Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Travels To Big Ten Power Michigan Tuesday Evening
May 17, 2010 | Baseball
LIVE VIDEO (via Big Ten Network - For fee)
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State steps out of Mid-American Conference play for the final time in the 2010 regular season Tuesday evening as the Cardinals travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face Big Ten foe Michigan at 6:35 p.m. ... The Cardinals enter the contest with a 27-24 overall record and sit alone atop the MAC with an 18-6 record ... Ball State owns a one-game lead over Central Michigan and Toledo heading into the final weekend of the season ... The Cardinals are coming off of a three-game sweep of Northern Illinois this past weekend at Ball Diamond ... BSU is led by eighth-year head coach Greg Beals ... Michigan enters Tuesday's contest with a 31-19 overall record and a 12-9 mark in Big Ten play ... The Wolverines sit a game out of first place in the Big Ten after taking two out of three against Northwestern last weekend ... Michigan is led by eight-year head coach and former Ball State head coach Rich Maloney.
Vitek Earns MAC Weekly Pitching Honor . . .
Junior Kolbrin Vitek was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week Monday for his effort against Northern Illinois ... Vitek tossed his first career complete game shutout as he worked 9.0 innings of four-hit baseball while striking out eight batters ... He became the first Cardinal to toss a complete game shutout since former Cardinal Ben Snyder accomplished the feat May 14, 2005 at Marshall.
This is Vitek's first MAC weekly pitching award this season and his fourth MAC weekly honor this season, after earning three MAC Player of the Week awards this year.
Series History With Michigan . . .
Tuesday's game marks the 18th meeting all-time between Ball State and Michigan ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 16-1 margin, including losses in the past four meetings ... The Cardinals dropped a doubleheader in Ann Arbor last season as they fell by 8-5 and 5-2 margins ... Infielder Tim Issler paced the Cardinals with five hits in the two games while first baseman Ian Nielsen drove in three runs with a double and a home run ... Kolbrin Vitek tallied four hits in the two games while scoring three runs ... Michigan was led by Jake McLouth who drove in four runs and Nick Urban who tallied three RBI and a home run.
MAC Tournament Watch . . .
The 2010 Mid-American Conference Tournament will be held May 26-29 in Chillicothe, Ohio with the top eight teams in the regular season qualifying ... Each divisional winner will be awarded the top seed and the remaining top six teams in terms of winning percentage will be seeded 3-8 ... If the tournament started today, Ball State would be the one seed as MAC West leader with an 18-6 mark while Kent State would be the two seed as the MAC East leader with a 15-9 mark ... Central Michigan (17-7) would be the three seed, Toledo (17-7) the four seed, Bowling Green (15-9) the five seed, Eastern Michigan (13-11) the sixth seed, Ohio (13-11) would be the seven seed and Miami (10-14) the eight seed ... Buffalo (9-15) and Northern Illinois (9-15) are still alive for the final spot in the tournament while Western Michigan and Akron have been eliminated from contention.
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 .363 batting average while also owning a team-low 3.39 ERA as a weekend starter ... He also leads the team in hits (74), runs (66), RBI (59), home runs (15), slugging percentage (.696) and on-base percentage (.448) ... His 66 runs lead the MAC by six over his closest competitor while he is second in the league with 15 home runs ...His 3.39 ERA ranks third in the MAC this season in a team-high 69.0 innings of work ... He has a 3-4 record and has tallied one save.
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 .325 batting average and has played in all 51 games this season at first base ... He is third on the team with nine home runs and 45 RBI.
Bowling For Victories . . .
Sophomore right-hander Cal Bowling has been one of the most consistent starters in the Mid-American Conference this season ... Bowling leads the MAC with a 6-0 record in league play in eight starts ... He is the only pitcher in the league with six starts and the only undefeated starter with at least eight starts on the year ... He has a 4.78 ERA in 43.1 innings of work in league play while striking out 25 batters and only walking 10.
Five-Finger Discount . . .
Junior shortstop T.J. Baumet leads the Cardinals with 24 stolen bases and is currently second in the Mid-American Conference ... He trails Miami's Adam Eaton for the top spot as Eaton has swiped 28 ... In league play, Baumet has stolen a league-best 14 bases, three ahead of Eaton (11).
Last season, the Cardinals have two of the top three stolen base leaders in the MAC with Nate Fields (32) and Jeremy Hazelbaker (29).
Quick Start In The MAC . . .
Ball State has won all eight 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, at Western Michigan and vs. Northern Illinois ... The Cardinals' 18-6 MAC record is the top mark in the MAC this season ... Ball State is the only team in the MAC to win all eight of its weekend series so far this year.
Ball State's 18-6 start to league play marks its best start to a MAC season since the 2005 season ... That season, BSU won all eight weekend series in league play and finished 17-5 on the year.
Also, the Cardinals' 18 MAC wins so far this season are their most in the conference since 2001 when Ball State finished with a 21-5 record.
Tuesday's Starters . . .
Ball State will send senior right-hander Brad Piatt to the hill Tuesday afternoon while Michigan has not named a starter as of Monday afternoon.
Piatt will be making his 13th appearance and 10th start of the year Tuesday ... He has a 3-4 record with a 6.87 ERA on the year in 38.0 innings of work ... He has struck out 23 batters while walking 19 ... He worked 3.0 innings last week at Ohio State and allowed three runs on four hits.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Tuesday's game with a 27-24 overall record and an 18-6 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals are coming off of a three-game sweep against Northern Illinois ... Ball State has scored 373 runs (7.3 runs/game) while owning a .296 batting average ... On the mound, the Cardinals have a 5.04 ERA and opponents are batting .294 against ... BSU has struck out 318 batters while walking 186.
Junior Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with a .363 batting average ... Vitek also leads the team in hits (74), runs (66), RBI (59), doubles (17), home runs (15), triples (3), slugging percentage (.696) and on-base percentage (.448) ... Junior T.J. Baumet is second on the team with a .343 batting average and leads the team with 24 stolen bases ... Senior Zach Dygert is second on the team with 11 home runs and 53 RBI ... Sophomore Ian Nielsen adds nine home runs and 51 RBI.
In the bullpen, right-hander Heath Riley leads the team with 22 appearances and has a 5.06 ERA in 21.1 innings ... Left-hander Derek Grabner is second on the team with 20 appearances and has a 4.44 ERA in 46.2 innings of work ... Freshman Jon Cisna has a 3.72 ERA in 29.0 innings of work.
Scouting The Wolverines . . .
Michigan enters Tuesday's game with a 31-19 overall record and a 12-9 mark in Big Ten play ... The Wolverines own a 15-6 mark at home this season ... Michigan as scored 385 runs (7.7 runs/game) this season while owning a .311 batting average ... On the mound, the Wolverines have a 5.20 ERA and opponents have a .299 batting average ... Michigan has struck out 372 batters while walking 212.
Chris Berset leads the team with a .372 batting average ... Berset also leads the team with 77 hits and a .444 on-base percentage ... Coley Crank leads the team with 53 RBI and 10 home runs while posting a .332 batting average ... Mike Dufek has driven in 51 runs and leads the team with 18 doubles.
In the bullpen, Tyler Burgoon leads the team with 21 appearances and has a 3.59 ERA in 57.2 innings ... Burgoon leads the team with nine saves and has struck out 67 batters in 57.2 innings ... Kolby Wood has appeared in 18 games and has a 4.93 ERA in 34.2 innings of work ... Matt Gerbe has appeared in 15 games and has a 2.59 ERA in 31.1 innings.
Last Weekend . . .
Ball State claimed its eighth straight Mid-American Conference series victory with a three-game sweep of Northern Illinois ... The Cardinals won game one by a 7-6 score as sophomore Ian Nielsen hit a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning ... BSU claimed the series Saturday with an 8-2 victory before recording the sweep with a 2-0 complete game shutout by Kolbrin Vitek ... The Cardinals' pitchers allowed just six earned runs on the weekend (2.00 ERA) and struck out 28 batters while walking just eight.
Offensively, sophomore Mitch Widau posted a .444 (4-of-9) average in the three games ... Junior T.J. Baumet tallied five hits and stole three bases from his leadoff position ... Freshman Blake Beemer and Nielsen each drove in four runs on the weekend.
Home Sweet Home . . .
Ball State opened the 2010 season with 23 straight games away from home ... The Cardinals have only played 15 of their 51 games at Ball Diamond this season but own an 13-2 record in the friendly confines this year ... The Cardinals have out-scored their opponents 156-88 at home and are batting .341 (156-of-542) at Ball Diamond ... On the mound, BSU has a 4.73 ERA at home while the opposing team has a 10.22ERA.
Sophomore Ian Nielsen leads the team at home with a .404 batting average (23-of-57) and has driven in 22 runs ... Junior T.J. Baumet is second on the team at Ball Diamond with a .397 batting average (25-of-63) and has scored 22 runs ... Senior Zach Dygert has driven in 25 runs and notched six home runs at home ... Junior Kolbrin Vitek has also driven in 24 runs and scored 25 runs in 15 home games.
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.
Left-Hander On A Roll . . .
Junior left-hander Derek Grabner has been one of the top relievers in Mid-American Conference play this season ... Grabner has appeared in 14 MAC games and leads the team with a 2.36 ERA in 4.1 innings of work ... His 2.36 ERA in league play ranks third in the league as he has allowed just nine earned runs while his 14 appearances are tied for the league lead ... He has a 3-0 record with one save against MAC foes this year while striking out 29 and walking just nine.
Walk This Way . . .
Senior catcher Zach Dygert leads the team with 38 walks this year ... His 38 walks are second in the Mid-American Conference behind Travis Shaw of Kent State (39) .. He has earned 19 walks in MAC play this season and while teammate Kolbrin Vitek has tallied 18 walks ... Both players from Shaw and Eastern Michigan's Todd Graves for the top spot with 20.
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
Offensive Explosion . . .
Ball State had one of its best offensive games in program earlier this season when the Cardinals defeated Mid-American Conference East Division leader Bowling Green 32-10 ... The Cardinals set BSU single game records for runs (32), hits (29), RBI (29) and at-bats (58), while also scoring the most runs against Bowling Green in Falcons' history ... Twelve different Cardinals recorded a hit Saturday, including eight different players notching multiple hits ... The Cardinals notched six home runs and five doubles to finish the game with 52 total bases.
Head Coach Greg Beals . . .
Head coach Greg Beals is in his eighth season at the helm of the Cardinals ... Beals brings a 241-197 record into the weekend and he is third all-time in Ball State history in career wins ... He became the second-fastest coach to reach 200 career victories when he accomplished the feat against his alma mater Kent State last spring ... He is 15 wins shy of second all-time in Ball State history for career victories ... Rich Maloney is currently second all-time with 256 wins, while Pat Quinn holds the BSU record with 323 victories
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 fifth all-time in BSU history in RBI, fifth 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.) Zach Dygert - 164
Walks
1.) Scott French - 139
2.) Mike Sullivan - 120
3.) Brad Miller - 117
4.) Demetrius Sanders - 113
5.) Zach Dygert - 111
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 - .665
Batting Average
1.) Larry Bigbie - .386
2.) Brad Snyder - .378
2.) Mark Davis - .378
4.) Jason Meier - .367
5.) Kolbrin Vitek - .359
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 53 RBI and 11 home runs during the first 51 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 2010 regular season with a pivotal three-game series at Mid-American Conference rival Toledo, beginning Thursday ... The Cardinals sit alone atop the MAC with an 18-6 record and hold a one game lead over both Toledo and Central Michigan.
