Ball State University Athletics
Four Cardinals Among D1Baseball.com's Top 300 Prospects
January 25, 2016 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. – D1Baseball.com recently put out its annual top prospect list heading into the 2016 season and four Ball State Cardinals made the list – Zach Plesac (No. 133), Alex Call (No. 199), Alex Maloney (No. 242) and Jarett Rindfleisch (No. 254).
Plesac, a junior right-handed pitcher, led the Cardinals in most of the pitching statistics last year including wins (five), games started (16), innings pitches (107.1), strikeouts (77) and ERA (3.27) on the way to earning All-Mid-American Conference second team honors. The Crown Point, Indiana native threw five complete games as a sophomore, which led the MAC and ranked 10th nationally. In 2014, Plesac was named MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year and came away with All-MAC first team accolades after going 12-2 with a 2.11 ERA.
Call, a junior right fielder, was the team's most consistent hitter in 2015. The native of River Falls, Wisconsin led the Cardinals in batting average (.339), hits (78) and runs scored (45) while ranking second in slugging percentage (.465) and RBIs (42). Call put together a 16-game hitting streak in the middle of his sophomore campaign.
Maloney, the team's starting shortstop, posted 16 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI contests as a sophomore in 2015. He equaled his career high with three hits in three games last year. The native of Chelsea, Michigan led the team with 14 doubles and 107 assists.
Rindfleisch, a 2015 ABCA/Rawlings All-Mideast Region first team selection, stacked among the top three in the MAC in home runs (10), RBIs (47) and slugging percentage (.518) a year ago. The junior catcher made 56 starts as a sophomore and piled up a personal-high five RBIs in the 16-8 win over Buffalo on March 29.
D1Baseball.com's Preseason Top 300 list represents a consensus obtained through thorough research, polling coaches and scouts from all parts of the country, and a heavy influence from the scouting observations of the web site's lead writers.
Ball State's 2016 season opener is slated for Feb. 19 in Arizona against Oregon State.
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
