Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Travels To Indiana Tuesday Afternoon
April 05, 2010 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State steps out of Mid-American Conference play Tuesday as it travels to Bloomington, Ind., to take on Big Ten foe Indiana at 3 p.m. ... The Cardinals have won four straight games heading into Tuesday's contest and six out of their last eight games ... Ball State is coming off of a three-game MAC sweep of rival Miami in its first home games of the year ... The Cardinals are led by eighth-year head coach Greg Beals ... Indiana enters Tuesday's game with a 13-13 overall record, including a 4-3 mark at home at Sembower Field ... The Hoosiers opened Big Ten play last weekend by dropping two out of three to Michigan at home ... Indiana's lone win came Sunday afternoon with a 26-6 victory over the Wolverines ... The Hoosiers are led by fifth-year head coach Tracy Smith.
Series History . . .
Tuesday's game marks the 48th meeting all-time between Ball State and Indiana dating back to the teams' first meeting April 18, 1930 ... The Cardinals own a 25-22 advantage in the all-time series and have won five straight against the Hoosiers ... Ball State has won three straight and 10 out of its last 12 against Indiana in Bloomington, while owning an 11-9 mark all-time against Indiana on the road.
The two teams last met February 27, 2009 in the Austin Peay Tournament in Clarksville, Tenn. ... Ball State took home a 5-4 walk-off victory over the Hoosiers as former Cardinal Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give BSU the victory ... Ball State rallied from a 4-0 deficit after three innings and scored four runs after the seventh inning to claim the victory.
First baseman Ian Nielsen tallied a team-high three hits in the victory while Kolbrin Vitek drove in a pair of runs ... Catcher Zach Dygert also tallied a pair of hits ... Indiana was led by Alex Dickerson who tallied a pair of hits in the loss.
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State completed its three-game sweep of Mid-American Conference rival Miami with a 17-8 victory Sunday at Ball Diamond.
The Cardinals pounded out 14 hits and scored a season-high 17 runs in the victory as they took advantage of Miami's erratic behavior on the mound as the RedHawks tallied 10 walks, hit five batters and uncorked four wild pitches ... The 17 runs are the most runs scored by Ball State since the Cardinals tallied 20 runs at No. 23 Ohio State (4/22/09) and it is the most runs Miami has allowed since Ohio scored 19 runs against the RedHawks (5/9/09).
Freshman Stephen Claypool paced the attack with a game-high three hits as he drove in two runs and scored three runs ... Sophomore Cody Elliott also drove in two runs while junior Kolbrin Vitek reached base four times in the victory.
Did You Know? . . .
Head coach Greg Beals notched his 100th career Mid-American Conference victory March 27 with the Cardinals' 4-0 victory over Ohio ... Beals owns a 103-72 career record in league play.
Tuesday's Starters . . .
Ball State will send sophomore right-hander Cody Elliott to the hill Tuesday afternoon ... Indiana has not named a starter for Tuesday's game.
Elliott will be making his first career start and just his fifth career appearance ... He has an 0-1 record with a 2.35 ERA in 7.2 innings of work this season ... He has struck out seven batters while walking nine ... In his last appearance he tossed 2.0 shutout innings at Notre Dame as he limited the Irish to just two hits while striking out two.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Tuesday's contest with an 11-15 overall record and a 5-1 in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have won four straight and six out of their last eight contests ... Ball State has scored 158 runs in 26 contests this season and is batting .282 on the year ... On the mound, the Cardinals own a 5.13 ERA and is holding opponents to a .280 batting average ... BSU has struck out 163 batters this season while issuing 105 walks.
Junior second baseman Kolbrin Vitek leads the team offensively with a .413 batting average ... Vitek also leads the team in hits (43), runs (32), RBI (29), doubles (9), stolen bases (8) and home runs (6) ... Freshman Stephen Claypool is second on the team with a .325 batting average while freshman Blake Beemer is third on the team with a .309 batting average and has now started eight straight games ... Senior catcher Zach Dygert is second on the team with 26 RBI and five home runs.
In the bullpen, right-hander Seth Hobbs leads the team with 11 appearances ... Hobbs has a 2-0 record with a 3.86 ERA in 11.2 innings of work ... RIght-hander Heath Riley has appeared in 10 games and has a 6.10 ERA in 10.1 innings of work ... Closer Aaron Hammons has a 3.18 ERA in 5.2 innings of work and leads the team with two saves.
Scouting The Hoosiers . . .
Indiana enters Tuesday's game with a 13-13 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Big Ten play ... The Hoosiers dropped two out of three at home to Michigan over the weekend ... Indiana has scored 206 runs in 26 games this season while posting a .326 batting average ... On the mound, Indiana has a 6.44 ERA and opponents are batting .309 ... The Hoosiers have struck out 169 batters while walking 121.
Offensively, Jerrud Sabourin leads the team with a .462 batting average ... Sabourin leads the team with 55 hits and 30 runs ... Alex Dickerson is second on the team with a .446 batting average and is slugging .830 on the year ... He leads the team in RBI (37), home runs (11) and doubles (10) ... Micah Johnson is second on the team with seven home runs and is third on the team with 25 RBI.
In the bullpen, Chris Squires leads the team with 13 appearances and owns a 4.12 ERA in 19.2 innings ... Squires leads the team with four saves ... Casey Smith has appeared in 11 games and has a 9.95 ERA in 19.0 innings Mike McKinley has also appeared in 11 games and has a 10.29 ERA in 21.0 innings.
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 has 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 current strength of schedules for MAC teams:
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
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 26 RBI and five home runs during the first 26 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.
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 nationally ranked 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 ... This is the fourth MAC weekly honor of 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 with a three-game road series at Bowling Green.
