The University of Akron Athletics
Baseball Prepares for Conference Opener Vesus BSU
March 21 | Baseball
Akron Zips (10-7) vs. Ball State Cardinals (8-8)
Olga Mural Field and Schoonover Stadium • Kent, Ohio
Radio
None.
On the Web
Live stats will be available for this weekend's series at
www.GoZips.com.
The Series
The Zips trail the all-time series with the Cardinals,
15-22. Last season, UA dropped two of three games to BSU in Muncie,
Ind.
For Starters
The University of Akron baseball team (10-7) will kick off
Mid-American Conference play this weekend when West-Division foe
Ball State (8-8) comes to town for a three-game series.
Schedule Update
Due to unplayable field conditions, the first game of this
weekend's series has been postponed. It will be made up as part of
a nine-inning doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m. Sunday's
finale will be played as scheduled. All three games will be played
at Olga Mural
Field and Schoonover Stadium.
Saturday, March 22 – 1 p.m. (EST)
Probable Starting Pitchers:
UA RHP Frank Turocy (3-1, 2.61)
BSU RHP Tyler Pritchard (0-3, 6.95)
• Turocy went 1-0 with a sparkling ERA of 1.64 last week in
two starts in Bradenton, Fla. The right hander allowed just one
unearned run in eight innings in a win against Eastern Illinois
before being charged with two earned runs in three innings against
Illinois while on a pitch count. Turocy, who is 8-9 with an ERA of
4.89 in 167.1 career innings at Akron, is 0-1 with an ERA of 8.64
in two career appearances – including one start – against
Ball State.
Saturday, March 22 – 4 p.m. (EST)
Probable Starting Pitchers:
UA LHP Zach Yike (2-1, 6.45)
BSU RHP Brenden Stines (0-1, 8.84)
• Yike went 1-0 with an ERA of 4.00 in a pair of starts last
week in Bradenton, Fla. The left-hander wasn't sharp but pitched
well enough to earn the decision in a 10-4 victory over Eastern
Kentucky, allowing four runs in 6.0 innings. Yike bounced back to
hold Dartmouth to just one unearned run in three innings in a
pitch-count effort last Monday. Yike, who is 5-4 with an ERA of
5.78 in 71.2 career innings at Akron, allowed six runs – three
earned – in 5.2 innings in his only career appearance against
the Cardinals last season.
Sunday, March 23 – 1 p.m. (EST)
Probable Starting Pitchers:
UA LHP Drew Turocy (3-1, 2.00)
BSU RHP Kolbrin Vitek (3-0, 5.89)
• Turocy earned a win and his first career save last week in
two appearances against Bucknell and Dartmouth in Bradenton, Fla.
He held the Bison to two runs in six strong innings last weekend
and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to shut the door on Dartmouth
Monday. Turocy, a true freshman and the younger brother of Frank,
has never faced BSU.
Scouting Report
Ball State (8-8) last defeated Presbyterian College, 13-2,
on the road Sunday then had its home opener postponed twice due to
weather conditions. The Cardinals, who are 6-7 in road games, are
batting .302 as a team (5th in the MAC), led by freshman Kolbrin
Vitez (.367/13th). The high-powered Cardinals attack is averaging
9.5 runs per game and features eight hitters with 10 or more RBI.
BSU has struggled from the mound however with a team ERA of 7.26,
which is second to last in the league. The Cardinals are 11-for-17
on the base paths in 2008.
Last Year Versus BSU
The Zips dropped two of three games to the Cardinals in Muncie,
Ind. last year in the conference opener for both teams. BSU topped
UA, 10-5 in the opener with Brenden Stines (3 ER in 6.1 IP)
out-dueling Frank Turocy (7 ER in 7.1 IP). Akron bounced back
to take the second game, 13-5, before falling in the finale, 6-4,
in a doubleheader played as a result of poor weather conditions. Steven
Zemanek II went the distance for UA in the opener to defeat
Tyler Pritchard, who was tagged for seven runs – five earned
– in 5.0 innings of work.
Zack Yike (6 R, 3 ER in 5.2 IP) pitched well enough to win in the
nightcap but was victimized by a five-run third inning.
John
Turk led all UA hitters against the Cardinals, hitting at a
.417 (5-for-12) clip with a pair of runs scored. Kurt
Davidson (.385) homered twice in three games while Ball State
transfer Phil Bednar torched his former mates by hitting
.357 (5-for-14) with four runs scored and a two runs driven in.
Who's Hot
• Sophomore infielder Kevin
Haas (.361, 1, 9) has hit safely in all 17 games this season.
It is the longest such streak in at least the past five years of
the Akron baseball program and is one of the top marks in the
nation (official NCAA stats won't be available until next
Wednesday). Steve Sada, a recent inductee into the Varsity "A"
Club, set the school record – hitting in 28 consecutive games
– during the 1988 season.
• Haas is tied for 13th in the conference in batting average
and is seventh in the circuit with 18 runs scored.
• To say freshman Drew Turocy had a good week in Bradenton,
Fla. would be putting it lightly. The two-way standout picked up a
victory in a start against Bucknell, batted .300 (6-for-20) with
his second career home run as the team's starting center fielder
and then picked up his first save of the year by shutting the door
in a 6-5 victory against Dartmouth.
• Not to be outdone, older brother Frank
Turocy allowed just one unearned run in eight innings against
Eastern Illinois in an 11-1 victory.
• Together, the Turocy bothers have combined for a 6-2 record
and an ERA of 2.79. The siblings have fanned 34 batters, while
walking just 17 in 58 total innings.
• Senior Vince Chiera is batting .526 (10-for-19) with
five runs scored and three RBI in his last five games. He set a
career high with four hits in five at-bats in the Zips' last game
against Dartmouth.
• Redshirt junior Phil Bednar has also been playing at a
higher level lately, hitting .438 (7-for-16) with eight RBI in his
last five games. Bednar posted four straight multiple-RBI games in
Florida and has driven in 14 for the year, the second-highest total
on the club.
• Sophomore Jake Plata is batting .406 (13-for-32) with six
runs scored and six RBI in his last 10 games.
• Sophomore reliever Kevin Kumazec has allowed just one earned
run in his last 8.1 innings out of the pen. During that time, he
has fanned five and walked two.
Player Notebook
• Drew Turocy is ranked seventh in the MAC with a
team-leading .400 (20-for-50) batting average. The left-hander is
also tied with his older brother for the league lead in wins (3)
and is second with an ERA of 2.00.
• Turocy is the conference's top-hitting freshman and is one
of just two first-year players (BSU's Kolbrin Vitek) represented on
the league's top 20 batting list overall.
• In addition to being tied for first in the MAC with three
wins, Frank Turocy is fifth in the circuit with a 2.61
ERA. The right hander also leads the staff with 31.0 innings
pitched.
• The Turocy brothers are one of just four sets of siblings
pitching in the weekend rotation in the nation at the Division I
level.
• Kevin Haas, who recorded 14 multiple-hit games
last year, has already posted eight in 17 games this spring.
• Tom Farmer has already notched four saves in five
opportunities this season to lead the MAC and match Ryne
Romick's team-leading total from a year ago. The right-hander,
who was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 20th round (632 pick
over) last June, has fanned nine batters and walked just two in 7.1
innings.
Team Notebook
• Akron has won seven of its last 10 games after
going 4-2 in Bradenton, Fla. last week.
• The Zips have scored first nine times in 17 games (52.9
percent) this year and have gone on to win seven of those
contests.
• The biggest difference between this season and last thus far
has been a much improved pitching staff. UA, which was ranked in
the bottom third of the league with a team ERA of 6.06 in 2007,
brings the third-lowest staff ERA in the circuit (4.60) into play
this weekend.
• The performance of its bullpen, which has much more depth
than it did a year ago, has also been a key to Akron's early
success. Led by four saves from Tom
Farmer, UA has posted six saves in 17 games this spring. To put
that into perspective, the Zips had posted a total of nine saves
over the past two years (98 games) combined.
• The Zips, who made an eight-game improvement in the win
column last year, will need to improve their play in the first game
of conference series this year to take the next step. Akron
struggled in that scenario a year ago with a 1-8 record in
series-opening games. Frank Turocy tossed a complete-game shutout
at Miami in the final MAC weekend of the season last May for UA's
lone win.
• Conversely, UA was 6-2 in the second game of league series
last spring.
