Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Huntington On Military Appreciation Day Today
April 28, 2010 | Baseball
PROMOTION - Military Appreciation Day
Festivities include:
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State steps out of Mid-American Conference play Wednesday afternoon as it hosts Huntington in non-conference play at Ball Diamond at 3 p.m. ... Wednesday's game will be Military Appreciation Day as the Cardinals will be honoring current military members and military veterans throughout the day ... As part of the event the following will take place - BSU ROTC and Muncie National Guard on hand with interactive exhibits, a veteran of World War II throwing out the ceremonial first pitch, Ball State ROTC presenting the colors, ROTC cadet singing the national anthem, Ball State baseball wearing special hats and a pregame flyover from the U.S. military.
Ball State enters the contest with a 19-21 overall record and an 11-4 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals are coming off of a pivotal MAC series victory over Central Michigan as they swept a Saturday doubleheader to move back into first place in the MAC West Division ... Ball State is led by eighth-year head coach Greg Beals ... Huntington enters the contest with a 19-19 overall record ... The Foresters own a 10-11 record this season on the road ... Huntington is led by 26th-year head coach Mike Frame.
Baumet Honored By MAC . . .
Junior shortstop T.J. Baumet has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week after leading the Cardinals to their fifth straight weekend series victory ... Baumet helped the Cardinals win a pivotal MAC weekend series at Central Michigan to move into a first place tie in the MAC West Division. He posted a .454 (10-of-22) batting average in the Cardinals' five games on the week as Ball State claimed its fifth straight MAC weekend series victory.
Baumet scored 10 runs and drove in four runs from his leadoff position. He posted a .500 on-base percentage while also going 3-of-3 in stolen bases. Since missing two games after being hit by a pitch, he is batting .500 (22-of-44) over the past 10 games.
Home Sweet Home . . .
Ball State opened the 2010 season with 23 straight games away from home ... The Cardinals have only played eight of their 40 games at Ball Diamond this season but own a 7-1 record in the friendly confines this year ... Ball State will play its next four games at home, beginning with Wednesday's game against Huntington ... 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.
Series History . . .
Wednesday's game marks the 35th meeting all-time between Ball State and Huntington ... The two teams first played during the 1922 season with the Cardinals sweeping a home-and-home series by 18-1 and 11-3 scores ... Ball State leads the all-time series by a 24-9-1 margin, including wins in 10 of the last 12 meetings ... Huntington won the last meeting between the teams March 26, 1994 as it won the second game of a doubleheader in Muncie 9-5 while the Cardinals won the first game 11-3 ... The Cardinals are 14-6 all-time against the Foresters in Muncie.
Quick Start In The MAC . . .
Ball State has won all five of its Mid-American Conference weekend series so far this season with series victories at Ohio, vs. Miami, at Bowling Green, vs. Buffalo and at Central Michigan ... The Cardinals' 11-4 MAC record is tied for the top mark in the MAC this season with Central Michigan and Ball State is the only team in the MAC to win all five of its weekend series so far this year.
Ball State's 11-4 start to league play marks its best start to a MAC season since the 2005 season when the Cardinals posted a 11-2 record after five series ... That season, BSU won all eight weekend series in league play and finished 17-5 on the year.
This Week's Starters . . .
Ball State will send senior right-hander Brad Piatt to the hill Wednesday while Huntington will counter with right-hander Xyan Adkisson.
Piatt will be making his 11th appearance and eighth start of the season ... He owns a 1-3 record with an 8.04 ERA in 28.0 innings of work ... He has struck out 19 batters while walking 14 ... He earned the victory last Tuesday against Indiana State as he worked 5.0 innings of one-run baseball while allowing eight hits and not walking a batter.
Adkisson will be making his 13th appearance and seventh start of the year ... He has a 1-3 record with a 6.75 ERA in 36.0 innings of work ... He has struck out 24 batters while walking 16 and opponents are batting .307 against him.
Left-Hander On A Roll . . .
Junior left-hander Derek Grabner has appeared in 15 games this season and has a 4.94 ERA in 31.0 innings ... Grabner has been one of the best relievers in the Mid-American Conference this season in league play as he has allowed just three earned runs in a league-high 10 appearances ... He has a 1.35 ERA in 20.0 innings of work and owns a 2-0 record in league play ... His 1.5 ERA is third in MAC and his .189 opponent batting average in second.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Wednesday's game with a 19-21 overall record and an 11-4 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals are coming off of a series victory at Central Michigan in which they lost Friday's game but swept a doubleheader Saturday ... The Cardinals have scored 283 runs this season (7.1 runs/game) and are batting .297 as a team ... On the mound, BSU owns a 5.18 ERA and opponents are batting .297 against ... The Cardinals have struck out 244 batters while walking 152.
Junior Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with a .392 batting average ... Vitek also leads the team in hits (62), runs (51), RBI (47), home runs (10), slugging percentage (.703) and on-base percentage (.476) ... Freshman Blake Beemer is second on the team with a .348 batting average while junior T.J. Baumet is third at .341 ... Baumet also leads the team with 16 stolen bases in 18 attempts ... Senior Zach Dygert is second on the team with 44 RBI and leads the team with 14 doubles.
In the bullpen, right-hander Heath Riley leads the team with 18 appearances and has a 4.15 ERA in 17.2 innings ... Right-hander Seth Hobbs has appeared in 16 games and has a 5.59 ERA in 19.1 innings ... Left-hander Derek Grabner has appeared in 15 games with a 4.94 ERA while left-hander Jon Cisna has appeared in 13 games with a 4.50 ERA ... Closer Aaron Hammons has five saves and a 2.63 ERA in 13.2 innings.
Scouting The Foresters . . .
Huntington enters Wednesday's game with a 19-19 overall record and a 10-10 conference mark ... The Foresters have scored 226 runs this season (5.9 runs/game) and are batting .345 as a team ... Huntington has a 6.30 team ERA and opponents are batting .312 ... The Foresters have struck out 169 batters while walking 131.
Andrew Drummond leads Huntington with a .447 batting average ... Drummond leads the team in hits (63), RBI (40), doubles (14), home runs (5) and slugging percentage (.681) ... Eric Schultz is second on the team with a .419 batting average and leads the team with 45 runs scored ... Ryan Shell is second on the team with 29 RBI.
In the bullpen, Brian Kirschbaum leads the team with 15 appearances and has a 6.12 ERA in 25.0 innings of work ... Kirschbaum also leads the team with two saves ... Ty Mills has also appeared in 15 games and has a 7.91 ERA in 38.2 innings of work with one save ... Tyler Palmer has an 11.74 ERA in 11 appearances while Anthony Roth owns a 3.86 ERA in nine appearances.
Last Weekend . . .
Ball State went on the road last weekend and claimed two out of three against Central Michigan ... The Cardinals dropped hard fought 3-2 contest Friday night before sweeping a Saturday doubleheader by 3-2 and 5-2 scores ... Six Ball State pitchers combined to limited CMU to just seven earned runs as they posted a 2.42 ERA on the weekend ... The Cardinals' defense was strong on the weekend as it turned five double plays, including four in the doubeheader sweep ... Junior Kolbrin Vitek led the offense with three RBI while junior T.J. Baumet scored four 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 44 RBI and seven home runs during the first 40 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 the Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week (April 19) ... 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 (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.
Garner was also 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 continues its four-game home stand this weekend as it hosts Eastern Michigan in a pivotal three-game series ... The Cardinals hold a one-game lead over the Eagles heading into the weekend.
