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UNI to Host Grand View Then Head to Indiana State
April 1, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK IN PANTHER BASEBALL April 2 Grand View Riverfront Stadium 3 p.m. The University of Northern Iowa baseball team will host Grand View on Wednesday before embarking on a seven-game road trip. That swing starts with a three-game series at Indiana State beginning on Friday. The Panthers enter the week as winners of nine of their last 10 outings. The Panthers are hitting .348 as a team over that span, and they are averaging 11.4 hits and 8.1 runs per game in those games. The UNI pitching staff, meanwhile, holds a 3.81 ERA over the same period. Shortstop Brandon Douglas is hitting .394 on the year, placing him among the MVC leaders in that category. Center fielder Deric Manrique has had a strong return after sitting out 12 games with an ankle injury. The junior is hitting .538 in his eight games back with the Panthers. He has collected 14 hits and 11 RBIs in that time, including two doubles and two home runs. On the mound, Nick Kirk became the first Panther in 13 years to pitch a no-hitter, achieving the feat on March 28 against Evansville. He struck out 15, and the Panther pitching staff combined to strike out 34 in the three-game series with the Aces. LEADING OFF... • Nick Kirk pitched the fifth no-hitter in school history when he blanked Evansville March 28 in the Panthers' MVC opener. Kirk struck out 15 in the win. It was the first no-hitter for the Panthers since 1995, and the first nine-inning no-hitter in the Missouri Valley Conference since 1990. • Brandon Douglas tallied five hits in the Panthers' win over Evansville on March 29. It was the first five-hit game for a Panther since 2005. Douglas finished the day with three doubles, a triple and a single, and he drove in four and scored four runs. Douglas was 5-of-5 on the day with 10 total bases for a 2.000 slugging percentage. SCOUTING GRAND VIEW The Vikings are 10-10 on the season. While their record on the road and at neutral sites has been suspect (5-10), the Vikings' home field in Des Moines has served them well as they are 5-0 at home. Grand View's batting attack has had a variety of contributions thus far with five different players leading or co-leading in five different batting categories including batting average (Perry- .373), runs (Stein, Habeger- 13), hits (Perry- 22), home runs (Habeger, Rohrs- 3), and RBIs (Ogden- 15). As far as pitching, the Vikings have a team ERA of 4.6. Senior Robert Mack has spent the most time on the mound with over 31 innings pitched as he has displayed a record of 2-2 with a 3.98 ERA. Head coach Lou Yacinich has been at helm for 34 years for the Vikings. Over his years, Yacinich has compiled a record of 876-583 and has led his team to three NAIA World Series appearances. SCOUTING INDIANA STATE The Sycamores are 7-14, coming off a 2-1 series win against MVC foe Bradley. Despite the losing record, ISU has faced some highly-regarded opponents in that of Missouri and Ole Miss who are ranked #2 and #15 in the Baseball America Poll respectively. In those series, the Sycamores were two runs or less away from defeating their opponent on three occasions. Outfielders Chris Schmidt and Brady Shoemaker have led the Sycamores in the batting department. While Schmidt boasts a .372 batting average on 35 hits, Shoemaker has a .341 batting average with 29 RBIs. The ISU pitching arsenal is led by junior Matt Shelton who has a record of 2-0 and an ERA of 3.62 in over 27 innings. Lindsay Meggs enters his second season as head coach. Before taking over the Indiana State program, Meggs coached at California State- Chico where he led the Wildcats to two Division II National Championships. Quick Hits • Nick Kirk has given up no runs and two hits in his last 16 innings pitched. • Brandon Douglas was 8-of-12 (.667) with four-extra base hits in the series against Evansville. • Tim Flattery has not allowed a hit in his last two appearances (4.1 innings). • Eddie Almonte has caught 155.2 straight innings for the Panthers. HONORS FOR KIRK After throwing a 15-strikeout no-hitter against Evansville, Nick Kirk was named the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of th Week on March 31. He was also selected as a `Louisville Slugger's' National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball. InsidePitching.com selected Kirk's win as the Performance of the Week. FUN IN THE SUN UNI had a successful trip on its annual spring break trip to Florida. While playing seven games in eight days, UNI finished 6-1 on the trip. UNI dropped its first game, 8-6 to Eastern Illinois, but came back to win six straight, the Panthers' longest win streak since winning seven straight to open the 2006 season. UNI hit .342 as a team during the trip and averaged 8.7 runs per game. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE UNI slugger Brett Featherston is leading the Missouri Valley Conference in walks, drawing 21 so far this season. Fellow senior Dane Embury has drawn 16 walks this season, ranking fourth in The Valley. NOT ONE, BUT TWO GEMS Nick Kirk and Guido Fonseca combined to allow just six hits and one run in 14 innings two sweep Northwestern in a doubleheader on Good Friday. Kirk pitched seven-innings of shutout baseball in the first game, allowing just two hits while striking out seven in seven innings. Fonseca allowed four hits and one unearned run while pitching all seven innings of the second contest. STREAKING After dropping four straight contests, the Panthers won six-game in a row. UNI is hit .348 over that stretch, and the Panthers are averaged9.2 runs per game over those six contests. The streak included three consecutive games where UNI scored 12 or more runs. The six-game streak was the longest for the Panthers since opening the 2006 campaign with seven straight wins. GETTING IT DONE Pitcher Guido Fonseca is having a good start to his senior season. The right-handed hurler is 4-0 in five starts for UNI. His is the first Valley pitcher to earn four wins, and he is tied for the MVC lead with 34 strike outs on the season. Aside from his spotless 4-0 record, Fonseca doesn't have gaudy stats, holding a 5.20 ERA and giving up 31 hits in 27.2 innings, but he has found a way to hold on for wins. Fonseca led the Panthers with five wins last season A NICE RETURN After sitting out 12 games with an injury, junior center fielder Deric Manrique returned to the starting lineup against Central Connecticut State on Thursday. Playing as the designated hitter that game, he hit 3-of-4 with three runs scored, five RBIs, two doubles and a home run. He hit .500 on the week, going 5-of-10 from the plate with six RBIs. BREAKING OUT Chris Lopez had a break-out weekend at UALR, tallying seven hits, six of them for extra bases. Lopez hit six doubles in the series and two home runs, finishing the weekend with a 1.000 slugging percentage. WHAT A RELIEF The Panther bullpen has been solid for the Panthers this season, especially seniors Nick Lauver, Mike O'Leary, Joe Gonzalez and Tim Flattery. The foursome has combined to pitch 38.2 innings of relief, allowing just 10 earned runs for a combined 2.35 ERA. That group has held opponents to a .201 batting average. FAST START Brandon Douglas got his junior season off to a blistering start. The preseason All-Valley shortstop went 11-of-16 in the series against Centenary, including four doubles. Douglas collected three three-hit games in that series.
OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT The first play of the season proved to be a costly one for the Panthers. Preseason All-MVC selection Deric Manrique was able to run out an infield single, but he turned his ankle in the process. Manrique sat out the remainder of the Centenary series and will likely be out of action this weekend. FILLING IN After the injury to Manrique, redshirt freshman Levi Ferguson moved into center field and the leadoff spot for UNI. In his first game as the leadoff man, Ferguson went 3-of-4 from the plate and scored three runs. He hit .375 in the opening series for UNI, and he collected a hit in each of the Panthers' four games. ROAD WARRIORS Once again, the Panthers' early schedule has them traveling. UNI will play its first 20 games away from Riverfront Stadium. UNI will play in four-game series at Centenary and Arkansas-Little Rock, along with a three-game tournament in the Metrodome and the annual nine-game spring trip to Bradenton, Fla. The Panthers will play its first home game on March 26 when they host UW-Platteville. PRESEASON HONORS UNI's Deric Manrique and Brandon Douglas were each tabbed to the preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference team. Manrique and Douglas were each named to the All-MVC first team last season. In 2007, Manrique led the Panthers with a .351 average, and he stole a league-high 30 bases. Douglas is a two-time All-Valley first-team selection. He led the Panthers with 19 doubles a year ago.
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