In baseball, K is a shorthand scoring term for strikeout.
K is also the first letter in the word "king."
Saturday, Ball State's Bryan Bullington will try to merge shorthand with royalty as the junior guns for the Mid-American Conference's strikeout record.
Ball State (20-17) begins a four-game home and away series against Eastern Illinois with a doubleheader 1 p.m. Saturday in Muncie.
Head coach Rich Maloney said the prospect of Bullington breaking the Mid-American Conference record places the pitcher among the elite in the conference's history.
This is likely to be the pitcher's last season at Ball State, Maloney said. He suggested an even more fitting end to Bullington's career:
"I think a fitting end would be for Bryan to play in an NCAA regional," Maloney said.
Eastern Illinois (15-18), winners of three of its last four games, is led by the hitting of outfielder Pete Pirman (.407 BA, 6 HR, 29 RBI) and the pitching of versatile reliever Nick Albu, who has appeared in 23 of the Panthers' 33 games this season and put up an ERA of 3.65 while allowing 21 hits in 24 and 2/3 innings.
Ball State enters the game having lost four of its last five. The Cardinals have struggled defensively of late, committing 10 errors in its last four games.
Maloney said he'll probably make some changes before the series.
"We have to solidify at third base," Maloney said, "We'll have (James) Nowicki at second.
"Right now I'm trying to find the right mix with the team."
Maloney said he wasn't sure which of Saturday's games Bullington would start because the junior had to pitch in one of Wednesday's games against Butler.
"I had to pitch him against Butler to try and win a game," Maloney said. "Right now I don't know how he's feeling."
The Cardinals split a doubleheader with Butler Wednesday, losing the first game, 13-8, and winning the second, 9-8.
Bullington entered the second game with two outs in the fifth and held the Bulldogs to one run in the sixth to secure the victory for Ball State - his seventh win of the season.
The junior struck out four batters in two and one-third innings of work, moving him into second place on the list of MAC all-time strikeout leaders.
Roger Coe of Toledo, who struck out 298 batters from 1971-1974, previously occupied second on the list.
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