet (vs. Western Michigan - 4/25/09) to hit three long balls in a single game.
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 .417 batting average and is 12th in the league with a 4.30 ERA ... The two-way standout ranks third in hits (53), first in runs (41), third in home runs (9), seventh in doubles (12), second in RBI (39), first in total bases (94), ninth in stolen bases (9), second in on-base percentage (.500) and second in slugging percentage (.740) ... On the mound, he leads the MAC in batting average against at .231.
On The Offensive In MAC Play . . .
Through the first nine games of Mid-American Conference play, the Cardinals lead the league with a .341 batting average and 97 runs scored ... Ball State also leads the team with 18 home runs, 41 walks and 115 hits ... The Cardinals have three players ranked in the top five in league batting in conference games with junior Kolbrin Vitek pacing the league with a .500 batting average (16-of-32) ... Freshman Stephen Claypool is third in the league with a .485 batting average (16-of-33) and senior Zach Dygert is fifth with a .467 average (14-of-30) ... In fact, the Cardinals have the top three on-base percentages in MAC play with Vitek (.628), Dygert (.610) and Claypool (.564).
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will use the same weekend rotation for the fourth straight weekend as it will send three right-handers to the mound ... Perci Garner will get the call Friday, Cal Bowling the nod Saturday and Kolbrin Vitek takes the hill Sunday ... Buffalo will counter with left-hander Chaz Mye Friday, right-hander Pierre Miville-Deschennes Saturday and left-hander Josh Edwards Sunday.
Garner will be making his 10th appearance and fourth straight start Friday ... He owns a 4-0 record with a 4.11 ERA on the year as he has worked 35.0 innings ... He has struck out a team-high 40 batters while walking 18 ... In league play, he owns a 2.12 ERA in 17.0 innings of work and opponents are batting just .233 against.
Bowling will be making his ninth start of the season as he has a 2-3 overall record and a 5.26 ERA in 37.2 innings ... He has won back-to-back starts with wins over Miami and most recently Bowling Green ... Against Miami, he tossed a career-high 7.0 innings and allowed three runs ... He followed that up with a 6.0-inning performance at BGSU and allowed four runs while striking out five batters.
Vitek will also be making his ninth start of the year ... He has a 1-3 overall record with a 4.30 ERA in 37.2 innings as he has struck out 27 batters while walking 11 ... He leads the MAC in batting average against as he is limiting opponents to a .231 average ... In two appearances against Buffalo in his career, he has worked 11.0 innings and has only allowed three runs while striking out 10 batters.
Mye will be making his eighth start of the season for the Bulls and has a 3-3 record with a 4.57 ERA in 43.1 innings ... He has struck out 31 batters while walking 14 ... Last weekend, he went 7.1 innings against Toledo and allowed six runs while striking out eight batters.
Miville-Deschenes will also be making his eighth start of the year ... He has a 3-4 overall record and a 9.17 ERA in 35.1 innings ... He has tallied 31 strikeouts while walking a team-high 26 batters ... Last weekend, he allowed 12 runs in just 4.0 innings of work ... Last year, he went 6.0 innings against Ball State and allowed three runs on eight hits.
Edwards will be making his ninth appearance and seventh start ... He has an 0-3 record with a 9.68 ERA in 30.2 innings ... He allowed nine runs on seven hits in just 1.2 innings last weekend against Toledo.
Did You Know? . . .
Redshirt sophomore Perci Garner owns a 3-0 record in Mid-American Conference play this season and has been the Cardinals' starter in all three MAC series openers ... Garner is one of just two Friday starters in league play to have a 3-0 record as he is joined by Kent State's David Starn as winners of all three league Friday victories.
Left-Hander On A Roll . . .
Junior left-hander Derek Grabner has appeared in 10 games this season and has a 6.16 ERA in 19.0 innings ... Grabner has been one of the best relievers in the Mid-American Conference this season in league play as he has not allowed an earned run in six appearances, stretching over 10.0 innings ... He is one of two players in MAC play this season that has not allowed a run ... Central Michigan's Trent Howard has gone four appearances and 9.1 innings without allowing an earned run in league play.
Triple Take . . .
Freshman Blake Beemer entered Wednesday's game without a triple in his first 31 career games and finished the Cardinals' 15-2 victory over Indiana Tech with a team-high two triples ... Beemer becomes the first Cardinal to notch two triples in a game this season and the first since former Cardinal Jeremy Hazelbaker accomplished the feat last season against Toledo (5/15/09).
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 14-18 overall record and a 7-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals own a 4-0 record this season at home at Ball Diamond as they swept a three-game series against Miami and won Wednesday against Indiana Tech 15-2 ... Ball State has scored 231 runs (7.2 runs/game) and are batting .299 on the year ... On the mound, the Cardinals own a 5.32 team ERA and are limiting opponents to a .290 batting average.
Junior Kolbrin Vitek leads the team offensively as he has a .417 batting average ... Vitek also leads the team in hits (53), runs (41), RBI (39), doubles (12), home runs (9), slugging percentage (.740) and on-base percentage (.500) ... Freshman Stephen Claypool is second on the team with a .360 batting average while classmate Blake Beemer owns a .342 batting average, good for third on the team ... Sophomore Ian Nielsen is second on the team with seven home runs and 34 RBI while senior Zach Dygert is third in both categories at six and 33, respectively.
In the bullpen, right-handers Seth Hobbs and Heath Riley lead the team with 14 appearances each ... Hobbs has a 4.60 ERA in 15.2 innings while Riley owns a 4.72 ERA in 13.1 innings of work ... Left-hander Jon Cisna has a 3.86 ERA in 18.2 innings ... Closer Aaron Hammons has tallied two saves and has a 3.12 ERA in 8.2 innings.
Scouting The Bulls . . .
Buffalo enters the weekend with a 15-15 overall record and a 3-6 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Bulls were swept last weekend at home against Toledo ... Buffalo had three midweek games as it split a doubleheader with St. Bonaventure before defeating Niagara ... The Bulls have scored 219 runs (7.3 runs/game) and are batting .298 on the year ... On the mound, Buffalo owns a 7.09 ERA and is holding opponents to a .308 batting average.
Offensively, Brad Agustin leads the team with a .355 batting average and has a team-high 39 hits ... Brad Cochrane leads the team with 15 doubles and has driven in 26 runs ... Jacob Rosenbeck and Rob Lawler have also tallied 26 RBI this season.
In the bullpen, Brian Pullyblank leads the team with 12 appearances and has a 6.03 ERA in 31.1 innings of work ... Jeffrey Hains has appeared in 10 games and has a 3.45 ERA in 28.2 innings ... Closer Kevin Crumb leads the team with three saves and has a 7.15 ERA in 22.2 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 third on the team with 33 RBI and six home runs during the first 32 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 . . .
The Cardinals wrap up their season-high five-game home stand Tuesday afternoon as they host Indiana State at 3 p.m. at Ball Diamond.
