Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Travels To Ohio State Wednesday Evening
May 11, 2010 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State steps out of Mid-American Conference play Wednesday evening as it travels to Big Ten foe Ohio State for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch at Jim Davis Stadium ... The Cardinals enter the contest with a 24-23 overall record and sit alone atop of the MAC standings with a 15-6 record ... BSU has won all seven of its MAC weekend series, including taking two out of three at Western Michigan in a Sunday tripleheader ... The Cardinals are led by eighth-year head coach Greg Beals ... Ohio State enters Wednesday's game with a 25-19 overall record and a 9-9 mark in Big Ten play ... The Buckeyes dropped two out of three against Illinois last weekend and have dropped six out of their last eight games ... Ohio State is led by 23rd-year head coach Bob Todd.
Series History With Ohio State . . .
Wednesday's game marks the 17th meeting all-time between Ball State and Ohio State ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 12-4 margin but have won two out of the last three meetings, including a 20-8 victory over then 23rd ranked Ohio State in Columbus last season (April 22) ... The Cardinals rallied from an early five-run deficit before outscoring the Buckeyes 20-3 over the final four innings to notch their first victory over a nationally ranked team since the 2006 season when Ball State defeated No. 8 Kentucky in the NCAA Regional.
Ball State became the first team to score 20 runs against Ohio State since the 2002 season when New Mexico scored 22 runs against the Buckeyes ... The Cardinals' 12 extra-base hits were a season-high as they tallied eight doubles, three home runs and one triple ... Zach Dygert and Kolbrin Vitek paced the attack as the Cardinals' three and four-hole hitters combined for six hits and 12 RBI ... Dygert finished the night with two home runs and a double while Vitek tallied two doubles and a home run.
Grabner Named MAC West Pitcher Of The Week . . .
Junior left-hander Derek Grabner was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week Monday afternoon ... Grabner's honor marks the sixth time this season that Ball State has claimed a MAC weekly honor ... He helped the Cardinals win their league-best seventh MAC weekend series and move into sole possession of first place in the conference with a 15-6 ledger ... He was dominant in relief against Western Michigan as he tossed 4.0 shutout innings against the Broncos to earn his first career save ... He struck out seven of the 14 batters he faced secure the series victory as he limited WMU to just two hits in the second game of the series.
Grabner lowered his ERA in MAC play to just 2.03 in 31.0 innings of work ... His 2.03 ERA ranks second in the league in MAC contests and he has a 2-0 record with one save ... He has struck out 23 batters while issuing just six walks against league foes ... He leads all MAC pitchers with 13 appearances and is limiting opponents to just a .205 batting average against.
Vitek Named To Watch Lists . . .
Junior second baseman/right-handed pitcher Kolbrin Vitek has been named to the watch list for the 2010 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award by the College Baseball Foundation and the Golden Spikes Award Watch List ... The Olerud Award, which recognizes a player who makes an impact both on the mound and at the plate, will be presented in Lubbock, Texas, July 2 as part of the College Baseball Awards Show ... The Golden Spikes Award identifies the top amateur baseball player in the country ... Sponsored by Major League Baseball, the 33rd annual Golden Spikes Award will be presented Tuesday, July 13, at the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest in Anaheim, Calif.
Vitek leads the Cardinals with a .382 batting average while also owning a team-low 3.90 ERA as a weekend starter ... He also leads the team in hits (71), runs (63), RBI (58), home runs (15), slugging percentage (.731) and on-base percentage (.468) ... His 63 runs lead the MAC by eight over his closest competitor while he is second in the league with 15 home runs ...His 3.90 ERA ranks third in the MAC this season in a team-high 60.0 innings of work ... He has a 2-4 record and is coming off his first career save as he tossed 6.0 innings of strong relief against Western Michigan.
Nielsen Earns Academic Honor . . .
Sophomore first baseman Ian Nielsen has been named ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-District V by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) ... Nielsen becomes the first Cardinal to be honored in the district since Kyle Dygert received accolades in the 2005 season ... He will now appear on the national ballot and is eligible for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team, which will be announced May 25.
Nielsen, a Freshman All-America selection last year, owns a 3.83 grade-point average in health education ... He owns a .328 batting average and has played in all 47 games this season at first base ... He is fourth on the team with seven home runs and is second on the team with 45 RBI.
Quick Start In The MAC . . .
Ball State has won all six of its Mid-American Conference weekend series so far this season with series victories at Ohio, vs. Miami, at Bowling Green, vs. Buffalo, at Central Michigan, vs. Eastern Michigan and at Western Michigan... The Cardinals' 15-6 MAC record is the top mark in the MAC this season ... Ball State is the only team in the MAC to win all six of its weekend series so far this year.
Ball State's 15-6 start to league play marks its best start to a MAC season since the 2005 season when the Cardinals posted a 15-4 record after seven series ... That season, BSU won all eight weekend series in league play and finished 17-5 on the year.
Did You Know? . . .
Junior second baseman/right-hander Kolbrin Vitek was named Midseason All-America by Baseball America as a utility player ... Vitek is of just 15 players in the nation to be honored with a midseason award and the only player from the Mid-American Conference to earn accolades.
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
Wednesday's Starters . . .
Ball State will hand the ball to senior right-hander Brad Piatt Wednesday afternoon at Ohio State ... The Buckeyes will counter with left-hander Theron Minium.
Piatt will be making his 13 appearance and ninth start of the season ... He owns a 3-3 record with a 6.69 ERA in 35.0 innings of work as he has struck out 23 batters while walking 17 ... He has notched wins in his past three appearances, including picking up a relief victory in the series opener at Western Michigan over the weekend ... He allowed on run on three hits in 2.0 innings before the game was suspended Friday ... He has tallied back-to-back wins in his last two starts against Indiana State and Huntington.
Minium is tied for the team lead with 20 appearances and will be making just his second start of the year ... He has a 3-2 record with a 5.21 ERA in 38.0 innings of work ... He has posted three saves on the year while striking out 23 and walking 17 ... He pitched 3.0 innings Sunday against Illinois and recorded the victory as he allowed no runs on two hits.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Wednesday's game with a 24-23 record ... The Cardinals have scored has scored 352 runs (7.5 runs/game) this season and is batting .298 as a team ... On the mound, the Cardinals own a 5.23 team ERA and opponents are batting .298 against ... BSU has struck out 285 batters while walking 173.
Junior Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with a .382 batting average ... Vitek also leads the team in hits (71), runs (63), RBI (58), home runs (15), slugging percentage (.731) and on-base percentage (.468) ... Freshman Blake Beemer is second on the team with a .340 batting average while junior T.J. Baumet is third at .332 and leads the team with 21 stolen bases ... Senior Zach Dygert is second on the team with 50 RBI and has tallied nine home runs.
In the bullpen, right-hander Heath Riley leads the team with 20 appearances and owns a 4.50 ERA in 20.0 innings ... Left-hander Derek Grabner has appeared in 18 games and has a 4.50 ERA in 42.0 innings ... Right-hander Seth Hobbs has appeared in 18 games and has a 7.40 ERA in 20.2 innings while left-hander Jon Cisna has appeared in 16 games and owns a 3.71 ERA in 26.2 innings.
Scouting The Buckeyes . . .
Ohio State enters Wednesday's game with a 25-19 overall record and a 9-9 mark in Big Ten play ... The Buckeyes have dropped six out of their last eight games ... Ohio State has scored 297 runs (6.8 runs/game) and is batting .323 as a team ... On the mound, OSU owns a 5.02 ERA and opponents are batting .303 ... The Buckeyes have struck out 310 batters while walking 140.
Zach Hurley leads the team offensively with a .387 batting average as he has tallied a team-high 74 hits, 19 doubles and 117 total bases ... Michael Stephens leads the team with eight home runs and 39 RBI while owning a .371 batting average ... Brian DeLucia is tied for second on the team with 38 RBI and six home runs.
In the bullpen, Eric Best has also appeared in 20 games and has a 2-2 record ... Best has a 5.98 ERA in 40.2 innings while posting three saves ... Drew Rucinski has recorded a team-high four saves and owns a 4.29 ERA in 65.0 innings.
Last Weekend . . .
Ball State notched its seventh straight Mid-American Conference weekend series victory as it took two out of three at Western Michigan in a rare Sunday tripleheader ... The Cardinals won game one 4-3, which was suspended Friday in the fourth inning ... BSU claimed the weekend series with a 10-5 victory in game two before Western Michigan claimed a 6-1 victory in the series finale ... Senior Kory Benbow drove in five runs in the tripleheader while classmate Zach Dygert reached base eight times, including six walks ... Junior left-hander Derek Grabner tossed 4.0 innings of shutout relief in game two while junior right-hander Kolbrin Vitek threw 6.0 innings of relief in game one as both players notched their first career saves.
Career Record Watches . . .
Senior catcher Zach Dygert and junior second baseman Kolbrin Vitek are already in the top five all-time in a few career statistical categories ... Dygert is sixth all-time in BSU history in RBI, seventh in walks and tied for second in hit by pitch ... Vitek is third all-time in career slugging percentage and sixth in career batting average. Below is a list of the career marks:
Runs Batted In
1.) Brad Miller - 228
2.) Matt Wood - 221
3.) Mark Davis - 190
4.) Jeremy Ridley - 166
5.) Ed Farris - 162
6.) Zach Dygert - 161
Walks
1.) Scott French - 139
2.) Mike Sullivan - 120
3.) Brad Miller - 117
4.) Demetrius Sanders - 113
5.) Justin Love - 109
5.) Shannon McCormick - 109
7.) Zach Dygert - 107
Hit By Pitch
1.) Ryan Read - 40
2.) Zach Dygert - 31
2.) Marc Franz - 31
2.) Brian Dorrmann - 31
Slugging Percentage
1.) Thomas Howard - .700
2.) Brad Snyder - .688
3.) Kolbrin Vitek - .676
Batting Average
1.) Larry Bigbie - .386
2.) Brad Snyder - .378
2.) Mark Davis - .378
4.) Jason Meier - .367
5.) Kolbrin Vitek - .366
Home Sweet Home . . .
Ball State opened the 2010 season with 23 straight games away from home ... The Cardinals have only played 12 of their 44 games at Ball Diamond this season but own an 10-2 record in the friendly confines this year ... The Cardinals have out-scored their opponents 139-80 at home and are batting .357 (159-of-446) at Ball Diamond ... On the mound, BSU has a 5.40 ERA at home while the opposing team has a 11.57 ERA.
Sophomore Ian Nielsen leads the team at home with a .457 batting average (21-of-46) and has driven in 18 runs ... Junior T.J. Baumet is second on the team at Ball Diamond with a .400 batting average (20-of-50) and has scored 19 runs ... Senior Zach Dygert has driven in 23 runs and notched six home runs at home ... Junior Kolbrin Vitek has also driven in 23 runs and scored 23 runs in 12 home games.
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 50 RBI and nine home runs during the first 47 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
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 closes out the home portion of the 2010 schedule this weekend as it hosts Mid-American Conference foe Northern Illinois in a three-game series at Ball Diamond.
