April 24, 2008

Ohio vs. Kent State Game Notes (April 25-27)

Athens, Ohio - The Ohio baseball team travels to Kent State this weekend to take on the Golden Flashes with first place in the Mid-American Conference East Division on the line. Ohio (19-20) enters the series second in the divisional standings with a conference record of 8-7, half a game behind Kent State's (22-16) 7-5 MAC record. First pitch for the three-game series is slated for 3 p.m. on Friday.

Ohio Baseball This Weekend
Ohio at Kent State - Friday, April 25 (3 p.m.)
Ohio at Kent State - Saturday, April 26 (1 p.m.)
Ohio at Kent State - Sunday, April 27 (1 p.m.)

Fans can listen to pitch-by-pitch action of all three games onWATH 970 radio in Athens. Kevin Hunt will have the call from Schoonover Stadium.

Pitching Probables
(Ohio's listed first)
Friday
#33 Chris Rigo (Jr., RHP, 6-3, 205)
3-2, 5.21 ERA, 57.0 IP, 33 ER, 49 K, 26 BB

#29 Brad Stillings (So., RHP, 6-3, 200)
2-5, 5.13 ERA, 47.1 IP, 27 ER, 37 K, 16 BB

Saturday
#1 Zach Elmer (Jr., LHP, 5-11, 185)
3-2, 2.66 ERA, 44.0 IP, 13 ER, 27 K, 27 BB

#37 Chris Carpenter (Jr., RHP, 6-4, 210)
3-2, 4.44 ERA, 46.2 IP, 23 ER, 55 K, 20 BB

Sunday
#14 Matt Smith (Sr., LHP, 6-3, 190)
4-1, 4.50 ERA, 44.0 IP, 22 ER, 21 K, 20 BB

#23 Kyle Smith (So., RHP, 6-6, 195)
6-1, 5.22 ERA, 50.0 IP, 29 ER, 43 K, 27 BB

Scouting Kent State
Kent State enters this weekend's series with an overall record of 22-16 and a MAC mark of 7-5, half a game up on Ohio for first place in the East Division. Kent State got out to a slow start this season, going 8-13, but has since won 14 of 17 games, including 12 in a row before falling to Duquesne on Wednesday. Kent State is just a game over .500 on the road, but at home the Golden Flashes are 9-3. In MAC play, KSU is second in the league in both batting (.315) and team ERA (4.05). Head Coach Scott Stricklin is in his fourth season at the helm, where he has compiled a record of 126-81. Last year Kent State won the East Division with a 19-8 record, and went on to capture the MAC Tournament title to advance to the NCAA Regional.

All-Time Series
Ohio is 72-53 all-time against Kent State. Last year the Bobcats were swept by the Golden Flashes in Kent, 8-2, 6-1, 16-1. Ohio Head Coach Joe Carbone is 26-31 in his 20 years with Ohio.

Recent Slide
Ohio started 7-2 in MAC play, its best start since the 1997 MAC Championship team, but since then the Bobcats have dropped five of six in conference play. During the slide Ohio is still batting better than its opponents, with a .315 average compared to a .308 for its opponents, but that number is lower than Ohio's season average. Over the last six MAC games Ohio's pitchers have a combined 8.12 ERA, compared to its opponents 7.23 ERA. The problems have also been in the field, as the Bobcats have committed 14 errors to seven for their opponents.

Double-Digit Runs
Ohio has brought 10 or more runs across the plate 13 times this season and has a 9-4 record in those games. Last year, the Bobcats had only 12 games of 10 or more runs scored and Ohio went 10-2 in those games.

The Long Ball
Ohio has belted 36 home runs this season through the first 39 games, one more than last year's team hit the entire season. Leading the way has been senior Matt Stiffler. After hitting three home runs in both his sophomore and junior seasons, Stiffler has jacked a team-high 10 this year. Freshman Robert Maddox III has seven homers this season, followed by junior Brandon Besl's six and sophomore Marc Krauss' five.

Besl Tops on Team in Batting
Junior Brandon Besl has missed 10 games this season due to injury, but when he is in the lineup he has been outstanding for the Bobcats. Over the last two weeks Besl has raised his batting average to .385, tops on the team. The Cincinnati native has shown that he can hit equally as well against both left-handed and right-handed pitchers, posting a .389 average against LHP and a .382 average against RHP. Besl also leads the team in slugging percentage (.648) and doubles (14).

Your Other Right
For most of this season Ohio's offense has been clicking on all cylinders batting .317 on the season and averaging 7.7 runs per game. The Bobcats swing the bats even better against left handed pitchers, with a .336 average against south paws. Ohio's average against right-handers is nothing to yawn at either, as the team is batting .305 against righties.

Stiffler Entering Elite Company
Matt Stiffler is already the all-time Ohio leader in career triples (14), but he is also in the top 10 in numerous other statistical categories. Entering tonight's game Stiffler is fifth in career runs (151), tied for 10th in career doubles (39) and is ninth in total bases for a career (313). He is also fast approaching the top 10 in hits (201), just eight away from breaking into that top 10.

Bobcats Get Offensive
Ohio broke out of its mini-slump at the plate Tuesday evening, connecting on a season-high 24 hits and blasting a season-high six home runs in an 18-6 victory against Cincinnati at Bob Wren Stadium. Senior Matt Stiffler led the offensive onslaught with two three-run blasts, coming in the bottom of the fifth and eighth innings, lifting his home run total to a team-high 10. Sophomore Marc Krauss, junior Brandon Besl, junior Chris Klimko and sophomore Jeremie Rehak all joined in on the game of long ball, connecting on one apiece. For the game, 11 Bobcats recorded a hit, including nine players with multi-hit games.

First in the East on the Line
Ohio enters this weekend's series half a game behind Kent State in the East Division standings. Kent State is currently 7-5 in league play, while the Bobcats are 8-7. In conference action Ohio is first in the league in batting with a .326 batting average and fifth in the league in pitching with a 4.96 team-ERA.

Maddox III Streak Ends
Ohio freshman first baseman Robert Maddox III had his 13-game hitting streak come to an end Wednesday night against Marshall, after being going 0-for-1 with two runs scored. Maddox III did reach base three times, off two walks and a hit-by-pitch. During his streak Maddox III batted .419 with 17 RBI, 13 runs scored, five doubles and three home runs. Maddox III's hit-streak was the third longest this season for Ohio, behind Matt Stiffler's school-record 26-game streak earlier this year and Marc Krauss' 15-game streak that ended two weeks ago. Also posting double-digit hit streaks this season for Ohio are freshman Zach Keen (12) and senior Zach Hartle (12).

Individual MAC Stats
Through the first 15 conference games, Ohio has two players in the top six in the league in batting average. Robert Maddox III is fifth (.397) and Marc Krauss is sixth (.391). Krauss and Maddox III are tied for second in hits per game (1.67), and Maddox III is third in league play in RBI (1.27) and total bases (2.93). Krauss is first in the conference in runs per game (1.67) and sixth in total bases (2.67). On the mound the Bobcats are led by junior left-hander Zach Elmer, who is fifth in ERA (2.67) and third in the league in opponent batting average (.204).