Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Plays Butler At Victory Field Tuesday
April 09, 2012 | Baseball
What's On Tap . . .
Ball State steps out of Mid-American Conference play Tuesday afternoon as it meets in-state foe Butler in downtown Indianapolis at Victory Field, the Triple-A home of the Indianapolis Indians ... First pitch is set for 3 p.m. ... The game will be televised by the Hometown Sports Network (HTSN) with RTV 6 Sports Reporter Brad Brown and HTSN's Greg Rakestraw calling the action ... Live stats will also be available on www.ballstatesports.com ... Fans can also follow on Twitter @BallUBaseball ... Tickets for the game are $5.
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Probable Starting Pitchers. . .
Ball State will send freshman right-hander Scott Baker to the hill Tuesday afternoon while Butler will counter with right-hander Dom Silvestri.
Baker will be making his 10th appearance of the season and second straight start ... He has a 6.48 ERA in 16.2 innings of work this season while striking out 17 and walking 10 batters ... Last weekend, he made his first career start against Indiana Tech working 4.0 innings and allowing two runs on four hits while striking out three.
Silvestri will be making his seventh appearance of the season with his sixth start ... He has a 3-1 record on the year with a 4.00 ERA in 27.0 innings pitched ... He has struck out 12 batters while walking seven ... He started Friday afternoon against Milwaukee and lasted just 3.1 innings ... He allowed five runs, only one earned, on eight hits while picking up the loss.
Series History . . .
Tuesday's game marks the 111th meeting all-time between Ball State and Butler ... The Cardinals lead the all-time series by a 66-44 margin and are 14-4 over the past 18 meetings ... The two teams last met in 2010, which was the first meeting since 2006 ... Butler posted a 10-5 victory at home as it scored nine runs on the final four innings ... Outfielder Blake Beemer posted two hits and reached base four times in the loss while Butler had four different players with two hits apiece.
Last Weekend . . .
Ball State posted its first series victory of the season taking two games against Miami with a 7-6 win Friday and a 4-3 win Saturday ... The Cardinals dropped the series finale 9-5 Sunday afternoon.
Junior left fielder Blake Beemer posted a .600 (6-of-10) batting average on the weekend ... Beemer, who entered the weekend with one double, ripped five doubles in the three games, including a career-high three Saturday ... He posted a 1.100 slugging percentage while driving in four runs and scoring three ... Senior third baseman Tim Issler drove in four runs in a pair of starts returning to the lineup, including his third career home run.
Sophomore right-hander T.J. Weir picked up his first win of the season working 6.1 innings of shutout baseball Saturday ... He allowed seven hits but struck out seven batters ... Senior Cal Bowling worked 8.0 innings in the Friday victory to run his Mid-American Conference leading total to 58.0 innings pitched.
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).
Butler is led by 21st-year head coach Steve Farley ... Farley has won 501 games at the helm of Butler and 554 games over his entire career.
Scouting The Cardinals . . .
Ball State enters Tuesday's game with a 7-21 overall record and a 3-16 mark on the road ... The Cardinals are coming off their first series victory of the season, taking two out of three from visiting Miami ... Ball State has won three out of its last four games with its lone loss coming in 15 innings at Indiana ... The Cardinals have scored 104 runs (3.7 runs/game) this season and is batting .246 as a team ... Opponents have scored 211 runs (7.5 runs/game) and are hitting .300 as a team.
Junior Blake Beemer leads the team with .287 batting average and is tied for the team lead with 27 hits ... Junior Wes Winkle is second on the team with a .281 batting average while also posting 27 hits ... Sophomore Cody Campbell has driving in 14 runs hit season to lead the team while sophomore Sean Godfrey leads the team with 13 runs scored and eight stolen bases.
In the bullpen, right-hander Chris Marangon has appeared in 12 games and owns a 4.85 ERA in 29.2 innings ... He has a 1-2 record and has posted two of the Cardinals' three saves this season ... Left-hander Devin Wilburn has appeared in 12 games and has a 7.47 ERA in 15.2 innings ... Wilburn posted his second career save Saturday against Miami.
Scouting The Bulldogs . . .
Butler enters Tuesday's game with a 17-15 overall record and an 11-4 mark in home games ... The Bulldogs dropped two out of three at Milwaukee over the weekend ... Butler has scored 206 runs (6.4 runs/game) this season and is batting .282 as a team ... Opponents have scored 247 runs (7.7 runs/game) and are hitting .323 as a team.
Pat Gelwicks leads the Bulldogs with a .371 batting average ... Gelwicks leads the team with 39 hits and 29 runs scored while also driving in 26 runs ... Radley Haddad is second on the team with a .360 batting average and 32 hits while Jimmy Risi leads the team with 31 RBI.
In the bullpen, Chase Byerly leads the team with 16 appearances and eight saves ... Byerly has a 1.64 ERA in 22.0 innings as he has struck out 16 while only walking one ... Brad Schnitzer has also appeared in 16 games and has a 2.53 ERA in 21.1 innings of work.
Looking Ahead . . .
Ball State returns home to Ball Diamond Wednesday afternoon as it hosts No. 18 Purdue at 3 p.m.
