March 27, 2008

Contact: Greg Murphy

Complete Release in PDF Format

AROUND THE HORN: Cleveland State (5-8) will open Horizon League play when the Vikings travel to league newcomer Valparaiso for a three-game series this weekend. The teams will play the opener on Friday, March 28, beginning at 3:00 p.m. and will wrap up the series with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 29, with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Emory G. Bauer Field. This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1994 with the all-time series tied, 23-23.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: CSU had all four of its games cancelled last week due to inclement weather. The Vikings did play a nonconference game on Wednesday (March 26) afternoon at Kent State, falling 9-7. Following are recaps of CSU's last four contests.

Game 10 - CSU 4, Evansville 1 (March 14): Josh Hungerman struck out 11 in eight innings to lead the Vikings over Evansville. The Vikings scored two runs in the fifth and two more in the eighth as Vasili Pahoulis got the final three outs to earn the save.

Game 11 - CSU 4, Central Michigan 2 (March 15): Brian Long worked eight innings, allowing two runs on six hits, and Josh Geric drove in two runs as Cleveland State won its fourth straight game, 4-2, over Central Michigan. Alex Kerins and Kyle Bischof also drove in runs for the Vikings, while Chris Bauman earned his first save of the season.

Game 12 - North Dakota State 5, CSU 3 (March 16): Cleveland State had its four-game win streak snapped with a 5-3 setback to North Dakota State. CSU scored two runs in the first, but the Bison responded with single runs in the first and second innings to knot the score at 2-2. After the Vikings took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth, NDSU scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth which proved to be the final runs of the game. Brad Buell had three hits.

Game 13 - Kent State 9, CSU 7 (March 26): Kent State scored three runs in the fourth and four in the eighth to rally from a 6-1 deficit and earn a win over Cleveland State. Brad Buell, Alex Kerins, Kyle Bischof and Josh Geric combined to go 9-for-17 with six runs and six RBI with Kerins hitting two homers. The Vikings used six pitchers.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State has a completely different look from last season's squad as the roster boasts 26 new players. Senior Bobby Cash (.188, 3 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI) moves from shortstop to second base, while senior Josh Geric (.390, 4 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBI) returns to anchor the Viking defense behind the plate. The other six field positions have new faces as junior John Foco (.227, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI) has started eight games at first base, while senior Alex Kerins (.302, 10 R, 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI) appears to have locked down the starting job at third base. Redshirt freshman Tom Carter (.212, 5 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI) is the starting shortstop. Senior Kyle Bischof (.318, 8 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI), junior Brad Buell (.353, 13 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI) and freshman Travis Miller (.212, 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI) make-up the outfield from right to left with freshman Adam Heideman (.176, 1 R, 1 2B) and senior Dustin Mills (1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI) also receiving action.

ON THE MOUND: The strength of the Vikings during the early part of the season has been its starting rotation, highlighted by three juniors. Lefthander Josh Hungerman (1-1, 3.38 ERA, 21.1 IP, 18 SO) and righty Brian Long (2-1, 2.67 ERA, 27.0 IP, 18 SO) have anchored the staff with each earning Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors this season. Southpaw Sam Suitca (1-3, 4.43 ERA, 22.1 IP, 11 SO) is CSU's third starter.

IN THE PEN: The CSU bullpen is led by junior set-up man Drew Fronczek (0-0, 1.59 ERA, 11.1 IP, 5 SO) and closer Vasili Pahoulis (1-3, 4.50 ERA, 10.0 IP, 2 SV, 6). Pahoulis is in his first season as a pitcher after spending the last three years as a regular in the outfield.

AFTER 13: Despite a 5-8 record after 13 games, it is important to note just how far second-year head coach Kevin Kocks has brought the CSU program. The 5-8 start is the best in program history since the 1989 team started 6-7. In addition, CSU has scored 59 runs through the first 13 games of the season after scoring just 28 runs through 13 games a season ago, including three shutouts.

COUNTDOWN IS ON: Head coach Kevin Kocks is 12 wins shy of 500 for his career. The 14-year veteran has won at least 17 games in 13 of his seasons as a head coach with the lone exception coming last season when he led CSU to 14 wins in his first season at the helm.

ROAD WARRIORS: Cleveland State will face a heavy road schedule to begin the season as the Vikings are slated to play their first 16 games away from home before the home opener against Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, April 1. Last season, CSU opened the season with 25 road games and went 4-21 before playing its home opener against Kent State on April 3.

...BUT NOT TO WORRY: Despite a large amount of games on the road to open the season, Viking fans will have plenty of chances to see CSU play at home as the squad has 20 home games scheduled this season. The home opener is scheduled for March 22 versus Case Western. The Vikings have a season-long seven-game homestand from April 19-26 and will play 12 of their final 21 contests at home.

NEW LOOK VIKINGS: After leading the Vikings to a 14-44 overall record in his first season at the helm, head coach Kevin Kocks set out to revamp the Viking roster and brought in 26 new players. Despite the large number of new players, the Vikings will not lack experience as the 43-man roster boasts 25 upperclassmen, including 10 seniors and 15 juniors.

IN A PINCH: CSU pinch hitters have excelled this season, going 4-for-10 (.400) when called upon. Josh Lowe is 2-for-4 in pinch hit situations, including a home run at Louisville (Feb. 23), while Dustin Mills has a pinch hit home run at Charlotte (March 1). CLUTCH RBI'S: The Vikings have driven in 53 runs this season. However, 20 of those, or 38-percent, have come with two outs. Kyle Bischof, Brad Buell and Bobby Cash lead the way with three two-out RBI each.

BISH "OFF" THE HOOK: Senior Kyle Bischof has hit safely in a team-high seven straight games, going 11-for-25 (.440) with five runs, seven RBI and three doubles during the stretch. Prior to the streak, Bischof was hitting just .158, but he has raised his average all the way to .318.

NO DAY OFF FOR BUELL(ER): Junior Brad Buell is one of five players to start all 13 games this season and has led the offensive attack as CSU's leadoff hitter. He is hitting .353 with a team-leading 18 hits, including four doubles and a home run. When leading off an inning this season, Buell is 11-for-28 (.393).

GOING LONG: Junior Brian Long has been CSU's best pitcher through the first month of the season, going 2-1 with a 2.67 earned run average. Long was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 26 after leading the Vikings to an 8-5 win at 22nd-ranked Louisville on Feb. 24. He worked eight innings, allowing four runs (two earned) and struck out eight to earn his first win since going five innings in a 7-5 win over Ohio State on April 24, 2006.

IN RELIEF: Junior Drew Fronczek has been CSU's top middle reliever this season, appearing in eight of the 13 games and working 11.1 innings. He has allowed four runs, but only two have been earned, on 10 hits, while striking out five. In a Feb. 29 contest at Charlotte, Fronczek worked 2.1 innings, allowing just two hits as he kept the score tied at 2-2 before being removed in the ninth. On March 2 at Charlotte, Fronczek entered the game in the seventh inning and worked 1.1 innings. He allowed one run on two hits and once again maintained a CSU lead.

RUNNERS BEWARE: Senior catcher Josh Geric is once again displaying his strong throwing arm behind the plate. After throwing out a league high 24 base stealers last season, Geric has gunned down 50-percent (6-12) this season.

...AND DOING IT WITHOUT THE MASK: In addition to excelling defensivley behind the plate, Josh Geric has been getting it done offensively this season, leading the league with a .390 batting average. He has hit safely in 10 of the 13 games, including five multiple hit games. Geric is also second on the team with 10 RBI.

RUN, VIKINGS, RUN: After leading the league in stolen bases (68) and attempts (99) last season, head coach Kevin Kocks wanted to run even more this season in order to put pressure on the defense. He has certainly succeeded, as the Vikings are ranked second in the league in both stolen bases (22) and attempts (39) this season. The Vikings attempted eight steals on Wednesday at Kent State.

TURNING TWO: CSU has been able to get out of several jams this season by turning a league-leading 18 double plays, four more than second place Butler, UIC and Milwaukee. Even more impressive is that CSU has turned two 18 times in 13 games, while Butler (15 games) and UIC and Milwaukee (18 games each) have all played at least two more games than the Vikings.

SMART KIDS: A total of 13 student-athletes from the baseball team were named to the Dean's List for the fall 2007 semester, while 24 earned a grade point average of 3.0 or better for the semester.

ON DECK: Cleveland State is slated to play five games next week, beginning with a 4:00 p.m. contest against Eastern Michigan at the Pipe Yard on Tuesday, April 1. The Vikings will then travel to Ohio for a 6:00 p.m. game the next night before hosting Wright State for a three-game series on April 4-5.