Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Eastern Michigan In Three-Game Series This Weekend
April 29, 2010 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State returns to Mid-American Conference play this weekend as it hosts MAC West rival Eastern Michigan in a pivotal three-game series at Ball Diamond ... Game time Friday is set for 3 p.m. while Saturday and Sunday's games will begin at 1 p.m. ... The Cardinals own a 20-21 overall record and an 11-4 mark in MAC play as they sit atop the MAC West Division standings, tied with Central Michigan ... Ball State owns a one-game lead over Eastern Michigan who is tied for third place with Toledo with a 10-5 league record ... The Cardinals have won three straight games heading into the weekend and are the only team in the MAC this season to have won all five conference weekend series ... The Cardinals have won series against Ohio, Miami, Bowling Green, Buffalo and most recently Central Michigan ... BSU is led by eighth-year head coach Greg Beals ... Eastern Michigan enters the weekend with 21-21 overall record and a 10-5 mark in league play ... The Eagles dropped back-to-back midweek games against Michigan State prior to this weekend ... Eastern Michigan has won MAC weekend series against Buffalo, Bowling Green, Akron and most recently Western Michigan while the Eagles dropped a home series against Kent State ... EMU is led by second-year head coach Jay Alexander.
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 nine of their 41 games at Ball Diamond this season but own an 8-1 record in the friendly confines this year ... Ball State is in the midst of playing four straight at home after defeating Huntington 18-1 Wednesday ... The Cardinals have out-scored their opponents 103-47 at home and are batting .356 (117-of-329) at Ball Diamond ... On the mound, BSU has a 4.34 ERA at home while the opposing team has a 11.28 ERA.
Sophomore Ian Nielsen leads the team at home with a .429 batting average (15-of-35) and has driven in 15 runs ... Junior T.J. Baumet is second on the team at Ball Diamond with a .417 batting average (15-of-36) and has scored 15 runs ... Senior Zach Dygert has a .407 batting average (11-of-27) and a .564 on-base percentage ... Dygert has driven in 17 runs and has a 1.000 slugging percentage with four home runs.
Series History . . .
Ball State and Eastern Michigan have met 130 times prior to this weekend with the Cardinals trailing the all-time series by a 69-60-1 margin ... The Cardinals own a 33-29-1 record all-time against EMU in Muncie ... Eastern Michigan has won eight of the last 11 meetings against the Cardinals, including three out of four last year ... In Ypsilanti, the Cardinals dropped two out of three in the series before falling to the Eagles 19-16 in the opening round of the MAC Tournament ... All three regular season games were one-run contests, including two extra inning games.
In the four games last year, Kolbrin Vitek led the Cardinals with eight RBI and two home runs ... T.J. Baumet added two home runs and six RBI while Ian Nielsen drove in six runs in the four games ... Eastern Michigan was led by Matt Skirving who drove in 11 runs and tallied two home runs ... Zack Leonard added three home runs and seven RBI while right-hander Corey Chaffins struck out 14 batters in 7.2 innings in a Friday victory.
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.
Tough Schedule . . .
The Cardinals have played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation, according the NCAA ... Ball State has the third toughest schedule in the nation in terms of opponent winning percentage ... The Cardinals' opponents own a .622 winning percentage to rank third out of 301 NCAA Division I teams (as of April 25).
Below is the top 10 list of non-conference strength of schedules in the nation:
1. Cal St. Fullerton 13-11 .632
2. San Diego 13-15 .625
3. Ball State 7-17 .622
4. Miami (FL) 14-5 .613
5. Florida 16-5 .605
6. Rice 14-12 .604
7. Mississippi St. 15-6 .601
8. Fla. Atlantic 10-8 .597
9. New Mexico 17-10 .595
10. Citadel 12-12 .593
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will stick with its same rotation for the sixth straight weekend as it will send right-handers Perci Garner Friday, Cal Bowling Saturday and Kolbrin Vitek Sunday to the hill ... Eastern Michigan will counter with right-hander Corey Chaffins Friday, left-hander Collin Taylor Saturday and right-hander Kendall Lewis Sunday.
Garner will be making his 12th appearance and sixth straight start ... He owns a 5-1 record with a 3.66 ERA in 46.2 innings of work as he has struck out 55 batters while walking 25 ... He was charged with his first loss of the season last weekend as he allowed three runs in 5.2 innings of work while walking a season-high four batters ... The loss was his first in MAC play after opening league action with four straight victories.
Bowling will be making his 12th appearance and 11th start of the season Saturday ... He has a 3-3 record with a 5.89 ERA in 47.1 innings of work as he has won back-to-back starts ... He has struck out 31 batters while walking 18 ... He picked up the series-clinching victory at CMU last weekend as he tossed 6.0 strong innings and allowed two runs on six hits without walking a batter.
Vitek will be making his 11th start of the season as he has a 2-3 record with a 3.51 ERA in a team-high 48.2 innings ... He has struck out 37 batters while walking 13 ... He earned the victory at Central Michigan last weekend as he turned in 6.0 shutout innings ... He limited the Chippewas to just seven hits and struck out three batters.
Chaffins will be making his 11th start of the season and has a 3-4 record with a 5.72 ERA ... He has tossed a team-high 72.1 innings this season and has posted a MAC-high four complete games ... He has struck out 69 batters while walking 19 ... Last weekend, he tossed a complete game in the loss against Western Michigan as he allowed five runs on eight hits while striking out 10.
Taylor will be making his 12th appearance and ninth start of the year ... He has a 2-4 record with a 6.14 ERA in 36.2 innings ... He has struck out 30 batters while walking 29 ... Last weekend, he got a no decision against WMU as he lasted 4.1 innings and allowed one run on three hits.
Lewis will be making his 10th start of the year and has a 5-2 record with a 4.32 ERA in 50.0 innings ... He has struck out 39 batters while walking 17 ... Last time out he worked an 11-inning complete game shutout against WMU as he allowed three hits and struck out 10.
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 . . .
The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 20-21 overall record and an 11-4 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... Ball State has won three straight games and five straight weekend series heading into the series with EMU ... The Cardinals have scored 301 runs (7.3 runs/game) this season and are batting .299 as a team ... On the mound, BSU owns a 5.07 ERA and is holding opponents to a .295 batting average ... The Cardinals have struck out 250 batters while walking 154.
Junior Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with a .394 batting average ... Vitek leads the team in hits (63), runs (53), RBI (50), home runs (11), slugging percentage (.719) and on-base percentage (.476) ... Freshman Blake Beemer is second on the team with a .359 batting average while junior T.J. Baumet is third at .359 ... Senior Zach Dygert leads the team with 14 doubles and is second with 44 RBI.
In the bullpen, right-hander Heath Riley leads the team with 18 appearances ... Riley has a 4.15 ERA in 17.1 innings ... Right-hander Seth Hobbs has appeared in 17 games and has a 5.31 ERA in 20.1 innings ... Left-hander Derek Grabner has appeared in 15 games and has a 4.94 ERA in 31.0 innings ... Closer Aaron Hammons leads the team with five saves and has a 2.63 ERA in 13.2 innings of action.
Scouting The Eagles . . .
Eastern Michigan enters the weekend with a 21-21 overall record and a 10-5 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Eagles dropped a pair of midweek contests to Michigan State ... EMU has scored 255 runs (6.1 runs/game) this season and is batting .278 as a team ... On the mound, the Eagles have a 5.43 ERA and opponents are batting .280 against ... Eastern Michigan has struck out 285 batters while walking 176.
Ben Magsig leads the team with a .328 batting average and 35 walks ... Zack Leonard leads the team with 37 RBI and 48 hits ... Leonard is one of three Eagles with five home runs on the year, while Matt Skirving leads the team with six long balls.
In the bullpen, Taylor Dimmerling leads the team with 14 appearances and has an 8.56 ERA in 13.2 innings ... Joe Battistelli has appeared in 13 games and has a 3.94 ERA in 29.2 innings ... Battistelli is second on the team with three saves ... Brett Cisper leads the team with four saves and has a 6.97 ERA in 10.1 innings ... Tim Combs has three saves and owns a 5.60 ERA in 17.2 innings ... Steven Young leads the Eagles with a 2.84 ERA in 10 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 doubleheader sweep ... Junior Kolbrin Vitek led the offense with three RBI while junior T.J. Baumet scored four runs.
Around The MAC This Weekend . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with an 11-4 mark in MAC play and are tied atop the MAC West standings with Central Michigan ... Eastern Michigan and Toledo sit a game behind in the standings at 10-5 ... Five other MAC series take place this weekend including Central Michigan at Northern Illinois, Toledo at Western Michigan, Ohio at Kent State, Miami at Bowling Green and Buffalo at Akron.
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 41 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
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 will be off during the midweek for final exams ... The Cardinals return to action next weekend with a three-game Mid-American Conference series at Western Michigan.
