Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Travels To Central Michigan For Pivotal Weekend Series
April 22, 2010 | Baseball
LIVE VIDEO (Via Central Michigan for a fee)
LIVE AUDIO (Via Central Michigan)
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State returns to Mid-American Conference play this weekend with a pivotal three-game series at MAC West Division leading Central Michigan ... The Cardinals own a 9-3 record in MAC play and trail the Chippewas (10-2) by one game in the divisional standings ... The two teams will play Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at Theunissen Stadium ... Ball State and Central Michigan are two of four MAC West Division teams that have won at least eight of 12 games in the first four conference weekends.
The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 17-20 overall record and have won all four of their weekend series so far this year with wins over Ohio, Miami, Bowling Green and Buffalo ... Ball State is led by eighth-year head coach Greg Beals ... Central Michigan enters the weekend with a 21-13 overall record and has also won all four of its weekend series with victories over Miami, Ohio, Akron and Kent State ... The Chippewas are led by eighth-year head coach Steve Jaksa.
Garner Honored By MAC . . .
Redshirt sophomore right-hander Perci Garner has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week ... Garner continued his strong play in MAC action as he improved to 4-0 in league contests by leading the Cardinals to victory over Buffalo Friday (April 16) ... He tossed 6.0 innings of four-hit baseball and did not allow an earned run, while striking out nine batters ... He has struck out 49 batters this season and leads the MAC in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.8.
With the victory, Garner improved his MAC ERA to 1.57 in 23.0 innings ... He is the only starter in the MAC this season to win all four of his starts and he is limiting opponents to just a .217 batting average against ... On the season, he leads the team and is tied for the overall league lead in wins as he is 5-0 with a 3.51 ERA in 41.0 innings.
Series History . . .
Ball State and Central Michigan have met 126 times prior to this weekend's series, dating back to the first meeting April 2, 1960 ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by an 80-46 margin and have posted an 6-8 record against CMU over the past four seasons ... Ball State is just 18-38 all-time against CMU in Mount Pleasant, including 1-5 in the last two weekend series ... Last year, Central Michigan claimed a 9-6 victory in game one of the series before the two teams split a doubleheader Saturday ... The Cardinals dropped game one by a 12-8 margin before winning the second game of the double dip by a 12-4 margin.
In the series, Ball State was led by Kolbrin Vitek who posted a .694 (9-of-14) average in the three games ... Vitek tallied four doubles, scored seven runs and drove in six ... Ian Nielsen drove in eight runs in the series while Zach Dygert posted six hits ... Central Michigan was led by Tyler Kipke who posted a .583 (7-of-12) average in the series with six runs scored and five RBI ... Nate Theunissen added seven hits for the Chippewas.
Quick Start In The MAC . . .
Ball State has won all four of its Mid-American Conference weekend series so far this season with series victories at Ohio, vs. Miami, at Bowling Green and vs. Buffalo ... The Cardinals' 9-3 MAC record is second best in the league and trails Central Michigan by just one game in the league standings.
Ball State's 9-3 start to league play marks its best start to a MAC season since the 2005 season when the Cardinals posted a 10-2 record after four series ... That season, BSU won all eight weekend series in league play and finished 17-5 on the year.
On The Offensive In MAC Play . . .
Through the first 12 games of Mid-American Conference play, the Cardinals lead the league with a .338 batting average and 121 runs scored ... Ball State also leads the league with 24 home runs, 49 walks and 152 hits ... Senior Zach Dygert is second in league play with a .452 batting average (19-of-52) and leads the league with 24 RBI ... The Cardinals have the top three in runs scored with Kolrbin Vitek (20), Dygert (15) and Stephen Claypool (14) ... Vitek and sophomore Cody Elliott are tied for the league lead with four home runs in MAC play.
Baumet Heating Up . . .
Junior shortstop T.J. Baumet missed the final two games of the Bowling Green series with an injury after being hit by a pitch in the series opener ... Since his return to the lineup, Baumet owns a .581 (18-of-31) batting average in the seven games ... He has scored 16 runs and driven in seven ... He has a .629 on-base percentage from the leadoff spot and is 5-for-5 in stolen bases.
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will send its same rotation to the hill for the fifth straight weekend with three right-handers in Perci Garner Friday, Cal Bowling Saturday and Kolbrin Vitek Sunday ... Central Michigan will also being using its same rotation with right-hander Jesse Hernandez Friday, left-hander Dick Dodridge Saturday and right-hander Jake Sabol Sunday.
Garner will be making his 11th appearance and fifth start of the season Friday ... He has a 5-0 record with a 3.51 ERA in 41.0 innings of work ... He has struck out 49 batters this season while walking 21 ... In MAC play, he owns a 1.57 ERA in 23.0 innings as he has a 4-0 record.
Bowling will be making his 11th appearance and 10th start of the season ... He has a 2-3 record with a 6.31 ERA in 41.1 innings of work as he has struck out 29 batters while walking 18 ... In league play, he has a 2-0 record with a 6.00 ERA in 21.0 innings as he has struck out 16 and walked just four.
Vitek will be making his 10th start of the season as he has a 1-3 record with a 4.01 ERA in 42.2 innings of work ... He has struck out 34 batters while walking 12 ... In league play, he has a 1-1 record with a 3.38 ERA in 21.1 innings of work.
Hernandez will be making his ninth start of the season as he has a 5-1 record with a 4.26 ERA in 50.2 innings ... He has struck out 43 batters while walking 19 ... In MAC play, he has a 3-0 record with a 2.96 ERA in 27.1 innings of work.
Dodridge will be making his eighth start of the year ... He has a 3-2 record with a 4.82 ERA in 37.1 innings of work as he has struck out 21 batters while walking nine ... In league action, he has a 1-1 record with a 7.32 ERA in 19.2 innings of work.
Sabol will be making his eighth start of the year as he has a 4-3 record with a 5.09 ERA in 46.0 innings ... He has struck out 25 batters while walking nine ... In MAC play, he has a 1-1 record with a 5.96 ERA in 22.2 innings of work.
Left-Hander On A Roll . . .
Junior left-hander Derek Grabner has appeared in 13 games this season and has a 5.13 ERA in 26.1 innings ... Grabner has been one of the best relievers in the Mid-American Conference this season in league play as he has allowed just one earned run in eight appearances ... He has a 0.59 ERA in 15.1 innings of work and owns a 2-0 record in league play ... His 0.59 ERA leads the MAC and his .148 opponent batting average in second ... Last weekend, he tossed 4.1-shutout innings against Buffalo (April 17) and limited the Bulls to just one hit while striking out four.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 17-20 overall record and a 9-3 mark in Mid-American Conference action ... The Cardinals have won four out of their last six, including a series victory over Buffalo ... Ball State has scored 272 runs this season (7.3 runs/game) and is batting .302 as a team ... On the mound, the Cardinals own a 5.40 ERA and are holding opponents to a .298 batting average ... BSU has tallied 230 strike outs while walking 146.
Junior second baseman Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with a .397 batting average ... Vitek also leads the team in hits (58), runs (48), RBI (44), doubles (13), home runs (10), slugging percentage (.733) and on-base percentage (.483) ... Freshman Blake Beemer is second on the team with a .360 batting average while classmate Stephen Claypool is third at .345 ... Junior T.J. Baumet is fourth with a .344 batting average ... Senior Zach Dygert is second on the team with 43 RBI and tied for second in home runs with seven.
In the bullpen, right-hander Heath Riley leads the team with 17 appearances and has a 4.70 ERA in 15.1 innings ... Right-hander Seth Hobbs has appeared in 16 games and owns a 5.59 ERA in 19.1 innings ... Left-handers Derek Grabner and Jon Cisna have both appeared in 13 games this season ... Grabner has a 5.13 ERA in 26.1 innings while Cisna has a 4.50 ERA in 20.0 innings ... Closer Aaron Hammons has three saves and a 3.00 ERA in 12.0 innings of work.
Scouting The Chippewas . . .
Central Michigan enters the weekend with a 21-13 overall record and a 10-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Chippewas have seven of their last nine games ... CMU has scored 223 runs in 34 games (6.6 runs/game) and are batting .296 as a team ... On the mound, the Chippewas own a 4.52 ERA and opponents are batting .297 ... Central Michigan has struck out 231 batters while walking 104.
Nate Theunissen is second on the team with a .365 batting average ... Theunissen leads the team in hits (46), doubles (15), home runs (4), RBI (28), slugging percentage (.579) and on-base percentage (.430) ... James Teas leads the team with a .369 batting average in 28 games ... Dale Cornstubble is second on the team with 27 RBI while Billy Anderson leads the team with 13 stolen bases.
In the bullpen, Mike Nixon leads the team with 17 appearances and has a 2.95 ERA in 21.1 innings of work ... Zach Cooper has appeared in 13 games and has a 2.00 ERA in 18.0 innings ... Dietrich Enns has a 1.38 ERA in 12 appearances as he has worked 32.2 innings ... Trent Howard leads the team with five saves and has a 4.01 ERA in 33.2 innings.
Last Weekend . . .
Ball State is coming off of a weekend series victory over Mid-American Conference foe Buffalo ... The Cardinals won Friday 11-5 and Saturday 6-5 before falling in the series finale 11-7 in 11 innings ... Junior T.J. Baumet led the Cardinals with six hits in the series while senior Zach Dygert posted five hits and drove in nine runs in the three games ... Dygert tallied two doubles and had a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday.
Home Sweet Home . . .
Ball State opened the 2010 season with 23 straight games away from home ... The Cardinals have only played seven of their 35 games at Ball Diamond this season but own a 7-1 record in the friendly confines this year ... The Cardinals have out-scored their opponents 85-46 at home and are batting .351 (101-of-288) at Ball Diamond ... On the mound, BSU has a 4.74 ERA at home while the opposing team has a 10.34 ERA.
Senior Zach Dygert is batting .423 (11-of-26) at home this season and has driven in 17 runs in eight games ... Dygert is slugging 1.038 at home with four home runs ... Sophomore Ian Nielsen has a .394 batting average and 13 RBI at home while junior Kolbrin Vitek has also driven in 13 runs.
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 43 RBI and seven home runs during the first 37 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 hosts Huntington Wednesday at Ball Diamond ... The game will be Military Appreciation Day as the Cardinals will honor those who serve and who have served for our country ... The Cardinals return to Mid-American Conference play next weekend as they host Eastern Michigan in a three-game series.
