Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Takes Part in Caravelle Resort Invitational
March 04, 2011 | Baseball
Schedule Change At Caravelle Resort Invitational . . .
Ball State begins its annual spring break trip this weekend as the Cardinals take part in the Caravelle Resort Invitational hosted by Coastal Carolina ... Due to forecasted inclement weather Sunday the weekend's schedule has changed with no games now scheduled for Sunday ... The Cardinals open the weekend Friday against tournament host Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m. ... Ball State will play two games Saturday as it faces Marshall at 3:30 p.m.and Quinnipiac at 7 p.m. ... The Cardinals wrap up the Caravelle Resort Invitational Monday when they face the Chanticleers at 4 p.m. ... All games will be played at Watson Stadium on the campus of Coastal Carolina.
Live stats for all of the weekend's game will be available at www.goccusports.com.
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will send freshman right-hander Jacob Brewer to the hill Friday afternoon against Coastal Carolina, senior right-hander Derek Grabner Saturday against Marshall, junior right-hander Cal Bowling Saturday against Quinnipiac and junior right-hander Cody Elliott Monday against Coastal Carolina .
Brewer will be making his first career start and fourth career appearance Friday against the host Chanticleers ... He owns a 0-1 record with a 24.30 ERA in 3.1 innings of work ... He has allowed nine runs on five hits while walking eight batters.
Grabner will be making his third start of the year against Marshall ... He owns a 0-0 record with a 3.38 ERA in 10.2 innings of work ... He has allowed four runs on 11 hits while walking just one batter.
Bowling will get the nod Saturday against Quinnipiac and will be making his third start of the year ... He has a 0-0 record with a 5.40 ERA in 8.1 innings of work ... He has allowed five runs on 13 hits while walking five batters.
Elliott will be making his second start of the year ... He owns an 0-1 record with a 16.20 ERA in 1.2 innings of work as he started last Sunday at Southeast Missouri ... He allowed three runs on one hit while walking three batters.
Coastal Carolina will send right-hander Anthony Meo and left-hander Stefan del Pino against the Cardinals ... Meo will be making his third start and has a 9.00 ERA in 11.0 innings of work ... He has struck out 15 batters while walking just five ... del Pino owns a 1-0 record with a 0.75 ERA in 12.0 innings of work ... He has allowed one earned run while striking out nine and walking one.
Marshall will send right-hander Ryan Butler to the hill Saturday in his second appearance of the year ... He has worked 2.0 shutout innings this season and allowed just one hit.
Quinnipiac will send right-hander George Dummar to the hill Sunday ... The Bobcats will be playing for the first time this season so it will be Dummar's first appearance of the year.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the Caravelle Resort Invitational with a 1-5 record on the year after series at Kennesaw State (0-3) and Southeast Missouri (1-2) to open the year ... The Cardinals have scored 39 runs this season and owns a .277 batting average ... On the mound, Ball State has a 8.94 ERA and opponents are batting .338 ... The Cardinals have allowed 50 walks this season while striking out 31 batters.
Junior second baseman Mitch Widau leads the team with a .462 batting average in four games ... He has six hits, including of the Cardinals' two home runs on the year ... Junior center fielder Cody Elliott is second on the team with a .400 batting average and leads the team with nine RBI and 12 hits.
Sophomore left fielder Kirby Campbell has a hit in five straight games and has a .381 batting average ... Campbell has scored a team-high eight runs this season.
In the bullpen, senior Morgan Coombs has made two appearances and has not allowed an earned run in 3.1 innings of work ... Left-hander Justin Warrington leads the team with four appearances out of the pen and has a 6.75 ERA in 2.2 innings of work ... The Cardinals have used 11 different pitchers out of the bullpen so far this season.
Scouting The Chanticleers . . .
Coastal Carolina enters the weekend with a 5-4 overall record with wins over Boston College, Tennessee Tech, Virginia Tech and Western Kentucky ... The Chanticleers have scored 47 runs in nine games and are batting .206 as a team ... On the mound, Coastal Carolina has a 4.40 ERA and opponents are batting .248.
Hayes Orton leads the Chanticleers with a .306 batting average and 11 hits ... Orton is also tied with Daniel Bowman for the team lead with seven RBI ... Bowman leads the team with two home runs as Coastal Carolina has tallied eight home runs as a team.
In the bullpen, Matt Rein, Ryan Connolley and Jordan Coons lead the team with four appearances ... Rein has a 1.80 ERA in 10.0 innings of work and has posted a save ... Connolley also owns a saves as he has a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 innings of work.
Scouting The Herd . . .
Marshall enters the weekend with a 3-3 overall record ... The Thundering Herd opened the season with wins over Miami and Kentucky before dropping two of three at Lipscomb ... Marshall has scored 23 runs this season and owns a .232 batting average ... On the mound, the Herd has a 3.91 ERA and opponents are batting .229.
Victor Gomez leads the team with a .370 batting average and has a team-high 10 hits ... Kenny Socorro is second on the team with a .364 batting average and has hit the only home run for Marshall ... Thor Meeks leads the team with five RBI.
In the bullpen, Kyle Blank leads the team with four appearances and has not allowed a run in 1.0 inning of work ... James White has also appeared in four games and has a 4.50 ERA in 2.0 innings of work while posting one save.
Scouting The Bobcats . . .
Quinnipiac opens the 2011 season this weekend at the Caravelle Resort Invitational ... The Bobcats were picked to finish seventh in the Northeast Conference as they return 19 letterwinners from last season's 14-39 team.
Ben Farina led the team with a .344 batting average last spring and posted a team-high 72 hits ... Farina also led the team with 16 doubles ... Joe Polewsky posted a .318 batting average last season and drove in 38 runs while recording 14 doubles.
In the bullpen, Andrew Rinaldi led the team with three saves last spring ... Rinaldi made 17 appearances and posted a 8.14 ERA in 24.1 innings ... Alex Russow also made 17 appearances last year and had a 6.00 ERA in 42.0 innings.
Campbell Brothers . . .
Ball State has a pair of brothers in the starting lineup this season with sophomore Kirby Campbell and freshman Cody Campbell from Cowan High School in Muncie ... The Campbells are one of 35 sets of brothers currently playing in NCAA Division I and one of 12 sets of brothers to be in the starting lineup.
Kirby started all three games for the Cardinals in left field at Kennesaw State and posted a .375 batting average with four runs scored ... Cody started all three games for the Cardinals against KSU with two starts at first base and one at designated hitter ... He tallied two hits, including his first career double.
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 continues its spring break trip during the midweek as the Cardinals take on the Citadel and the College of Charleston ... The Cardinals wrap up the trip next weekend with a three-game series at Charlotte.
