Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Travels To Eastern Michigan This Weekend
April 28, 2011 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State returns to Mid-American Conference play this weekend as it travels to Ypsilanti, Mich., for a three-game series against Eastern Michigan ... The Cardinals enter the weekend with an 8-6 record in MAC play sitting a half game out of second place in the MAC West Division ... The Eagles enter the weekend with a 9-6 league record and are in a three-way tie for second in the MAC West Division.
Live stats will be available for all three games at www.ballstatesports.com ... Live audio will be available courtesy of Eastern Michigan at www.emueagles.com for Friday and Saturday only.
Series History . . .
Ball State and Eastern Michigan have met 133 times prior to this weekend's three-game series ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 70-62-1 margin ... The home team has won two out of three games the past three seasons, including the Cardinals posting a series victory last year in Muncie.
In that series, the Cardinals won Friday afternoon 13-12 as former Cardinal Kolbrin Vitek hit a walk-off three-run home run ... Ball State claimed the series with an 18-11 victory Saturday as it scored 12 runs in the first four innings ... Eastern Michigan pulled out a 10-5 victory in the series finale Sunday as it limited the Cardinals to just four hits ... Vitek led the Cardinals offensively as he hit three home runs and drove in seven runs ... Center fielder Cody Elliott posted a .417 batting average in the series with two doubles and a triple ... Right-hander Cal Bowling notched a victory in his Saturday start as he allowed four runs in 5.0 innings ... Left-hander Jon Cisna posted his first career save as he tossed 3.2 shutout innings ... Fellow southpaw Derek Grabner made two appearances and allowed four runs in 7.0 innings.
Eastern Michigan was led by Brent Ohrman who posted a .533 batting average in the series with eight hits ... Zack Leornard drove in five runs and Andrew Marshall tallied a pair of home runs ... Corey Chaffins picked up a loss on the mound as he allowed seven runs in 3.2 innings ... Steve Weber posted a save Sunday working 3.0 shutout innings.
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will send its normal rotation to the hill this weekend in right-hander Cal Bowling Friday, left-hander Derek Grabner Saturday and right-hander Morgan Coombs Sunday ... Eastern Michigan will counter with left-hander Robert Wendzicki Friday, right-hander Corey Chaffins Saturday and right-hander Steve Weber Sunday.
Bowling will be making his 11th start of the season Friday ... He has a 4-3 record with a 2.62 ERA in a team-high 65.1 innings of work ... He has struck out 39 batters, while walking 21 ... He has a 1.79 ERA in 40.1 innings of MAC play this season and has posted three complete games.
Grabner will also be making his 11th start of the season ... He has a 1-3 record with a 5.00 ERA in 54.0 innings of work while striking out 35 and walking 23 ... He worked 6.1 innings last weekend against Central Michigan and allowed four runs in a no decision.
Coombs will be making his 10th appearance and seventh start of the year Sunday ... He has a 4-3 record with a 3.79 ERA in 38.0 innings of work while striking out 29 and walking 13 ... He is 4-0 with a 2.63 ERA in MAC play, including working a career-high 8.0 innings Sunday over CMU.
Wendzicki will be making his 11th start of the season Friday night ... He has a 3-4 record with a 3.82 ERA in 61.1 innings of work while striking out 43 and walking 17 ... He is coming off a complete game victory over Western Michigan as he limited the Broncos to two runs on four hits.
Chaffins will be making his 14th appearance and eight start of the season Saturday ... He has a 5-3 record with a 4.48 ERA in 62.1 innings of work as he has struck out 51 and walked 27 ... Last weekend, he worked 7.0 innings and allowed just one run in a victory over Western Michigan.
Weber will be making his 12th appearance and 11th start of the season Sunday ... He has a 4-3 record with a 4.62 ERA in 50.2 innings of work while striking out 32 and walking 20 batters ... He allowed four runs on four hits in 3.1 innings last weekend in a no decision against the Broncos.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 12-25 overall record and an 8-6 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals own a 6-16 record away from home this season but boast a 4-1 road record in league play ... Ball State has scored 179 runs (4.84 runs/game) and is batting .251 as a team ... On the mound, the Cardinals have a 5.32 ERA and opponents are batting .288.
Junior second baseman Mitch Widau leads the team with a .308 batting average ... Widau is second on the team with 37 hits and leads the team with 22 walks ... Junior Cody Elliott is second on the team with a .305 batting average ... Elliott leads the team with 36 hits, 24 runs, seven doubles, five triples, 26 RBI and 12 stolen bases ... Freshman first baseman Kenny Mahala has a .286 batting average and has hit a team-high four home runs ... Senior T.J. Baumet also has tallied four home runs and has driven in 20 runs.
In the bullpen, Justin Warrington leads the team with 16 appearances as a left-handed specialist ... He has a 6.75 ERA in just 5.1 innings of work ... Left-hander Devin Wilburn has appeared in 12 games and has a 5.96 ERA in 22.2 innings ... Right-hander Michael Sandman has a 4.97 ERA in 12.2 innings and he is one of four Cardinals with a save.
Scouting The Eagles . . .
Eastern Michigan enters the weekend riding a five-game winning streak, including a three-game sweep at Western Michigan last weekend ... The Eagles own a 25-15 overall record and a 9-6 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... Eastern Michigan has scored 260 runs (6.5 runs/game) and is batting .299 as a team ... On the mound, the Eagles have a 5.15 team ERA and opponents are batting .289.
Ken Battiston leads the Eagles with a .370 batting average ... Battiston leads the team with 15 doubles and five triples while placing second with 57 hits and 27 RBI ... Zack Leonard, the Eagles' all-time hits leader, has a .351 batting average and has tallied 54 hits ... Daniel Russell leads the team with 31 RBI while Ben Masig and Kyle Peterson leads the team with four home runs.
In the bullpen, Joe Battistelli leads the team with 16 appearances ... Battistelli has a 4-1 record with a 4.45 ERA in 30.1 innings while posting two saves ... Kristian Calibuso leads the team with three saves as he has a 3.31 ERA in 16.1 innings of work ... Tim Combs has appeared in 15 games and has a 5.32 ERA in 23.2 innings.
Mahala's Grand Day . . .
Freshman first baseman Kenny Mahala had a breakout performance against Bowling Green ... Mahala, who entered the weekend 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 doubleheader with 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.
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 will once again be off during the midweek before returning to action next weekend when the Cardinals host Western Michigan in a three-game series at Ball Diamond.
