Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Northwestern Ohio Wednesday
April 18, 2011 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State returns home to Ball Diamond for the first of five straight home games this week as the Cardinals host Butler Tuesday afternoon and Northwestern Ohio Wednesday afternoon ... Both games are set for a 4 p.m. first pitch ... Both games will be broadcast on Sports Link Radio on 91.3 WCRD FM and will be streamed for free online at www.ballstatesports.com ... Additionally, live stats will be available at www.ballstatesports.com.
Series History . . .
Tuesday's game marks the 111th meeting all-time between Ball State and Butler ... The Cardinals lead the all-time series by a 66-44 margin and have won four out of the last six meetings ... Butler will be making its first visit to Muncie since the Cardinals recorded an 8-3 victory April 26, 2006 ... Last year, the Cardinals suffered a 10-5 loss at Butler April 21 ... The Bulldogs scored six runs over the final three innings to take home the victory ... Shortstop T.J. Baumet posted three hits in the loss while Blake Beemer recorded two hits ... Butler was led by Grant Fillipitch and Nick Hladek who each notched a pair of hits.
Wednesday's game will mark the first ever meeting between Ball State and Northwestern Ohio.
This Week's Starters . . .
Ball State will send normal weekend starter and right-hander Morgan Coombs to the mound Tuesday afternoon while freshman left-hander Nestor Bautista will get the call Wednesday ... Butler will counter with right-hander Kyle Kramp ... Northwestern Ohio has not named a starter.
Coombs was scheduled to start Sunday afternoon at Buffalo but the game was cancelled due to inclement weather ... He will be making his ninth appearance and sixth start of the year Tuesday ... He has a 3-3 record with a 4.50 ERA in 30.0 innings of work ... He has struck out 23 batters while walking 12 on the year.
Bautista will be making his 10th appearance and fifth start of the season ... He has started three midweek games this season against Indiana, Indiana State and Purdue ... He has an 0-4 record with a 9.14 ERA in 21.2 innings of work and has struck out 13 while walking 11 ... He started last week against the Boilermakers and allowed four runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings.
Kramp will be making his seventh start of the season Tuesday afternoon ... He has a 2-2 record with a 10.19 ERA in 17.2 innings of work ... He has struck out 12 batters while walking 18 on the year.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the week with a 10-23 overall record and has won three straight games ... The Cardinals own a 4-5 mark at Ball Diamond this season ... Ball State has scored 150 runs (4.54 runs/game) and is batting .243 as a team ... On the mound, the Cardinals own a 5.39 team ERA and opponents are batting .292.
Junior second baseman Mitch Widau leads the team with a .317 batting average ... Widau is second on the team with 33 hits and is tied for second with 17 RBI ... Freshman first baseman Kenny Mahala is second on the team with a .316 batting average and is second on the team with 17 RBI, while being tied for the team lead with three home runs ... Junior center fielder Cody Elliott is third on the team with a .278 batting average while leading the team in hits (37), runs (20), RBI (24), triples (4), stolen bases (9) and home runs (3).
In the bullpen, left-hander Justin Warrington leads the team with 14 appearances ... Warrington has a 7.71 ERA in 4.2 innings of work as a left-handed specialist ... Right-hander Michael Sandman has made eight appearances with a 5.59 ERA in 9.2 innings of work ... Sandman is one of four different Cardinals with a save this season.
Scouting The Bulldogs . . .
Butler enters the week with a 15-16 overall record and swept a three-game series against Lawrence over the weekend ... The Bulldogs have scored 200 runs (6.45 runs/game) and are batting .289 as a team ... On the mound, Butler has a 5.49 team ERA and opponents are batting .311.
Grant Fillipitch leads the team with a .366 batting average ... Fillipitch also leads the team in hits (45), runs (31), RBI (26) and doubles (12) ... Michael Letzter is second on the team with a .365 batting average ... Letzter is second on the team with 38 hits, 24 runs scored and 24 RBI, while leading the team with four home runs.
In the bullpen, Chase Bryerly leads the team with 17 appearances ... Bryerly has a 8.10 ERA in 20.0 innings of work as he has notched a team-high three saves ... He has struck out 19 batters while walking six ... Brian Padove is second on the team with 13 appearances and has a 3.46 ERA in 13.0 innings of work.
Scouting The Racers . . .
Northwestern Ohio, a NAIA member, enters the week with a 15-24 overall record and a 9-15 mark on the road ... The Racers were swept in a four-game series at Indiana Tech last weekend ... Northwestern Ohio has scored 206 runs (5.28 runs/game) this season and is batting .288 as a team ... On the mound, the Racers have a 5.73 team ERA and opponents are batting .281.
Kyle Jefferies leads the team with a .378 batting average in 26 games ... Ben Schubert leads the team with 37 hits while posting a .336 batting average ... Dylan Brammer has driven in a team-high 23 runs while Kael Campbell has posted a team-best four home runs.
In the bullpen, Jeremy White leads the team with 13 appearances ... White has a 7.94 ERA in 17.0 innings of work ... Brammer has also excelled on the mound as he has a 1.69 ERA in 16.0 innings of work while making 11 appearances.
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 continues its five-game home stretch this weekend as it host preseason Mid-American Conference West Division favorite Central Michigan in a three-game series.
