April 7, 2008

Contact: Greg Murphy

Complete Release in PDF Format

AROUND THE HORN: Cleveland State (8-12, 3-3 HL) has a busy week slated as the Vikings are scheduled to play six games over six days, including a three-game league series at Milwaukee on Friday and Saturday (April 11-12). The Vikings begin the week with a 5:00 p.m. contest at Eastern Michigan on Monday (April 7) and follow that with a road game at Canisius on Tuesday (April 8). CSU's lone home game this week is slated for Wednesday (April 9) against Malone with first pitch at 5:00 p.m. at The Pipe Yard.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: CSU was in action four times last week, posting a 1-3 record. Following are brief recaps of those contests.

Game 17 - Ohio 9, CSU 8 (April 2): CSU rallied from an 8-2 deficit with six runs in the ninth, including a three-run homer by Kyle Bischof, but Ohio plated a run in the bottom of the ninth to earn the win.

Game 18 - CSU 6, Wright State 5 (April 5): Josh Hungerman allowed four runs on four hits over eight innings and Vasili Pahoulis earned his third save of the season as CSU won the series opener over Wright State. Hungerman added a two-run triple, while Kyle Bischof drove in two runs and scored twice. Bischof and Josh Geric hit solo homers.

Game 19 - Wright State 5, CSU 4 (April 5): Wright State scored three runs in the first and added two runs in the eighth in a 5-4 win. Jon Durket limited CSU to four runs on six hits in 7.2 innings, wihle Greg Robinson worked the final 1.1 innings for his first save. Kyle Bischof homered in his fifth straight game for CSU.

Game 20 - Wright State3, CSU 2 (April 6): Jeff Mercer and Casey McGrew hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the fourth and Michael Woytek gave up two runs on five hits in eight innings to lead the Raiders over CSU. Kyle Bischof and Bobby Cash had two hits each for the Vikings, while Sam Suitca gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits in his first career complete game.

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 (.213, 3 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI) moves from shortstop to second base, while senior Josh Geric (.279, 7 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI) returns to anchor the Viking defense behind the plate. The other six field positions have new faces as junior John Foco (.233, 5 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI) has locked down the starting spot at first base, while senior Alex Kerins (.296, 16 R, 4 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBI) starts at third base and redshirt freshman Tom Carter (.246, 6 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI) at shortstop. Senior Kyle Bischof (.348, 15 R, 4 2B, 6 HR, 21 RBI), junior Brad Buell (.308, 19 R, 6 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI) and freshman Travis Miller (.175, 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI) make-up the outfield from right to left with freshman Adam Heideman (.172, 1 R, 1 2B) 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 (1-2, 4.91 ERA, 25.2 IP, 24 SO) and righty Brian Long (3-1, 2.00 ERA, 36.0 IP, 24 SO) have anchored the staff with each earning Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors once this season. Southpaw Sam Suitca (1-3, 5.33 ERA, 27.0 IP, 13 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 SO). Pahoulis is in his first season as a pitcher after spending the last three years as a regular in the outfield.

AFTER 20: CSU may be four games under .500 after 20 games, but do not discount how far the Vikings have come. The 8-12 start is the best in program history since 1986 (10-10).

COUNTDOWN IS ON: Head coach Kevin Kocks is nine wins shy of 500 for his career. The 14-year veteran has a 491-384 during his tenure as a manager. He is 21-52 in his second season at Cleveland State.

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 6-for-17 (.353) when called upon. Dustin Mills is a perfect 3-for-3 as a pinch hitter, including a home run at Charlotte (March 1), while Josh Lowe is 2-for-4 with a homer at Louisville (Feb. 22).

THREE ACES: CSU starting pitchers put on quite a performance over the weekend versus Wright State as the trio of Josh Hungerman, Brian Long and Sam Suitca combined to work 25 of the 27 innings. Hungerman and Long both lasted eight innings in Saturday's doubleheader, while Suitca threw his first career complete game on Sunday. The three gave up 12 runs (10 earned) on 24 hits while striking out 11.

CLUTCH RBI'S: The Vikings have driven in 82 runs this season with 31 of those, or 38-percent, coming with two outs. Kyle Biscof has seven of those two-out RBI, while Tom Carter has four.

POWER SURGE: CSU has hit 19 home runs through 20 games this season to rank second in the Horizon League behind Wright State (20), which has played five more games than the Vikings. It is a far cry from last season when CSU totaled just 24 home runs in 58 games. Individually, Kyle Bischof is second in the league with six home runs, while Alex Kerins is tied for third with four.

BISH "OFF" THE HOOK: No player in the Horizon League has been hotter lately than senior Kyle Bischof, who has hit safely in six straight games. During that stretch, he has hit .400 (10-25) with seven runs, five home runs, 10 RBI and three walks. Bischof homered in five consecutive games before the streak was snapped on Sunday (April 6) against Wright State. He leads the team with eight multiple hit games, including four straight, and has raised his average to a team-best .348. Bischof leads the conference with a .667 slugging percentage.

TURNING TWO: CSU has been able to get out of several jams this season with 25 double plays, the second most in the league, in 20 games. The Vikings were ranked third in the nation in double plays per game (1.38) in the latest NCAA statistics.

CLOSE CALLS: The Vikings have been involved in several close games this season, as evidenced by their 1-5 record in one-run games. In fact, all four CSU games last week were decided by one run with CSU going 1-3. The Vikings are also 3-3 in games decided by two runs.

CARTER ON A ROLL: Redshirt freshman shortstop Tom Carter had a season-best 10-game hit streak snapped in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against Wright State. The streak allowed Carter to raise his average to .246 by going 13-for-42 (.310) with six runs, three doubles, one triple, one home run and two RBI over the last 11 games. He was just 1-for-16 (.062) in CSU's first five games of the season.

SAMBULA GETS FIRST WIN: Freshman Anthony Sambula earned his first career win in the series finale at Valparaiso on March 30. The southpaw came out of the bullpen and worked the final 4.1 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three, to earn the victory. It was just the third career appearance for Sambula, who is slated to be a mid-week starter for CSU this season.

CL-V-LAND STAT-: Entering the 2008 season, head coach Kevin Kocks said that the Vikings would need to get better defensively and the squad has responded, committing a league-low 31 errors and ranking second in the conference with a .959 fielding percentage. Last season, CSU committed 62 errors through the first 20 contests and finished last in the Horizon League with a .933 fielding percentage.

ISN'T HE A PITCHER???: Well, yes, but junior Josh Hungerman is also dangerous swinging the bat, hitting safely in seven of the 11 games he has started as designated hitter. Hungerman, who is hitting .400, has gone seven for his last 13 at the plate with three RBI. In Saturday's win over Wright State, Hungerman delivered a two-run triple and also picked up the win on the mound, going eight innings. He is 2-2 this season with a 4.54 ERA and 29 strikeouts.

HONORS & AWARDS: Juniors Brian Long and Josh Hungerman have eached been honored as the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week this season. Long earned the award after leading the Vikings to a victory over then 22nd-ranked Louisville on Feb. 23, while Hungerman picked up the award following his 11 strikeout performance against Evansville on March 14.

SAVE IT: CSU recorded just four saves during the 2007 season and has already surpassed that total through 20 games this year with five. Vasili Pahoulis leads the way with three saves, while Chris Bauman and Drew Fronczek have one save each.

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 rank second in the league in both stolen bases (33) and attempts (57) this season.

ON DECK: The Vikings are scheduled to play six games next week, including league doubleheaders against Milwaukee on Saturday (April 19) and Butler on Sunday (April 20). CSU will also host Kent State on Tuesday, April 15, and travel to Niagara for a contest on Wednesday, April 16.