Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Heads To Belmont For Three-Game Series
March 17, 2011 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State continues non-conference play this weekend as it travels to the Music City for a three-game series against Belmont ... The two teams will play Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. ... All times are central time zone ... Live stats will be available at www.belmont.prestosports.com.
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will send junior right-hander Cal Bowling to the hill Friday afternoon and senior left-hander Derek Grabner to the mound Saturday afternoon ... The Cardinals' Sunday starter has not been named ... Belmont will counter with left-hander Chase Brookshire Friday, right-hander Nate Woods Saturday and left-hander James Buckelew Sunday.
Bowling will be making his fifth start of the season in the series opener ... He has a 1-1 record with a 2.57 ERA on the year ... He has worked 21.0 innings and has struck out 16 batters while walking eight ... Last weekend, he tossed 6.2 shutout innings at Charlotte as he limited the 49ers to just four hits.
Grabner will also be making his fifth start of the season this weekend ... He has an 0-1 record with a 5.32 ERA on the season ... He has worked a team-high 22.0 innings and has posted 12 strikeouts while walking just four batters ... Last weekend, he tossed 6.0 solid innings against Charlotte and allowed three runs on nine hits while striking out four batters.
Brookshire will be making his fifth start of the season for Belmont Friday ... He has a 1-0 record with a 3.33 ERA in 24.1 innings ... He has struck out a tema-high 23 batters while walking eight on the year ... Last weekend, he picked up a no decision over Kennesaw State as he worked 7.0 innings of three-run baseball ... He allowed seven hits while striking out nine batters.
Woods will be making his fifth start of the season Saturday ... He has a 1-3 record with a 7.40 ERA on the year in 20.2 innings ... He has struck out 10 batters and walked six ... He earned a victory last weekend over Kennesaw State with 5.0 innings of three-run baseball as he allowed eight hits.
Buckelew will also be making his fourth start of the season this weekend ... He owns an 0-4 record with a 7.17 ERA in 21.1 innings ... He has struck out 12 batters while walking 11 ... Last weekend, he was charged with the loss as he allowed five runs in 6.0 innings of work.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 2-13 overall record with all 15 games on the road this season ... The Cardinals have scored 71 runs (4.7 runs/game) and have allowed 137 (9.1 runs/game) ... The Cardinals own a .241 batting average as a team while opponents are batting .333.
Junior second baseman Mitch Widau leads the Cardinals offensively as he has a .381 batting average ... Widau has tallied 16 hits on the year and leads the team with eight walks as he has a .480 on-base percentage ... Senior shortstop T.J. Baumet is second on the team with a .271 batting average and has driven in nine runs ... Junior center fielder Cody Elliott leads the team with 11 RBI on the year and 17 hits.
In the bullpen, left-hander Justin Warrington leads the team with six appearances as he has a 6.75 ERA in 2.2 innings of work ... Fellow left-hander Jon Cisna has made four appearances this season and has not allowed an earned run in 9.2 innings of work ... Senior right-hander Morgan Coombs has a 4.70 ERA in 7.2 innings of work as he has made four appearances this season.
Scouting The Bruins . . .
Belmont enters the weekend with an 8-10 record on the year and is coming off a midweek victory over visiting Purdue Wednesday ... The Bruins have scored 94 runs (5.2 runs/game) and have allowed 107 (5.9 runs/game) ... Belmont owns a .270 batting average as a team and a 4.71 ERA on the hill.
Derek Hamblen leads the team with a .368 batting average ... Hamblen leads the team with 25 hits, 21 runs scored and seven doubles ... Dylan Craig is second on the team with a .328 batting average and 21 hits ... Tim Egerton leads the team with 17 RBI and three home runs while Nate Woods has 16 RBI.
In the bullpen, Matt Hamann has appeared in a team-high 10 games and has a 2.20 ERA in 16.1 innings ... Hamann has a 2-1 record with one save as he has struck out 16 batters ... Jon Ivie leads the team with four saves as he has a 1.86 ERA in 9.2 innings of work.
Last Time Out . . .
Ball State posted a 1-2 record last weekend at Charlotte who was receiving votes in multiple national polls ... The Cardinals posted a 7-1 victory Friday afternoon, a 9-1 loss Saturday and a 5-4 loss Sunday ... Ball State produced a 3.96 ERA in the three game series.
Junior second baseman Mitch Widau led the team with four hits on the weekend, including a pair of doubles ... Freshman Kenny Mahala and sophomore Blake Beemer each posted three hits in the series.
Young Cardinals . . .
Ball State has had five different freshmen start in the field this season for a combined 28 starts and has had seven different freshmen make appearances on the mound for 23 total appearances.
T.J. Weir leads all freshmen with 13 games played and nine starts in the field ... Weir has a .171 batting average with seven hits and four RBI ... He has also made four appearances on the mound for the Cardinals ... Kenny Mahala has played in nine games with seven starts and has a .250 batting average ... Additionally, Devin Wilburn and Jacob Brewer have each appeared in five games on the mound with one start each.
The Cardinals also have six sophomores or redshirt freshmen that have started in the field this season, accounting for 62 total starts.
BSU Picked Fourth In West . . .
Ball State was selected to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the preseason poll ... The Cardinals finished last season with a 29-29 overall record and a 19-8 mark in MAC play as they finished tied for second place in the MAC West Division ... Ball State will have numerous spots to fill on the roster this season as it lost its 3-4-5-6 hole hitters as well as its Friday and Sunday starters to graduation and the Major League Baseball Draft.
Defending MAC Tournament champion Kent State was selected to finish first in the MAC East Division while defending regular season champion Central Michigan was tabbed for the top spot in the MAC West Division ... Additionally, Kent State was selected as the favorite for the 2011 MAC Tournament.
West Division
1. Central Michigan (69)
2. Toledo (60)
3. Eastern Michigan (46)
4. Ball State (37)
5. Northern Illinois (26)
6. Western Michigan (12)
East Division
1. Kent State (72)
2. Miami (53)
3. Bowling Green (50)
4. Ohio (35)
5. Akron (24)
6. Buffalo (16)
MAC Tournament: Kent State (5), Central Michigan (3), Toledo (2), Miami (1), Eastern Michigan (1).
Top Rated Arms . . .
The Cardinals received some preseason honors from the CollegeBaseballInsider.com in its annual Mid-American Conference preview ... Senior shortstop T.J. Baumet was chosen by the league's head coaches to have the best infield arm in the MAC ... Also, junior outfielder Cody Elliott was tabbed with the best outfield arm in the MAC.
Cardinals Name Captains . . .
First-year head coach Alex Marconi has named three team captains for the 2011 season in senior shortstop T.J. Baumet and sophomore right fielder Blake Beemer ... Baumet has been the team's starting shortstop since his freshman season ... He posted a .337 batting average last spring while leading the team with 26 stolen bases ... Beemer claimed control of the right field starting position last year and recorded a .328 batting average in 45 starts as a true freshman.
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State will open the home portion of the 2011 schedule with the first of four straight home games next week ... The Cardinals welcome in rival Indiana Wednesday afternoon before hosting Ohio in their Mid-American Conference opener.
