Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Plays At Dayton And Hosts Indiana State
March 26, 2012 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State plays two non-conference midweek games as it travels to regional foe Dayton Tuesday afternoon for a 4 p.m. first pitch at Time Warner Cable Stadium before hosting its 2012 home-opener Wednesday afternoon as the Cardinals welcome in Indiana State for a 3 p.m. first pitch at Ball Diamond ... Both games will have live stats available on www.ballstatesports.com as well as a radio broadcast Wednesday on 91.3 SportsLink Radio on WCRD FM streamed online at www.ballstatesports.com for free.
Probable Starting Pitchers. . .
Ball State will send sophomore right-hander Jacob Brewer to the hill Tuesday afternoon at Dayton while sophomore left-hander Nestor Bautista gets the call in the home opener Wednesday against Indiana State ... Dayton will counter with right-hander Kyle Coenen while the Sycamores will send right-hander Kyle Rupe to the hill Wednesday.
Brewer will be making his sixth appearance of the season and first start of the year ... He has a 2.35 ERA in 7.2 innings of work and has allowed six walks while striking out three batters ... He last saw action March 18 against No. 21 Louisville working 4.0 innings and allowing just two runs without walking a batter.
Bautista wil be making his sixth appearance and fifth start of the season Wednesday ... He has an 0-3 record with a 14.21 ERA in 12.2 innings of work ... He has struck out 11 while walking 10 batters ... He last saw action March 17 against No. 21 Louisville and worked 2.0 innings allowing three runs on four hits.
Coenen will be making his fourth appearance and third start of the year for the Flyers Tuesday afternoon ... He has an 0-1 record with a 8.18 ERA in 11.0 innings as he has struck out six and walked eight ... He last saw action March 17 working 5.1 innings of relief against Canisius allowing three runs on two hits.
Rupe will be making his eighth appearance and fifth start of the season Wednesday at Ball Diamond ... He has a 4-0 record with an 0.72 ERA in 25.0 innings ... He has struck out 18 while walking six batters ... He last saw action March 18 earning the victory over Notre Dame as he allowed one run on three hits in 6.1 innings.
Series History . . .
Tuesday's game marks the 28th meeting all-time between Ball State and Dayton and the second meeting this season ... The Cardinals own a 20-7 all-time record against the Flyers, including wins in eight out of the last nine meetings.
Earlier this year, the Cardinals posted a 4-3 victory in the season opener February 17 in Spartanburg, S.C. ... Senior right-hander Cal Bowling worked 6.2 innings innings and held the Flyers to two runs while striking out five batters ... Senior second baseman Mitch Widau drove in the go ahead run in the top of the ninth inning with a two-out single to score junior Kirby Campbell.
Wednesday's game marks the 137th meeting all-time between Ball State and Indiana State ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by an 85-51 margin but the two teams have rotated wins over the past six seasons with the home team winning all contests ... Last year, the Sycamores posted a 5-3 victory in Terre Haute while the Cardinals won the last meeting in Muncie in 2010 with a 12-5 victory.
Coaching Comparison . . .
Ball State head coach Alex Marconi enters his second season at the helm ... Marconi posted a 15-35 record last year after working for five years as an assistant coach for BSU under former head coach Greg Beals (Ohio State).
Dayton is led by 13-year head coach Tony Vittorio who has a 351-340 record at the helm of the Flyers.
Indiana State is led by third-year head coach Rick Heller ... He led the Sycamores to a 35-19 record during his first season at the helm and has a 644-524-4 record during his 25 years as a head coach.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the week with a 4-14 overall record with all 18 games coming away from home ... The Cardinals dropped two out of three at Akron last weekend but is coming off a 2-1 victory in 12 innings Sunday ... Ball State has scored 60 runs this season with a .240 batting average while opponents have scored 124 runs with a .292 batting average.
Junior center fielder Wes Winkle leads the team with a .306 batting average as he is fourth on the team with 15 hits ... Sophomore T.J. Weir is second on the team with a .286 batting average while leading the team with 20 hits, eight RBI and seven runs scored ... Senior Mitch Widau is tied for the team lead with eight RBI and has a .281 batting average.
In the bullpen, left-hander Jon Cisna leads the team with eight appearances and has a 4.91 ERA in 7.1 innings of work ... Sophomore Devin Wilburn has appeared in seven games with a 6.10 ERA while junior Miles Moeller has a 7.71 ERA in seven appearances.
Scouting The Flyers . . .
Dayton enters the week with a 9-14 overall record after taking two out of three from St. Bonaventure ... Tuesday's game marks the 11th home game of the season for the Flyers ... Dayton has scored 145 runs this season while batting .284 as a team ... Opponents have scored 144 runs and are hitting .299 as a team.
C.J. Gillman leads the Flyers with a .337 batting average as he is second on the team with 31 hits and leads the team with 23 RBI ... Bobby Glover is second on the team with a .330 batting average while leading the team with 33 hits, 24 runs scored, eight doubles and five home runs.
In the bullpen, Tommy Konrad leads the team with 12 appearances and has a 6.00 ERA in 24.0 innings ... Matthew Miller is second with nine appearances and has a 4.26 ERA in 12.2 innings.
Scouting The Sycamores . . .
Indiana State enters the week with a 19-5 overall record and has won 14 out of its last 15 games ... ISU will host Illinois Springfield Tuesday evening ... The Sycamores have scored 182 runs this season while posting a .328 batting average ... Opponents have scored 80 runs and are batting .235 as a team.
Casey McCurdy leads Indiana State with a .396 batting average ... Jeremy Lucas is second on the team at .391 as he has posted 36 hits, 30 RBI and 24 runs scored ... Kyle Burnam chips in a .389 batting average with a team-high 37 hits while Robby Ort adds a .383 batting average and 36 hits.
In the bullpen, Kurt Kudrecki leads the team with 11 appearances and has a 2.51 ERA in 14.1 innings ... Brandon Dorsett has appeared in 10 games with a 1.12 ERA in 8.0 innings.
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State continues its four-game home stand this weekend as it hosts perennial Mid-American Conference power Kent State for a three-game series.
