Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Heads To Buffalo For Three-Game Series
April 14, 2011 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State returns to Mid-American Conference play this weekend as it travels to the Empire State for a three-game series at Buffalo ... The series schedule has been altered due to forecasted inclement weather ... The Cardinals and the Bulls will open the series with a doubleheader Friday afternoon with first pitch set for 2 p.m. at Amherst Audubon Field ... The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ... Please check back to www.ballstatesports.com for further updates as the weekend progresses.
Live stats will be available this weekend courtesy of Buffalo Athletics at www.livestats.prestosports.com/buffalo with a link available at www.ballstatesports.com.
Mahala's Grand Party . . .
Freshman first baseman Kenny Mahala had a breakout performance in last 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 ... In his last four games, he is batting .533 (8-of-15) and has driven in 13 runs.
Series History . . .
Ball State and Buffalo have met eight times prior to this weekend's series ... The Cardinals own a 7-1 mark all-time against the Bulls, although Buffalo won the last meeting in the series finale last year by an 11-7 advantage in 11 innings ... The Cardinals won the first two games of the series last year at Ball Diamond by 11-5 and 6-5 margins.
In the three-game series last year, T.J. Baumet posted a .462 batting average (6-of-13) with a home run ... Former Cardinal Zach Dygert drove in nine runs in the three-game series while Cody Elliott posted two home runs on the weekend ... Left-hander Derek Grabner made two appearances out of the bullpen and held Buffalo to two hits and one run in 5.1 innings.
Ball State will be making just its second trip all-time to Buffalo ... The Cardinals picked up two wins over the Bulls in 2009 in the rain-shortened series with 15-9 and 3-2 victories.
This Week's Starters . . .
Ball State will send its normal weekend rotation to the hill this weekend in right-hander Cal Bowling in game one, left-hander Derek Grabner in game two and right-hander Morgan Coombs in game three ... Buffalo will counter with right-hander Kevin Crumb in game one, left-hander Josh Edwards in game two and right-hander Cameron Copping in game three.
Bowling will be making his ninth start of the season ... He has a 3-2 record with a 2.42 ERA in a team-high 52.0 innings ... He has thrown three straight complete games heading into the weekend, the most complete games in the MAC this season ... He has struck out 32 batters while walking 17 ... He has a 1.00 ERA in 27.0 league innings this year.
Grabner will also be making his team-leading ninth start of the season ... He has an 0-3 record with a 5.01 ERA in 41.1 innings of work ... He a has struck out 25 batters while walking 15 this year ... Last weekend he allowed four unearned runs in 4.2 innings of work against BGSU.
Coombs will be making his ninth appearance and sixth start of the year ... He has a 3-3 record with a 4.50 ERA in 30.0 innings as he has struck out 23 and walked 13 ... He worked 6.0 solid innings to pick up the victory over Bowling Green last Saturday as he allowed four runs.
Crumb will be making his eighth start of the season in game one ... He has a 2-5 record with a 6.69 ERA in 37.2 innings of work as he has struck out 26 batters while walking 17 ... Last weekend, he allowed seven runs on 11 hits in 6.0 innings against Toledo as he was charged with the loss.
Edwards will also be making his eighth start of the season ... He has a 1-5 record with a 6.75 ERA in a team-high 38.2 innings of work ... He has struck out 29 while walking 20 ... Last weekend, he tossed a complete game against Toledo allowing seven runs on 12 hits in 8.0 innings of work.
Copping will be making his eighth start of the year as well ... He has a 1-4 record with a 7.71 ERA in 35.0 innings of work as he has struck out 28 batters while walking 16 ... He worked 6.1 innings last week against the Rockets and allowed six runs.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with an 8-23 overall record and a 5-4 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have won MAC series against Ohio and Miami while dropping a series against Ohio ... Ball State has scored 135 runs (4.35 runs/game) and is batting .236 as a team ... On the mound, the Cardinals own a 5.58 team ERA and opponents are batting .295.
Freshman first baseman Kenny Mahala leads the team with a .310 batting average ... Mahala also is tied for the team lead with three home runs and has driven in 16 runs, 13 of which have come in the past three games ... Junior Mitch Widau is second on the team with a .309 batting average and is second on the team with 30 hits ... Junior Cody Elliott leads the team with 34 hits, four triples and 21 RBI.
In the bullpen, Justin Warrington leads the team with 14 appearances as a left-handed specialist ... Warrington has a 7.71 ERA in 4.2 innings of work ... Right-hander Scott Brothers Jr. has appeared in 11 games and has one of the Cardinals' two saves along with freshman left-hander Devin Wilburn.
Scouting The Bulls . . .
Buffalo enters the weekend with a 7-23 overall record and n 0-9 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Bulls have been swept by Toledo, Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan ... Buffalo has scored 184 runs (6.13 runs/game) and is batting .292 ... On the mound, the Bulls have a team ERA of 7.65 and opponents are batting .344.
Tom Murphy leads the team with a .391 batting average ... Murphy also leads the team with 43 hits, seven home runs and 32 RBI ... Alex Baldock is second on the team with a .362 batting average and has hit 12 doubles ... Matt Pollock is second on the team with six home runs.
In the bullpen, Kevin Hughes leads the team with 12 appearances as he has a 6.75 ERA in 22.2 innings of work ... Jeff Thompson has appeared in nine games and has a 6.00 ERA in 21.0 innings while Daniel Ginader has a 6.55 ERA in nine appearances (11.0 IP).
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 returns home to Ball Diamond for five straight home games, beginning with a pair of midweek contests against Butler and Northwestern Ohio ... The Cardinals return to Mid-American Conference play next weekend as they host MAC West Division preseason favorite Central Michigan in a three-game series.
