Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Opens MAC Tournament Play Wednesday Against BGSU
May 24, 2010 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
The Cardinals enter the 2010 Mid-American Conference Tournament as the number four seed after posting a 19-8 league mark ... Ball State won eight of its nine weekend series this season and owns a 28-27 overall record ... The Cardinals are under the direction of eighth-year head coach Greg Beals ... Ball State will face No. 5 seed Bowling Green in the first round Wednesday at 9 a.m. ... Bowling Green enters the tournament with a 28-21 overall record and an 18-9 mark in league play as it finished tied for the top spot in the MAC East Division ... The MAC Tournament is a double-elimination style format.
The other game on Ball State's side of the bracket matches No. 1 seed Central Michigan against No. 8 seed Ohio ... The winners of those two games will meet Thursday at 4 p.m., while the losers will meet Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ... The other side of the tournament features first-round match-ups of No. 2 seed Kent State versus No. 7 seed Eastern Michigan and No. 3 seed Toledo against No. 6 seed Miami ... A complete MAC Tournament bracket is available on the back page of the notes packet.
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 .368 batting average while also owning a team-low 3.27 ERA as a weekend starter ... He also leads the team in hits (81), runs (71), RBI (68), home runs (17), slugging percentage (.718) and on-base percentage (.452) ... His 71 runs lead the MAC by seven over his closest competitor while he is second in the league with 17 home runs ...His 3.27 ERA ranks leads the MAC this season in a team-high 74.1 innings ... He has a 3-4 record and has tallied two saves.
MAC Tournament History . . .
Ball State will be making its 15th appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament this week ... The Cardinals are 20-26 all-time in the event and have appeared in 13 of the last 14 tournaments ... Ball State has won at least one game in the tournament 10 times and won the tournament championship during the 2006 season ... Wednesday's first round contest against Bowling Green will mark the fourth meeting between the two teams in MAC Tournament history and the Cardinals are 3-1 against BGSU ... The Cardinals and Falcons last met in the opening round of the 2005 tournament with the Cardinals claiming a 5-4 victory in 11 innings.
Ball State has met Kent State 15 times in tournament history with the Cardinals owning an 8-7 mark all-time against the Golden Flashes ... The Cardinals are also 4-1 against Central Michigan, 1-0 against Akron, 1-0 against Toledo, 2-2 against Western Michigan, 1-6 against Miami, 0-2 against Eastern Michigan and 0-2 against Northern Illinois in tournament history.
Ball State vs. The Field . . .
The Cardinals went head-to-head with six of the other seven Mid-American Conference Tournament teams during the 2010 regular season ... Ball State posted a 12-6 record against those teams, including a 6-3 mark against the teams in its portion of the bracket ... The Cardinals did not face Kent State this season due to the rotation MAC schedule.
Versus No. 5 Bowling Green . . .
The Cardinals won two out of three games at Bowling Green earlier this season ... The Cardinals out-scored Bowling Green 47-25 in the three-game series and batted .389 as a team ... Sophomore Ian Nielsen drove in 11 runs in the series while freshman Stephen Claypool tallied eight hits ... The Cardinals and Falcons have met 99 times prior to Wednesday's contest ... Ball State trails the all-time series by a 44-53-2 margin.
This season at Bowling Green
4/9/10 at Bowling Green W, 12-6
4/10/10 at Bowling Green W, 32-10
4/11/10 at Bowling Green L, 3-9
Versus No. 1 Central Michigan . . .
Ball State won two out of three at Central Michigan earlier this season as the Cardinals swept a Saturday doubleheader after dropping the series opener ... The Cardinals are one of just two teams in the MAC this season to win a series against CMU ... The evenly matched series saw the Cardinals post a 2.42 ERA and limit CMU to just nine runs ... Junior Kolbrin Vitek tossed 7.0 shutout innings of baseball to earn a victory in the series ... Ball State and Central Michigan have met 129 times in series history with the Cardinals trailing 48-81 all-time.
This season at Central Michigan
4/23/10 at Central Michigan L, 3-4
4/24/10 at Central Michigan W, 3-2
4/24/10 at Central Michigan W, 5-2
Versus No. 8 Ohio . . .
Ball State won two out of three at Ohio earlier this season as the Cardinals won the series opener and series finale ... Junior Kolbrin Vitek tossed 7.0 shutout innings of baseball to earn a victory in the series ... Vitek also went 6-of-12 in the three-game series at the plate ... Ball State and Ohio have met 92 times in series history with the Cardinals trailing 38-54 all-time.
This season at Ohio
3/26/10 at Ohio W, 10-1
3/27/10 at Ohio L, 2-4
3/27/10 at Ohio W, 4-0
Versus No. 2 Kent State . . .
Ball State and Kent State did not play this season due to rotating MAC schedules ... The Cardinals and Golden Flashes have played 100 times in program history with Ball State trailing by a 46-54 margin ... Last season, the two teams split a two-game series in Muncie with the Cardinals winning 4-2 and Kent State claiming a 10-9 victory.
Versus No. 7 Eastern Michigan . . .
Ball State won two out of three against Eastern Michigan in Muncie ... The Cardinals used a walk-off home run from Kolbrin Vitek to win the Friday game before taking Saturday's game to claim the series win ... Vitek drove in seven runs and tallied three home runs in the series while senior Zach Dygert hit a pair of home runs and drove in six ... The Cardinals and Eagles have met 133 times with BSU trailing 62-70-1 all-time.
This season vs. Eastern Michigan
4/30/10 Eastern Michigan W, 13-12
5/1/10 Eastern Michigan W, 18-11
5/2/10 Eastern Michigan L, 5-10
Versus No. 3 Toledo . . .
Ball State dropped two out of three at Toledo to end the regular season ... The Rockets are the only team in the MAC this season to win a weekend series against the Cardinals ... All three games ended in 8-7 scores and were won in the ninth or 10th innings ... Junior Kolbrin Vitek drove in eight runs in the series while sophomore Cody Elliott notched six RBI in the three games.
This season at Toledo
5/20/10 at Toledo L, 7-8
5/21/10 at Toledo W, 8-7 (10)
5/22/10 at Toledo L, 7-8
Versus No. 6 Miami . . .
Ball State swept a three-game series against Miami in Muncie in its first home series of the year ... The Cardinals won by a combined scored of 34-18 ... Junior Kolbrin Vitek drove in seven runs in the series while freshman Stephen Claypool notched five RBI ... Ball State and Miami have met 123 times with the Cardinals trailing the all-time series by a 55-68 margin.
This season vs. Miami
4/2/10 Miami W, 6-3
4/3/10 Miami W, 11-7
4/4/10 Miami W, 17-8
Vitek Gaining Attention . . .
Junior second baseman Kolbrin Vitek, a Mid-American Conference Player of the Year candidate, has been one of the top hitters and pitchers in the MAC this season ... He was recently selected as the third best pure hitter in college by Baseball America in the June 13, 2010 issue, behind Zach Cox of Arkansas and Christian Colon of Cal State Fullerton ... Baseball America also projected Vitek to be selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft this June by the Texas Rangers with the 22nd pick.
Also gaining attention from Baseball America is redshirt sophomore right-hander Perci Garner who is projected as a second round pick.
Probable First Round Starters . . .
Ball State will send right-hander Perci Garner to the hill Wednesday morning in the Mid-American Conference Tournament opener ... Bowling Green will counter with right-hander Brennan Smith, last year's MAC Pitcher of the Year.
Garner will be making his 17th appearance and 11th start of the year ... He has a 5-2 record with a 4.43 ERA in 67.0 innings of work ... He has struck out 76 batters while walking 34 ... In MAC play, he posted a 4-2 record with a 3.86 ERA in 49.0 innings ... Against Bowling Green this year, he worked 6.0 solid innings and allowed two runs while striking out three batters.
Smith will be making his 15th start of the season and owns a 5-4 record with a 8.53 ERA in 69.2 innings of work ... He has struck out 63 batters while walking 40 ... In league play, he has a 4-2 record with a 7.41 ERA ... Earlier this season, he lasted 2.1 innings in the loss to the Cardinals and allowed six runs on eight hits.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the 2010 Mid-American Conference Tournament with a 28-27 overall record and a 19-8 mark in MAC play as the number four seed ... The Cardinals have scored 405 runs (7.4 runs/game) this season and are batting .298 as a team ... On the mound, Ball State owns a 5.22 ERA and opponents are batting .305 against ... The Cardinals have struck out 340 batters while issuing 203 walks.
Junior Kolbrin Vitek leads the team with a .368 batting average ... Vitek also leads the team in hits (81), runs (71), doubles (20), home runs (17), RBI (68), slugging percentage (.718), on-base percentage (.452) and ERA (3.27) ... Junior T.J. Baumet is second on the team with a .342 batting average as he has tallied 79 hits from his leadoff position ... Baumet leads the team with 26 stolen bases ... Sophomore Ian Nielsen is second on the team with 55 RBI while owning a .333 batting average ... Freshman Blake Beemer also has a .333 batting average while senior Zach Dygert is second on the team with 11 home runs.
In the bullpen, right-hander Heath Riley leads the team with 24 appearances and has a 1-1 with a 4.56 ERA in 23.2 innings ... Left-hander Derek Grabner has appeared in 23 games and has a 4-3 record with a 4.76 ERA in 51.0 innings ... Left-hander Jon Cisna has appeared in 21 games and has a 4.18 ERA in 32.1 innings of work ... Right-hander Aaron Hammons leads the team with five saves.
Scouting The Falcons . . .
Bowling Green enters the MAC Tournament with a 28-21-1 overall record and an 18-9 mark in MAC play ... The Falcons have scored 404 runs (8.0 runs/game) and is batting .334 ... On the mound, BGSU has a 6.42 ERA and opponents are batting .303 against ... The Falcons have struck out 313 batters while walking 181.
Jon Berti leads the Falcons with a .425 batting average ... Berti also leads the team with 85 hits and 27 stolen bases ... T.J. Blanton is second on the team with a .378 batting average and leads the team with 14 home runs ... Dennis Vaughn leads the team with 52 RBI while Derek Spencer is second on the team with 12 home runs.
In the bullpen, Ross Gerdeman leads the team with 25 appearances and has a 1-2 record with a 4.75 ERA in 41.2 innings ... Patrick O'Brien is second on the team with 22 appearances and has a 3.82 ERA in 30.2 innings ... O'Brien is one of three players with at least three saves as he leads the team with four ... Charles Wooten has appeared in 21 games and has a 6.21 ERA in 37.2 innings.
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