Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Hosts Miami For Three Games This Weekend
April 05, 2012 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State hosts a Mid-American Conference series this weekend as the Cardinals welcome in rival Miami 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.
Going Extras . . .
Ball State has played in extra innings in four out of its last five games, including a 15-inning contest at Big Ten foe Indiana Wednesday ... The 15-inning contest is the longest game for the Cardinals since a 15-inning game April 27, 2004 at Notre Dame ... Ball State is 2-4 this season in extra inning games with wins over Akron and Indiana Tech while suffering losses to UAB, Kent State (2) and Indiana.
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 ... Miami will counter with the same rotation for the eighth straight weekend in right-hander Mac Thoreson, right-hander Brooks Fiala and left-hander Shawn Marquardt.
Bowling will be making his team-leading eighth start of the season Friday, all of which have come on Fridays ... He owns a 2-2 record with a 3.96 ERA in a Mid-American Conference leading 50.0 innings ... He has struck out 45 batters while walking 13 and opponents are batting .255 against him ... Last weekend, he worked 6.0 innings against Kent State and allowed four runs while striking out six in the no decision.
Weir will be making his seventh start and eighth appearance of the season Saturday ... He has an 0-5 record with a 7.83 ERA in 33.1 innings of work ... He has struck out 26 batters while walking nine ... He is coming off one of his best starts of the season working 7.1 innings against Kent State ... He allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out four batters.
Thoreson will be making his eighth start of the season Friday .. He has a 3-2 record with a 6.57 ERA in 38.1 innings of work as he has struck out 24 and walked 16 batters ... Last weekend, he lasted just 3.0 innings against Toledo allowing six runs on seven hits in a game that Miami rallied for the victory.
Fiala will also be making his eight start of the season ... He has a 2-3 record with a 5.97 ERA in 37.2 innings of work while striking out 32 and walking nine ... He worked 6.1 innings last weekend against Toledo allowing three runs on six hits in the no decision.
Marquardt will be making his eighth start of the season ... He has a 3-3 record with a 3.56 ERA in 48.0 innings as he has struck out 30 while walking nine ... Last weekend he posted his third complete game of the year besting Toledo by allowing three runs on six hits in 9.0 innings.
Series History . . .
Ball State and Miami have met 126 times prior to this weekend's three-game series ... The Cardinals trail the all-time series by a 69-57 margin but have won five out of the last six games ... Ball State won two out of three last season in Oxford posting a 2-0 victory Friday, dropping an 11-7 contest Saturday before securing the series victory Sunday with a 6-3 win ... Right-hander Cal Bowling posted a complete game four-hit shutout Friday evening to start the Cardinals off on the right foot ... He did not walk a batter while striking out six needing just 98 pitches in the 9.0 innings.
Ball State has posted six straight victories over the RedHawks at Ball Diamond ... The Cardinals swept three-game series in 2010 and 2006 in Muncie.
Last Time Out . . .
In its longest game since 2004, Ball State dropped a 6-5 15-inning contest to Big Ten foe Indiana Wednesday afternoon at Sembower Field ... Indiana center fielder Justin Cureton posted a walk-off single in the bottom of the 15th inning with two outs as the game was on the brink of being suspended due to darkness.
Sophomore left-hander Nestor Bautista was one of five Cardinals' pitchers that limited the Hoosiers to nine hits while striking out 13 batters ... Bautista worked 6.0 strong innings of relief as he allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits while striking out seven batters.
Sophomore right fielder Sean Godfrey led the Cardinals offensively as he posted three of the Cardinals' 12 hits ... Junior catcher Kevin Franchetti and senior third baseman Tim Issler drove in a pair of runs each in the loss.
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).
Miami is led by seventh-year head coach Dan Simonds who has a 191-176
record at the helm of the RedHawks.
We're Going Streaking . . .
Ball State junior center fielder Wes Winkle posted a career-best 12-game hitting streak earlier this season when he posted a .429 batting average with 21 hits in the Cardinals' longest hitting streak of the season ... Sophomore right-fielder Sean Godfrey is on the verge of tying Winkle as he has an 11-game hitting streak entering the game, including a season-high three hits Wednesday against Indiana ... Also, sophomore first baseman Cody Campbell is on the heels of becoming the third Cardinal this season to have a double-digit game hitting streak as he has hit safely in nine games this year.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters the weekend with a 5-20 overall record and a 1-5 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The Cardinals are coming off a 15-inning 6-5 loss at Big Ten foe Indiana Wednesday evening ... Ball State has scored 88 runs this season (3.52 runs/game) and is hitting .242 as a team ... Opponents have scored 193 runs (7.72 runs/game) this season and is batting .297 as a team.
Junior center fielder Wes Winkle leads the team with a .313 batting average ... Winkle has posted a team-high 26 hits while tied for the team lead with 10 runs scored ... Cody Campbell is second on the team with a .275 batting average and leads the team with 13 RBI ... Sophomore shortstop T.J. Weir is second on the team with 25 hits and leads the team with 100 at-bats.
In the bullpen, left-handers Jon Cisna and Devin Wilburn lead the team with 11 appearances each ... Cisna owns a 5.11 ERA in 12.1 innings of work while Wilburn has a 7.63 ERA in 15.1 innings ... Junior right-hander Chris Marangon has appeared in 10 games and owns a 4.76 ERA in 28.1 innings.
Scouting The RedHawks . . .
Miami enters the weekend with a 15-13 overall record and a 3-3 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... The RedHawks dropped a 9-2 contest to Ohio State Wednesday after taking two out of three at home against Toledo ... Miami has scored 150 runs (5.36 runs/game) and is batting .303 as a team ... Opponents have scored 163 runs (5.82 runs/game) and is batting .292 as a team.
Matt Honchell leads the team with a .423 batting average ... Honchell has a tema-high 44 hits and has scored 25 runs ... Kevin Bower leads the team with 29 RBI and a .327 batting average while Bryce Redeker has 34 hits, 31 runs scored and 20 RBI.
In the bullpen, Brandon Adkins leads the team with 11 appearances ... Adkins has a 4.50 ERA in 16.0 innings of work ... Nathan Williams has appeared in 10 games and has a 1.46 ERA in 12.1 innings with a team-high three saves ... Joe Neff has also appeared in 10 games and has a 4.15 ERA in 17.1 innings.
Looking Ahead . . .
The Cardinals head to Victory Field in downtown Indianapolis Tuesday afternoon to play the Butler Bulldogs in non-conference play at 3 p.m.
