The opening weekend of Mid-American Conference action has treated the Ball State University baseball team well throughout the years.
Since 1995, the Cardinals are 30-10 in the first weekend of conference games and have swept their past two opening MAC opponents. They will look to continue that streak this weekend when the University of Akron comes to Ball Diamond for a three-game series.
Ball State has a 9-8 record and Akron enters MAC play with a 3-15 mark. Coach Greg Beals said Akron is a good team for his team to open against.
"You're playing at home, you're playing a team that has struggled," Beals said. "But Akron's a team that's good enough to beat you if you don't play well."
The Zips beat Youngstown State University on Thursday but previously had lost six games in a row. Akron has faced good competition, playing teams from the Big Ten, ACC and the Big East. Beals said the Cardinals can't worry about their opponents to be successful.
"Our focus is to go out and play good Ball State baseball," Beals said. "If we're able to go out and play to our abilities we should be fine this weekend."
Ball State will send MAC West Pitcher of the Week Brad Piatt to the mound Friday. He will be followed by senior Brenden Stines and sophomore Kolbrin Vitek. Stines has struggled a bit this year, but Beals said he still had confidence in his experienced right-hander.
"We've seen some things that are encouraging," Beals said. "His outing against Chicago State was really good. At Notre Dame, wasn't quite as sharp, but he found a way to get himself out of a jam. The bottom line is he's done it for us before."
Akron will counter with senior right-handers Tom Farmer and Frank Turocy. The Zips have not named a starter for Sunday's game, but freshman Andrew Brown is the leading candidate. Their pitching staff is among the MAC leaders in strikeouts and will face a free swinging Ball State team.
"They throw a lot of breaking balls, they also have a tendency to walk some guys," Beals said. "Our hitters have been striking out. We're striking out because we're missing pitches earlier in the count."
The Akron hitters also have a strikeout problem, something Ball State pitchers will try to take advantage of. Brandon White leads the way for the Zips with a .365 average and a .587 slugging percentage.
Beals said his offense will attempt to take advantage of Akron's inability to slow the running game so far this year. Ball State leads the MAC with 39 stolen bases, led by junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker, who has 13. Opponents have swiped 48 bases against the Zips this season.
The Cardinals won't admit to going for a sweep this weekend, but with three more wins Beals will become the fifth baseball coach in school history to win 200 games. The Cardinals are also hoping to snap a two-game losing streak.
Beals said his team is ready for the second season to start.
"We're looking at this as the beginning of our second season," Beals said. "This is our chance to take our experience that we got in our first 17 games and learn from those experiences."
Akron at Ball StateGame No. 18First pitch: 3 p.m.Ball DiamondPitching matchup: RHP Tom Farmer (1-2, 6.95 ERA) vs. RHP Brad Piatt (3-0, 1.71)Weather: 42 degrees, sunny, from ENE 7 mph
Akron at Ball StateGame No. 19First pitch: 1 p.m.Ball DiamondPitching matchup: RHP Frank Turocy (0-4, 10.90) vs. RHP Brenden Stines (0-2, 4.80)Weather: 49 degrees, mostly cloudy, from south 7 mph
Akron at Ball StateGame No. 20First pitch: 1 p.m.Ball DiamondPitching matchup: TBA vs. RHP Kolbrin Vitek (1-1, 4.96)Weather: 55 degrees, cloudy, from southeast 7 mph
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