April 14, 2008

Contact: Greg Murphy

Complete Release in PDF Format

Kent State (16-15) at Cleveland State (12-14)
Date: Tues., April 15, 2008 • 6:00 p.m.
Site: The Pipe Yard (Lorain, Ohio)

Cleveland State at Niagara (13-16)
Date: Weds., April 16 • 4:00 p.m.
Site: Sal Maglie Stadium (Niagara, N.Y.)

AROUND THE HORN: Cleveland State (12-14) continues its busy mid-season schedule with seven games in six days this week, beginning with a 6:00 p.m. contest against Kent State on Tuesday (April 15) at The Pipe Yard. CSU will then travel to Niagara on Wednesday (April 16) for a 4:00 p.m. game before returning home to host five games at The Pipe Yard this weekend.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: CSU was in action six times last week, posting a 4-2 record. Following are brief recaps of those contests.

Game 21 - CSU 15, Eastern Michigan 9 (April 7): Alex Kerins and Brad Buell combined to go 5-for-10 with seven runs and 10 RBI as the Vikings defeated Eastern Michigan, 15-9. Kerins hit three homeruns, while Buell had a pair

Game 22 - CSU 15, Canisius 8 (April 8): Brad Buell and Josh Geric drove in three runs each and CSU scored seven runs in the ninth inning to defeat Canisius, 15-8.

Game 23 - CSU 8, Malone 4 (April 9): CSU broke open a tie game with two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to top Malone, 8-4. Adam Heideman went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Chris Bauman worked 2.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn his first win of the season.

Game 24 - Milwaukee 7, CSU 6 (April 11): Ben Long hit a bases loaded single with no outs in the ninth to lift Milwaukee to a 7-6 victory over Cleveland State. Adam Heideman went 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI for the Vikings.

Game 25 - CSU 24, Milwaukee 18 (April 11): Cleveland State pounded out a season-high 22 hits and tied a school-record for runs scored in a game in a 24-18 triumph over Milwaukee. Alex Kerins and Travis Miller drove in six runs apiece as the duo combined to go 8-for-14 with nine runs scored.

Game 26 - CSU 24, Milwaukee 18 (April 13): Jesse Hart delivered a two-run double in the seventh to break to a tie game and give Milwaukee a 6-5 win in the series finale over CSU. Adam Heideman and Bobby Cash had two hits apiece and both drove in a run.

THE HEAD COACH:

Kevin Kocks
(Eastern Kentucky `82)
At CSU: 26-58 (2nd Year)
Overall: 495-398 (15th Year)

Kevin Kocks is in his second season at the helm of the CSU baseball program. Named the ninth head coach in school history in June of 2006. In 13 years at Bellarmine University and Spalding University, he led his teams to seven postseason appearances and 11 winning seasons. Kocks led Spalding to the NAIA World Series in 2002, 2003 and 2005, including a fifth place finish in 2005. He has been named league coach of the year on six occasions.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State has a completely different look from last season's squad as the roster features 26 new players. Senior Bobby Cash (.262, 8 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI) moves from shortstop to second base, while senior Josh Geric (.310, 13 R, 3 2B, 4 HR, 18 RBI) returns to anchor the Viking defense behind the plate. The other six field positions have new faces as junior John Foco (.277, 11 R, 7 2B, 10 RBI) has locked down the starting spot at first base, while senior Alex Kerins (.314, 28 R, 7 2B, 8 HR, 30 RBI) starts at third base and redshirt freshman Tom Carter (.244, 10 R, 6 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI) at shortstop. Senior Kyle Bischof (.305, 19 R, 5 2B, 6 HR, 25 RBI), junior Brad Buell (.298, 29 R, 9 2B, 1 HR, 15 RBI) and freshman Adam Heideman (.340, 11 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI) make up the outfield from left to right, while freshman Travis Miller (.235, 10 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI) also receives action.

ON THE MOUND: The strength of the Vikings during the first half of the season has been its starting rotation, highlighted by three juniors. Lefthander Josh Hungerman (2-2, 5.09 ERA, 40.2 IP, 32 SO) and righty Brian Long (3-2, 3.56 ERA, 48.0 IP, 30 SO) have anchored the staff with each earning Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors once this season. Southpaw Sam Suitca (1-5, 4.68 ERA, 42.1 IP, 16 SO) is CSU's third starter.

IN THE PEN: The CSU bullpen is led by junior set-up man Drew Fronczek (0-2, 2.29 ERA, 19.2 IP, 1 SV, 11 SO) and closer Vasili Pahoulis (1-3, 4.91 ERA, 11.0 IP, 3 SV, 8 SO). Pahoulis is in his first season as a pitcher after spending the last three years as a regular in the outfield.

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: Head coach Kevin Kocks is five wins shy of 500 for his career. The 14-year veteran has a 495-398 during his tenure as a manager.

AFTER 26: CSU may be two games under .500 after 26 games, but do not discount how far the Vikings have come. The 12-14 record after 26 games start is the best in program history since 1986 (13-13).

WE MEET AGAIN: Tuesday's game against Kent State will be the second meeting of the season between the Vikings and the Golden Flashes with KSU claiming a 9-7 win over CSU on March 26 in Kent. Cleveland State jumped out to a 6-1 lead, but the Golden Flashes rallied with three runs in the fourth and four in the eighth to earn the win.

HE'S THE MAN: Freshman Adam Heideman carries a team-high eight-game hit streak into the week, but more impressively, he has raised his average to .340 by going 14 for his last 27 (.516). During that stretch, he has produced 10 runs, two doubles, one homerun and five RBI. After going 2-for-3 in his first collegiate game at Louisville (Feb. 23), Heideman was one for his next 20 as his average dropped to .130 on April 5.

24: No, this is not a note about Kiefer Sutherland's hit TV show, rather it is school-record tying number of runs that CSU scored in a 24-18 win over Milwaukee on Friday (April 11). The Vikings, who scored in eight of the nine innings, matched the record set in a 24-3 win over Gannon on May 9, 1968. CSU also drove in a school-record 21 runs, breaking the old mark of 19 set against Gannon.

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).

KERINS' BIG DAY (AND YEAR): Alex Kerins hit three homeruns and drove in seven runs, both single-game highs for a Horizon League player this season, in CSU's win over Eastern Michigan (April 7). Kerins, who has hit safely in 11 of the last 12 games, leads the league with eight home runs and 30 runs batted in, including 17 RBI in six games last week. For those Triple Crown watchers, Kerins is just outside the top-10 in the conference in hitting (.314), with Zach Rodeghero of Valparaiso leading the league with a .416 average.

CLUTCH RBI'S: The Vikings have driven in 148 runs this season with 62 of those, or 42-percent, coming with two outs. Alex Kerins leads the way with 11 two-out RBI, while Kyle Bischof has nine and Brad Buell eight.

POWER SURGE: CSU has hit a Horizon League leading 27 home runs through 26 games to surpass its homerun total of 24. Even more impressive is that the Vikings have played the fewest number of games among the seven league members. Individually, Alex Kerins leads the conference with eight homeruns, while Kyle Bischof is third with six and Josh Geric tied for fifth 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 29 double plays, the second most in the league. The Vikings were ranked sixth in the nation in double plays per game (1.12) in the latest NCAA statistics.

CLOSE CALLS: The Vikings have been involved in several close games this season, as evidenced by their 1-7 record in one-run games. In fact, CSU's last five losses have all been by one run, including four straight league games.

DYNAMIC DUO: Juniors Josh Hungerman and Brian Long have combined to give the Vikings one of the top righty-lefty combinations in the league. Hungerman, a southpaw, is 2-2 with a 5.09 ERA and leads the league with 32 strikeouts, while Long, a righty is 3-2, ranking third in the league in strikeouts (30) and fifth in ERA (3.56), innings pitched (48.0) and opposing batting average (.258). He has struck out a league-high 14 batters looking.

AND HUNGERMAN HITS, TOO: Josh Hungerman is also proving to be deadly with the bat, hitting a team-best .378 (14-37) with six runs, two doubles, one triple and six runs batted in. He has hit safely in nine of 10 games this season, including the first seven before going hitless in the series finale against Wright State (April 6).

IT'S MILLER TIME: Freshman Travis Miller received his first start since March 30 when he started in rightfield against Milwaukee in the second game of Friday's twinbill. Miller, who was hitting just .171 heading into last week, responded by going 4-for-6 with a school-record tying five runs and six RBI, including his first career grand slam. He is now batting .235.

SAVE IT: CSU recorded just four saves during the 2007 season and has already surpassed that total through 26 games this year with five. Vasili Pahoulis leads the way with three saves, while Chris Bauman and Drew Fronczek have one save each.

ON DECK: The Vikings are slated to play six games next week with all of them taking place at The Pipe Yard. CSU opens the week with a doubleheader against Canisius on Tuesday, April 22, at 3:00 p.m. CSU then hosts Mount Vernon Nazarene on Wednesday (April 23) at 5:00 p.m. before hosting Youngstown State for a three-game Horizon League series on Friday and Saturday (April 25-26).