Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Host Purdue And Indiana Tech This Week
April 11, 2011 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State concludes its five-game home stretch with a pair of midweek non-conference games at Ball Diamond ... The Cardinals will host Big Ten foe Purdue Tuesday at 4 p.m. before hosting Indiana Tech Wednesday at 4 p.m. ... Ball State enters the week with a 7-22 overall record while Purdue owns a 20-11 mark and Indiana Tech checks in with a 21-15 record.
Both games will be broadcast on Sports Link Radio on 91.3 WCRD FM and will also be available only at www.ballstatesports.com ... Additionally, live stats will be available at www.ballstatesports.com.
Mahala's Grand Party . . .
Freshman first baseman Kenny Mahala had a breakout performance in Sunday's doubleheader against Bowling Green ... Mahala, who entered Sunday with just three RBI on the season, drove in 10 runs in the twin bill as he blasted three home runs against the Falcons ... He posted back-to-back grand slams in the first game of the doubleheader0 home runs in the third and fourth innings ... He followed that up with a two-run home run in the second game of the twin bill.
In one afternoon, Mahala raised his RBI total from three to 13, his home run total from zero to three and his slugging percentage from .286 to .453.
Series History . . .
Tuesday's game marks the 81st meeting all-time between Ball State and Purdue ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 43-35-2 record all-time against the Boilermakers ... Purdue has won four out of the last five meetings between the two teams since 2007, including a 10-5 victory last year in West Lafayette, Ind. ... T.J. Baumet and Stephen Claypool led the Cardinals with three hits apiece in the loss ... Purdue scored seven runs in the third inning to take control of the game ... Kevin Plawecki led the Boilermakers with three hits and two RBI ... The Cardinals last defeated Purdue in Muncie March, 30, 2005 with a 9-8 victory.
Wednesday's game marks the 10th meeting all-time between Ball State and Indiana Tech ... The Cardinals lead the all-time series 7-2, including three straight wins in 2007, 2008 and 2010 ... Last year, Ball State posted a 15-2 victory over the Warriors at Ball Diamond ... Former Cardinal Ian Nielsen posted four hits, including three home runs, as he drove in seven in the victory ... Blake Beemer and Baumet added three hits apiece in the victory.
This Week's Starters . . .
Ball State will send a pair of left-handers to the mound during the midweek as freshman Nestor Bautista will get the nod Tuesday against Purdue and redshirt freshmen Kyle Raleigh gets the ball Wednesday against Indiana Tech ... Purdue will counter with right-hander Robert Ramer while Indiana Tech will send right-hander Daniel Puckett to the hill.
Bautista will be making his ninth appearance and fourth start of the season Tuesday afternoon ... He has an 0-4 record with a 9.17 ERA in 17.2 innings of work ... He has struck out 12 batters while walking 10 ... He got the start last week at Indiana State and was the first of nine Ball State pitchers to see the mound ... He allowed one run on two hits in just an inning of work.
Raleigh will be making his eighth appearance of the year and first career start ... He has an 0-0 record with a 4.82 ERA in 9.1 innings of work ... He has struck out one batter while walking six ... He worked two games last week out of the bullpen, tossing a shutout inning at Indiana State and working 1.1 scoreless innings against Bowling Green.
Ramer will be making his eight appearance and third start of the year Tuesday afternoon ... He has a 3-0 record with a 4.62 ERA in 25.1 innings of work ... He has struck out 24 batters while walking just nine ... He worked 5.2 innings of relief last week against Butler and picked up the victory as he allowed three runs on six hits while striking out six batters.
Puckett will be making his sixth appearance and fourth start of the year Wednesday ... He has a 3-1 record with a 5.03 ERA in 19.1 innings of work ... He has struck out 15 batters while walking 15.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the week with a 7-22 overall record and a 3-4 mark at home at Ball Diamond ... The Cardinals have scored 128 runs (4.41 runs/game) this season and are batting .238 as a team ... On the mound, Ball State owns a 5.66 team ERA and opponents are batting .298 against.
Junior second baseman Mitch Widau leads the team with a .319 batting average as he has tallied 29 hits and driven in 15 runs ... Junior Cody Elliott is second on the team with a .282 batting average ... Elliott leads the team with 33 hits, 20 RBI, 17 runs scored, four triples and three home runs ... Freshman Kenny Mahala is third on the team with a .281 batting average ... Mahala has driven in 13 runs and tallied three home runs.
In the bullpen, left-hander Justin Warrington leads the Cardinals with 13 appearances as a left-handed specialist ... He has an 8.31 ERA in 4.1 innings of work ... Right-hander Scott Brothers Jr. has appeared in 10 games out of the pen and has a 5.93 ERA in 13.2 innings of work ... Left-hander Jon Cisna has appeared in eight games and has a 2.20 ERA in 16.1 innings.
Scouting The Boilermakers . . .
Purdue enters the week with a 20-11 overall record and a 13-8 mark away from home ... The Boilermakers have scored 231 runs (7.45 runs/game) this season and are batting .318 as a team ... On the mound, Purdue has a 4.45 team ERA and opponents are batting .286.
Cameron Perkins leads the Boilermakers with a .373 batting average ... Perkins also leads the team with 47 hits, 30 RBI and four home runs ... Kevin Plawecki is second on the team with a .345 batting average and 40 hits ... Tyler Spillner leads the team with 11 doubles and has scored 26 runs.
In the bullpen, Nick Wittgren leads the team with 15 appearances ... Wittgren has a 4.85 ERA in 29.2 innings of work and has a team-high six saves ... Lance Breedlove and Blake Mascarello are second on the team with 12 appearances each ... Breedlove has a 5.47 ERA in 24.2 innings of work while Mascarello has a 6.26 ERA in 27.1 innings.
Scouting The Warriors . . .
Indiana Tech enters the week with a 21-15 overall record as it was swept in a four-game series against Madonna ... The Warriors have scored 216 runs (6.0 runs/game) and are batting .280 as a team ... On the mound, Indiana Tech has a 4.50 team ERA and opponents are batting .257.
Gary King leads the team with a .339 batting average ... King is tied for the team lead with 26 RBI and has scored 23 runs ... Taylor Hoisington leads the team with 42 hits, 27 runs, 26 RBI and six home runs ... Brendan Sontag has scored 24 runs and is third on the team with 37 hits.
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.
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State hits the road this weekend as it travels to the Empire State for a three-game series against Buffalo ... The Cardinals return home next week for five straight home games with contests against Butler, Northwestern Ohio and a three-game series against Central Michigan.
