Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Opens MAC Play This Weekend Hosting Ohio
March 25, 2011 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State opens Mid-American Conference play this weekend as the Cardinals host Ohio in a three-game series at Ball Diamond ... The two teams will play Friday afternoon at 3 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. ... Live stats will be available at www.ballstatesports.com ... Sports Link Radio on 91.3 WCRD FM will broadcast all three games this weekend and will be streamed online at www.ballstatesports.com.
MAC Openers . . .
This weekend marks the 38th season of Mid-American Conference baseball for Ball State ... The Cardinals own a 56-51 record all-time in MAC season-opening series dating back to 1974 ... Ball State has been strong recently in MAC opening series as they Cardinals are 14-4 over the past six season ... In fact, since the 1995 season the Cardinals are 34-12 in conference opening weekends.
Ball State is 3-6 all-time against Ohio in opening weekends of league play, including taking two out of three last season in Athens ... The Cardinals won the first game of the series 10-1 before splitting a Saturday doubleheader dropping game one 4-2 before taking the series with a 4-0 victory in the rubber game.
Series History . . .
Ball State and Ohio have met 92 times prior to this weekend's series ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 54-38 margin but won the series last season in Athens ... This weekend marks the first time Ohio has visited Muncie since the 2006 season due to the Mid-American Conference's rotating schedule.
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will send junior right-hander Cal Bowling to the hill Friday, senior left-hander Derek Grabner Saturday and senior right-hander Morgan Coombs Sunday ... Ohio will counter with right-hander Seth Streich Friday, left-hander Brent Choban Saturday and right-hander Jason Moulton Sunday.
Bowling will be making his sixth start of the season Friday ... He has a 1-1 record with a 3.96 ERA as he has worked 25.0 innings ... He has struck out 18 batters and walked 13 ... Last weekend, he worked 4.0 innings at Belmont and allowed five runs while walking a season-high five batters.
Grabner will also be making his sixth start of the season ... He has an 0-2 record with a 5.46 ERA in 28.0 innings ... He has struck out 18 batters while walking just six ... He picked up the loss last weekend at Belmont despite working 6.0 innings of four-run baseball while striking out six.
Coombs will be making his third start and sixth appearance of the year Sunday ... He has an 0-3 record with a 6.75 ERA in 10.2 innings ... Last weekend, he worked 3.0 innings and allowed four runs on five hits in Nashville.
Streich will be making his sixth start of the season Friday ... He has an 0-1 record with a 6.00 ERA in 27.0 innings ... He has struck out 25 batters while walking 18.
Choban will be making his sixth start of the year ... He has a 1-2 record with a 4.85 ERA in 29.2 innings ... He has struck out 19 batters while walking 15.
Moulton will make his third start and sixth appearance Sunday ... He has a 1-1 record with a 3.43 ERA in 21.0 innings ... He has tallied 14 strike outs while walking 10 batters.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 2-17 overall record ... The Cardinals have scored 84 runs (4.4 runs/game) and have a .236 batting average as a team ... Ball State has 7.09 team ERA and opponents are batting .327 against the Cardinals.
Junior second baseman Mitch Widau leads the team with a .368 batting average ... Widau is tied for the team lead with 21 hits and has driven in a team-high 13 runs ... Junior Cody Elliott is second on the team with a .266 batting average ... Elliott has posted 21 hits and 11 RBI ... Sophomore Kirby Campbell leads the team with 14 runs scored and seven stole bases.
In the bullpen, left-hander Justin Warrington leads the team with 10 appearances ... Warrington has a 9.82 ERA in 3.2 innings of work ... Right-hander Seth Hobbs has appeared in seven games and has a 4.91 ERA in 11.0 innings ... Left-hander Jon Cisna has appeared in five games and has a 0.71 ERA in 12.2 innings of work.
Scouting The Bobcats . . .
Ohio enters the weekend with an 11-9 overall record and has won nine of its last 11 games ... The Bobcats have scored 110 runs (5.5 runs/game) and have a .263 batting average ... Ohio has a 4.57 team ERA and opponents are batting .278 against.
Taylor Emody leads Ohio with a .300 batting average with 21 hits ... Trace Voshell leads the team with 15 RBI while Dan Ward is second on the team with 14 RBI ... Ward also has tallied a team-high three home runs as Ohio has hit 13 home runs on the year.
In the bullpen, Marck Paliotto leads the team with 13 appearances ... Paliotto has a 5.11 ERA in 12.1 innings of work and has posted a team-high three saves ... Ben Trimbur has appeared in nine games and has a 4.76 ERA in 17.0 innings ... Trimbur has struck out 19 batters while walking just five.
Young Cardinals . . .
Ball State has had seven different freshmen or redshirt freshmen start in the field this season for a combined 39 starts and has had eight different freshmen make appearances on the mound for 32 total appearances.
T.J. Weir leads all freshmen with 15 games played and 10 starts in the field ... Weir has a .170 batting average with eight hits and six RBI ... He has also made six appearances on the mound for the Cardinals ... Kenny Mahala has played in 12 games with nine starts and has a .222 batting average ... Additionally, Devin Wilburn has appeared in six games on the mound with a start as he has a 6.75 ERA in 12.0 innings.
The Cardinals also have five sophomores that have started in the field this season, accounting for 73 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 have off during the midweek before travelling to Oxford, Ohio for a three-game series at Miami next weekend.
