Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Kent State This Weekend
March 29, 2012 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State hosts its first Mid-American Conference series of the season this weekend as the Cardinals welcome in perennial MAC power Kent State to Ball Diamond ... The teams are slated to play Friday afternoon at 3 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
All three games will have live stats available at www.ballstatesports.com and SportsLink radio will broadcast Saturday and Sunday's games on www.ballstatesports.com ... Fans can also follow on Twitter @BallUBaseball.
Probable Starting Pitchers. . .
Ball State will send senior right-hander Cal Bowling to the hill Friday and sophomore T.J. Weir to the mound Saturday while no starter has been named for Sunday's contest ... Kent State will counter with left-hander David Starn, right-hander Ryan Bores and right-hander Tyler Skulina.
Bowling will be making his seventh start of the season Friday ... He owns a 2-2 record with a 3.68 ERA while working a Mid-American Conference best 44.0 innings this season ... He has struck out 39 batters while walking just 11 ... Last weekend, he picked up the loss against Akron working 6.1 innings and allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out nine ... His 6.1 innings is his shortest outing of the season.
Weir, the Cardinals' starting shortstop, will be making his sixth start of the season Saturday ... He has an 0-5 record with a 9.35 ERA in 26.0 innings as he has struck out 22 while walking just seven ... Last weekend, he was charged with the loss against the Zips working 5.2 innings and allowing six runs, five earned, on 10 hits.
Starn will be making his seventh start of the season Friday ... He has a 4-2 record with a 1.99 ERA in 40.2 innings as he has struck out 42 and walked 13 batters ... Last weekend, he picked up the victory over Northern Illinois working 7.0 innings and allowing five runs on six hits while striking out 11.
Bores will be making his seventh start of the season Saturday ... He has a 4-2 record with a 4.46 ERA in 34.1 innings as he has struck out 23 and walked just eight batters ... He earned MAC East Pitcher of the Week honors last weekend after working 8.0 innings and allowing just three hits while striking out nine against NIU.
Skulina will also be making his seventh start of the season this weekend ... He has a 2-2 record with a 3.00 ERA in 33.0 innings as he has struck out 33 and walked 16 batters ... He picked up a no decision last weekend against NIU working 5.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits.
Series History . . .
Ball State and Kent State have met 100 times in program history prior to this weekend's series ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 54-46 margin ... The two teams have not met since 2009 when they split a rain-shortened series in Muncie ... Kent State took the first game 10-9 before the Cardinals posted a 4-2 victory Saturday afternoon ... Ball State has won four out of the last five meetings as it swept a three-game series against the Golden Flashes on the road in 2008.
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).
Kent State is led by eighth-year head coach Scott Stricklin who has a 267-145 record in seven seasons, four NCAA Regional berths, four Mid-American Conference Tournament titles and three regular season conference crowns.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 4-16 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals have played 19 of their first 20 games on the road as they opened the home schedule Wednesday afternoon against Indiana State ... Ball State has scored 68 runs this season and is batting .243 as a team while opponents have scored 152 runs and are batting .298 as a team.
Junior center fielder Wes Winkle leads the team with a .362 batting average ... Winkle is currently riding a career-best 10-game hitting streak ... He has hit .450 over his past 10 games, going 18-of-40 with six multiple-hit games, including six hits in the past two games ... He leads the team with 21 hits and is tied for the team lead with seven runs scored ... Sophomore T.J. Weir is tied for the team lead with 21 hits as he is hitting .269 ... Weir is one of three Cardinals with eight RBI.
In the bullpen, left-handers Jon Cisna and Devin Wilburn lead the team with eight appearances each ... Cisna has a 4.91 ERA in 7.1 innings while Wilburn has a 5.84 ERA in 12.1 innings of work ... Junior right-hander Chris Marangon has appeared in seven games with three starts ... Marangon has a 5.40 ERA in 20.0 innings of work.
Scouting The Golden Flashes . . .
Kent State enters the weekend with an 11-12 overall record and a 3-0 mark in Mid-American Conference play as it swept a three-game series against Northern Illinois ... The Golden Flashes have scored 127 runs this season while posting a .290 batting average ... Opponents have scored 118 runs and are batting .257 as a team.
Nick Hamilton leads the team with a .480 batting average in 12 starts ... Evan Campbell is second on the team with a .393 batting averaged while leading the team with 35 hits and 19 runs scored ... Jimmy Rider boasts a .330 batting average with 33 hits and a team-high 14 doubles.
In the bullpen, Casey Wilson leads the team with 10 appearances and three saves ... He has a 1.38 ERA in 13.0 innings ... Eric Dorsch is second on the team with eight appearances and has a 3.68 ERA in 7.1 innings of work with one save.
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State concludes its five-game home stand Tuesday afternoon as it hosts Indiana Tech before travelling to Indiana Wednesday afternoon ... The Cardinals host Mid-American Conference rival Miami in a three-game set next weekend.
