Game 23  ► Ball State (11-9, 2-1 MAC) at Indiana State (13-9, 1-2 MVC)

March 25, 2009  ►  Terre Haute, Ind.  ►  Sycamore Field (2,500)   ►  89.7 FM WISU  

Ball State Starter :                #28 Adam Quinn, Sr., RHP

Indiana State Starter :          #39 Cordell Greene, Fr., RHP

Setting The Scene

            Indiana State (13-9, 1-2 MVC) will wrap up a five-game home stand on Wednesday against in-state foe Ball State (11-9, 2-1 MAC), before heading on Friday to begin an eight-game road swing at Illinois State.  First pitch is set for 3 p.m. EST at Sycamore Field, with ISU's Cordell Greene (1-0, 4.50 ERA) taking the mound against Ball State's Adam Quinn (1-1, 5.81 ERA).

            The Sycamores are coming off a 2-2 week last week in four games at home.  ISU opened the week with a dominating 23-3 victory over in-state foe Butler on Wednesday in non-conference action.

            ISU pounded out a season-high 24 hits which resulted in a season-high 23 runs scored against the Bulldogs.  The Sycamores blew the game wide open from the start, as they scored an astounding 12 runs in the bottom of the first inning on 10 hits.

            After their mid-week win over Butler, the Sycamores opened Missouri Valley Conference play against the Creighton Bluejays, who came into the series having won 10 straight games against the Sycamores.  That streak was extended to 12 games in a row, as the Jays picked up a 7-3 win in Friday's series opener and earned a 9-4 victory in the second game of the series on Saturday.

            However, ISU avoided the series sweep thanks to a strong pitching performance on the mound by Joe Rodriguez and 13 hits at the plate. Rodriguez (2-1) gave the Sycamores just what they needed on the mound, as he allowed just three earned runs on nine hits in seven-plus innings of work for ISU.  Matt Shelton pitched two scoreless innings of relief to finish the game, giving up just two hits and a walk while striking out the side in the ninth inning.

            Kyle Burnam finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBI, while Ryan Strausborger went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI in the victory for the Sycamores.  Luke Fieser and Pascual Del Real also added to hits each, while Joe Meggs finished the game 2-for-3 with three runs scored.

            The Cardinals have won five out of their last eight games overall, thanks to winning their Mid-American Conference season-opening series last weekend against Akron with a 5-1 victory over visiting Zips at Ball Diamond.  The Cardinals had picked up a 3-2 win over Akron in the series opener on Friday, but dropped a 10-8 decision to the Zips on Saturday.  BSU needed a win on Sunday to pick up the series win, and they got that from sophomore right-hander Kolbrin Vitek who improved to 2-1 on the season as he worked six innings of five-hit baseball while allowing just one unearned run.

About The Coaches

Lindsay Meggs (UCLA ?93) begins his third season as the Sycamore skipper (57-67) in 2009.  In his first season, Meggs coached the Sycamores to a 26-26 mark overall and a 7-17 record in the Missouri Valley Conference. Last year, the Sycamores were 18-32 overall and 9-15 in the Valley playing one of the toughest schedules in the country.  Meggs took the reigns of the Sycamore baseball program in 2006, coming to ISU after spending 13 seasons as head coach at California State-Chico.  While there, he guided the Wildcats to two NCAA Division II National Championships and compiled an overall record of 538-228-4.

Greg Beals (Kent State ?95) is in his seventh season as the head coach at Ball State (199-157) looking to guide the 2009 Cardinals back into contention for a Mid-American Conference crown.  In his first six years at Ball State, Beals has guided the Cardinals to three seasons of 35 wins or more, an overall record of 188-148 and an equally impressive mark of 84-62 in MAC play.  Last year, the Cardinals posted a 28-25 overall record and a 12-11 mark in conference play as BSU finished third in the MAC West Division. The highlight of Beals' tenure to this point came in 2006, when his Cardinals won the MAC Tournament for the first time in school history.

Scouting The Cardinals

►        Ball State University is located in Muncie, Ind., and has an enrollment of 17,728 students.  The Cardinals are members of the Mid-American Conference (West Division) and play their home games at Ball Diamond (1,700).

►        The Cardinals finished with an overall record of 28-25 during the 2008 season and posted a 12-11 record in MAC West play, which placed them third in the division.  The team ended its season with a 6-5 loss to Northern Illinois in the Mid-American Conference Tournament on May 23, 2008.

►        Ball State returns 16 lettermen from last year's team, including five position starters and 10 pitchers.  The Cardinals have also picked up 13 newcomers, making their team an interesting mix of experienced and new players.

►        The Cardinals have started the 2009 season with an 11-9 record and have won five out of their last eight games overall. 

►        Ball State won its Mid-American Conference season-opening series last weekend against Akron with a 5-1 victory over visiting Zips at Ball Diamond.  The Cardinals had picked up a 3-2 win over Akron in the series opener on Friday, but dropped a 10-8 decision to the Zips on Saturday.  BSU needed a win on Sunday to pick up the series win, and they got that from sophomore right-hander Kolbrin Vitek who improved to 2-1 on the season as he worked six innings of five-hit baseball while allowing just one unearned run.

►        Sophomore right-hander Kolbrin Vitek was been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week on Monday.  Vitek was dominant on the mound last week in two starts against Notre Dame and Akron, as he posted a 1-0 record with a 0.82 ERA. He only allowed one earned run in 11.0 innings of work in his two starts. He also was strong at the plate as he posted a .471 (eight-of-17) average over the four games last week.

►        The Cardinals are led at the plate by junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker, who has posted a .429 batting average with three doubles, three triples, two home runs and 16 RBI.  In addition Kolbrin Vitek (20), Kory Benbow (23) and Zach Dygert (22) have all driven in twenty or more runs for BSU and each have launched three or more home runs.

►        Starter Zach Piatt has been the stalwart on the mound for BSU, as he's posted a 4-0 record and a 1.69 ERA in five starts.

Mid-Week Success

Collegiate baseball mid-week games have a reputation of being high-scoring affairs and often not very fun for teams.  However, the Sycamores seem to be having a lot of fun during their mid-week games this season as they have posted a 4-1 record in those contests.  ISU is a perfect 3-0 at home in mid-week games and their only loss came on Wednesday, March 4, at Austin Peay.  In the team's four mid-week wins at home, the Sycamores have scored 51 runs while giving up just 19 to their opponents.

The Best In The Hoosier State?

With a 13-9 overall record, the Sycamores are off to a solid start to the season.  Two of those wins came at home against in-state rivals Indiana and Butler.  With a win on Wednesday against Ball State, ISU would improve its record against teams from the Hoosier State to 3-0, with a three-game series remaining against Missouri Valley Conference foe Evansville and single games against Oakland City, Southern Indiana and a re-match with the Hoosiers in Bloomington.

Fieser's Gone Streaking

Junior third baseman Luke Fieser has made an immediate impact in the Sycamore lineup in his first season at ISU and had a 12-game hitting streak heading into Friday's game against Creighton.  Unfortunately, that streak was snapped on Friday with a 0-for-3 performance at the plate against the Jays in the series opener.  But, Fieser bounced back and picked up hits in the final two games to keep his hot streak in tact.  He has now hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games and during that time, the Woodinville, Wash., native has posted a .420 average with 21 hits and seven RBI.  In addition, Fieser has raised his season batting average from .294 to .388, which currently leads the way for the Sycamores in that category.

Strausborger Can Do It All

Junior Ryan Strausborger returned to his all-conference form from last year for the Sycamores, as he posted a .600 batting average (9-for-15) with a double, a home run and three RBI in four starts last week for ISU.  The Osceola, Ind., native also scored three runs, walked three times and accounted for 13 total bases while making two starts at second base and two in center field.  Strausborger began the week with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate and three runs scored in Wednesday's 23-3 rout of in-state foe Butler at Sycamore Field.  On Saturday against Creighton, he went 3-for-4 with a RBI and capped off the weekend going 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI in Sunday's win against the Jays in the series finale.

Rodriguez Becomes The Stopper

ISU starter Joe Rodriguez stepped up when his team needed him the most and picked up a win on Sunday against Creighton to help the Sycamores avoid a series sweep.  The Middletown, N.Y., native allowed just three earned runs and scattered nine hits in seven inning of work to pick up his second win of the season for the Sycamores and earn a win for his team in the series finale.  

Lafrenz Goes Deep ... Again

Coming off a week where he hit three home runs and drove in seven runs on way to being named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week, catcher Bronco Lafrenz picked up right where he left off in last Friday's Valley season opener against the Creighton Bluejays.  With the Sycamores trailing by three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, Lafrenz came up with two runners on base and hit a long fly ball to right field that continued to carry in the wind over wall for a three-run home run.  It was Lafrenz's team-leading fifth of the season and his fifth in six games.

Is That Score Right?

One look at the scoreboard last Wednesday and Sycamore Field and you may wonder if your eyes were playing tricks on you.  First there was a 12 put on the board in the bottom of the first inning and by the end of the game the score read 23-3.  The 12 runs in the first inning, the 23 runs on the day and the 24 hits were all game highs for ISU this season but it was a not a season high for the Bulldogs.  Butler had previously given up 24 runs to UNLV earlier in the year.

Make It A Dozen

The Sycamores have been scoring nearly nine runs a game during the season but they eclipsed that mark in last Wednesday's game against Butler in just the first inning.  ISU exploded for 12 runs on 10 hits in the bottom of the first against the Bulldogs to put the game out of reach early.  Brady Shoemaker, Tyler Graham, and Luke Fieser all picked up RBI singles to start the inning before Pascual Del Real struck the big blow with a three-run triple to make the score 6-0 at the time.  Joe Meggs then picked up a RBI on a single up the middle that scored Del Real from third and Shoemaker later tacked on two more RBI with another single to make the score 11-0.  Fieser capped off the hitting barrage with a RBI single to left field with two outs in the inning.

Everybody Chips In

Every member of the ISU starting lineup chipped in with at least one hit in the team's 23-3 rout over Butler last Wednesday.  Third baseman Luke Fieser led the way with four hits, while Joe Meggs, Ryan Strausborger and Brady Shoemaker each added three hits apiece.  The feat was in jeopardy until the eighth inning as Brian Jett headed into his at bat 0-for-5 to that point.  However, Jett launched a two-run home run over the right field wall to pick up his first hit of the game and his fourth home run of the season.

Scoring Runs At Will

With 172 runs scored in their first 22 games of the season (7.8 rpg), it looks as if the Sycamores will have no problem scoring runs in 2009.  ISU has scored 10 or more runs seven times during the season, including a 23-3 victory last Wednesday against in-state foe Butler at Sycamore Field.  Those runs are coming via 11 hits per game from Sycamores batters and several of those runs have come from the 20 home runs by ISU sluggers.

Chicks Dig The Long Ball

The Sycamores met Memphis in Millington, Tenn., at USA Stadium and by the looks of the field dimensions, one would think very few home runs would be hit.  USA Stadium measures 334 feet down the lines, 380 feet in the gaps and 414 feet to the center field wall.  However, that did not scare the Indiana State offense as the Sycamores launched six home runs out of the stadium in three games against the Tigers.  Bronco Lafrenz led the way with two dingers in the series on way to earning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors, while Brian Jett, Nick Ciolli, Koby Kraemer and Brian Ramirez each added a home run over the weekend.

These Guys Can Hit

The offensive numbers the Sycamores have put up through the first 22 games of the season have been impressive and rank ISU as one of the top offensive teams in the Missouri Valley Conference.  Indiana State currently ranks first in the Valley in on base percentage (.400), hits (243), doubles (45), total bases (364) and being hit by pitches (34).  The Sycamores also rank second in batting average (.303), runs scored (172), RBI (156), triples (8) and home runs (20).

Petricka Spoils The Sweep

Heading into Sunday's series finale against Memphis on March 15, it was up to Jake Petricka on the mound to keep the Sycamores from being swept in the weekend series.  The right-hander stepped up big for his team and did just that, as he picked up his second win of the season with a 12-6 victory over the Tigers.  Petricka (2-0) allowed three late runs in 6.1 innings of work while scattering nine hits and striking out four Tiger batters to earn his first career win in an ISU uniform.

Shutting Down The Hoosiers

Indiana State was dominant in its effort against in-state rival Indiana on March 3, earning an 11-2 win over their Big Ten counterparts.  Much of that had to do with reliever David Gurbach, who picked up his third win in a Sycamore uniform in a dominating effort.  The Aliso Viejo, Calif., native threw 5.2 innings of scoreless ball in relief of ISU starter Cordell Greene and allowed just three hits and walked just one Hoosier batter while striking out a career-high eight batters.

Lucky 13 For Valdez

Junior starter Eric Valdez dominated St. Bonaventure at the Palm Beach Classic on way to picking up his first win in a Sycamore uniform.  The right-hander from Kearny, N.J., threw seven innings and gave up just one walk and three hits while striking out 13 St. Bonaventure hitters.  He also induced six ground ball outs in the win for the Sycamores as he helped them improve to 7-1 on the season at the time.

Strong Starts Becoming The Norm For The Sycamores

ISU's 9-1 start was its best start since the 1990 season, when the Sycamores also started 9-1 and went to 13-1 under head coach Bob Warn to begin the year.  ISU went on to finish that season 43-21.  This is the second strong start in three seasons under head coach Lindsay Meggs, as the 2007 squad started that season 4-1.

We're Gonna Need More Time

Nine innings of play just weren't enough for Indiana State and The Citadel in the season's opening weekend, as three of the four games in their series went into extra innings.  Both games of Saturday's double-header needed extra frames, but ISU picked up a 9-6 win in 10 innings in game one and an 8-7 in 11 innings in game two.  The fourth and final game of the set also needed some extra time, but this time The Citadel picked up a 5-4 win in 12 innings.

Bombs Away

The Sycamores wasted no time hitting the long ball against The Citadel, as they pounded out four home runs in their four-game season opening series against the Bulldog.   Senior Brady Shoemaker picked up right where he left off last season, as he hit his 10th career home run.  Fellow senior Brian Jett also went deep, as he picked up the fifth home run of his career.  Junior Ryan Strausborger also got into the act and freshman Kyle Burnam hit his first career home run in the opening series for ISU.

That's A Good Day's Work

Senior reliever Matt Shelton started the season off right for the Sycamores, as he picked up both wins of a Saturday double-header at The Citadel.  The right-hander from Loves Park, Ill., finished the weekend with a 2-0 record in two appearances for ISU.  In five innings of work, Shelton allowed just two hits and walked one while striking out five Bulldog hitters.  In game one of Saturday's double header, Shelton threw two innings of scoreless relief while giving up one hit and striking out two to help ISU to a 9-6 victory in 10 innings.  He followed that up by throwing three innings of scoreless relief in game two of the doubleheader, allowing just one hit while striking out three in an 8-7 win.