Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Bowling Green This Weekend
April 07, 2011 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State returns to Mid-American Conference play this weekend with a three-game series against East Division foe Bowling Green at Ball Diamond ... The Cardinals and Falcons will play Friday at 3 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. in Muncie ... Ball State enters the weekend with a 4-2 MAC record after picking up series victories over Ohio and Miami ... The Falcons enter the weekend with a 3-3 league mark as they won a series over Northern Illinois and lost a series against Eastern Michigan.
All three games this weekend will be broadcast on Sports Link Radio on 91.3 WCRD FM and online at www.ballstatesports.com ... Additionally, live stats will also be available on www.ballstatesports.com.
Bowling Named MAC West Pitcher Of the Week . . .
Junior right-handed pitcher Cal Bowling was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week Monday afternoon ... Bowling posted his second straight complete game to open league play as he tossed a four-hit shutout at Miami Friday night ... He recorded a complete game against Ohio in the first league weekend of the year as he allowed just one run against the Bobcats.
Bowling needed just 98 pitches to post his second straight complete game as he struck out six batters and did not walk anyone ... He becomes the first Ball State pitcher to post two complete games in a season since Ben Snyder in 2005 ... Through the first two MAC weekends he has allowed just one run in 18.0 innings and has posted 17 straight shutout innings in league action ... He improved to 3-1 on the season and 8-0 in his career in 11 MAC starts between last season's 6-0 league record and this year's 2-0 mark through two weekends
Series History . . .
Ball State and Bowling Green have met 100 times prior to this weekend's series with the Cardinals trailing the all-time series by a 54-44-2 margin ... Bowling Green has won eight out of the last 11 meetings between the two teams over the past three years ... Ball State won the regular season series in Bowling Green last year with a 12-6 Friday win and a 32-10 Saturday victory, before BGSU posted a 9-3 win Sunday ... The Falcons gave the Cardinals both of their losses in the 2010 Mid-American Conference Tournament in Chillicothe, Ohio, as they posted a 6-4 victory in the first game and a 7-4 win to eliminate the Cardinals in the double-elimination tournament.
Last season, former Cardinals Zach Dygert and Ian Nielsen led the team offensively in the five games against the Falcons ... Dygert went 8-of-16 against BGSU while Nielsen drove in 11 runs in the five of games ... Stephen Claypool went 9-of-22 against the Falcons with six RBI and six runs scored while Blake Beemer added eight hits against BGSU.
On the mound, Cal Bowling picked up a victory as he worked 6.0 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out five ... Left-hander Derek Grabner made two appearances and allowed one earned run in 4.1 innings of work.
Bowling Green was led by Jon Berti who posted eight hits and drove in five runs ... On the mound, Cody Apthorpe posted a victory in two appearances as he allowed four runs in 8.0 innings of work while Charles Wooten posted two shutout innings.
Double Them Up . . .
Freshman Cody Campbell turned in his best offensive performance of his young career Wednesday at Indiana State ... Campbell posted a career-high three doubles in his first three at-bats against the Sycamores ... The three doubles are the most for the Cardinals this season and the most since former Cardinal Kolbrin Vitek tallied three two-baggers March 25, 2009.
This Weekend's Starters . . .
Ball State will continue to use its same starting rotation this weekend as junior right-hander Cal Bowling gets the nod Friday, senior left-hander Derek Grabner Saturday and senior right-hander Morgan Coombs Sunday ... Bowling Green will counter with three right-handers in Cody Apthorpe Friday, Nick Bruns Saturday and Charles Wooten Sunday.
Bowling will be making his eighth start of the season Friday ... He has a 3-1 overall record and a 2.51 ERA in 43.0 innings of work ... He has posted back-to-back complete games to open Mid-American Conference play allowing just six hits and one run in 18.0 innings of work ... He has posted 17.0 straight shutout innings in league play and is holding MAC foes to just a .102 batting average.
Grabner will be making his eighth start of the season ... He has an 0-2 record with a 5.65 ERA in 36.2 innings of work as he has struck out 22 batters while walking 13 ... He has picked up back-to-back no decisions in MAC play.
Coombs wil be making his eighth appearance and fifth start of the year Sunday ... He has a 2-3 record with a 4.12 ERA in 24.0 innings of work ... He has allowed just three runs in 13.2 innings during MAC play as he has struck out 12 and only walked three batters.
Apthorpe will be making his 10th appearance and seventh start Friday afternoon ... He has a 2-3 record with a 5.76 ERA in 29.2 innings of work ... He is coming off a loss last Friday against Eastern Michigan as he allowed six runs on nine hits in just 2.1 innings of work.
Bruns will be making his ninth appearance and seventh start of the season Saturday ... He has a 2-1 record with a 5.18 ERA in 33.0 innings of work as he has struck out 29 and walked nine ... Last weekend, he picked up the victory as he allowed five runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings as he struck out seven batters.
Wooten will be making his ninth appearance and team-high eighth start of the season Sunday ... He has a 1-4 record with a 4.41 ERA in 32.2 innings of work as he has struck out a team-high 34 batters ... He was charged with the loss last Sunday as he allowed three runs on five hits in 4.2 innings of work against EMU.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 6-20 overall record and a 4-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have won two league series with wins over Ohio at home and at Miami ... Ball State has scored 110 runs (4.23 runs/game) and is batting .238 as a team ... The Cardinals have a 6.01 team ERA and opponents are batting .300 against BSU.
Junior second baseman Mitch Widau leads the team with a .305 batting average ... Widau is second on the team with 25 hits and 14 RBI while leading the team with 14 walks ... Junior center fielder Cody Elliott leas the team with 27 hits and 17 RBI ... Elliott is also one of three Cardinals with two home runs on the year, joining redshirt freshman Billy Wellman and senior T.J. Baumet.
In the bullpen, left-hander Justin Warrington leads the team with 12 appearances ... He has pitched just 4.1 innings in his 12 appearances as a left-handed specialist ... Left-hander Jon Cisna has a 1.15 ERA in 15.2 innings of work while right-hander Seth Hobbs has appeared in nine games and has a 6.39 ERA in 12.2 innings ... Right-hander Scott Brothers Jr. has also appeared in nine games and has a 6.57 ERA in 12.1 innings of work as he has recorded one save for the Cardinals.
Scouting The Falcons . . .
Bowling Green enters the weekend with a 9-15 overall record and a 3-3 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Falcons dropped a pair of midweek games at Western Michigan and home to Oakland ... BGSU is batting .268 as a team and has scored 135 runs (5.625 runs/game) ... On the mound, the Falcons have a 4.83 team ERA and opponents are batting .294 against.
Jon Berti leads the team offensively with a .400 batting average as he has a team-high 32 hits and is tied for the team-lead with 14 RBI ... Berti also leads the team with 10 stolen bases and 16 runs scored ... Ryan Schlater leads the team with three home runs while Matt Pitzulo has 14 RBI and five doubles.
In the bullpen, Ross Gerdeman leads the team with 11 appearances ashe has a 1.71 ERA in 26.1 innings ... Gerdeman has struck out 20 batters and walked nine while posting one of four saves for the Falcons ... Mike Frank is second on the team with 10 appearances and has a 4.50 ERA in 30.0 innings of work.
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 be home for two midweek games next week as it hosts Purdue Tuesday and Indiana Tech Wednesday afternoons at Ball Diamond.
