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Vikings Battle Titans In Key Horizon League Series
Complete Release in PDF Format Contact: Kevin Zeise May 13, 2004 CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State baseball team wraps up the home part of the Horizon League season this weekend when it hosts Detroit in a four-game set at Forest Hill Park in East Cleveland. The Vikings and Titans begin the series on Friday (May 14) at 5 p.m. before playing two games on the following day, starting a 1 p.m. The four-game set concludes with a 12 p.m. contest on Sunday (May 16). Sunday's game will be preceeded by the recognition of the two Cleveland State seniors, Doug Besozzi (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont) and Dave Boyza (Willowick, Ohio/Eastlake North).
About the Vikings: Cleveland State defeated Kent State, 2-1, on Monday (May 10) at Jacobs Field in the final game of the series between the two schools. The Vikings got an outstanding performance from Dave Boyza to pick up their fourth non-conference win of the year. Scouting the Titans: Detroit (15-32) stands in sixth place in the Horizon League at 7-9, but is just two games back of the Vikings for second. The Titans have traditionally played Cleveland State well, holding a 33-20 edge in the all-time series and taking two of three last season. Detroit is led by Charlie Anderson, a senior transfer. Anderson leads Detroit and the Horizon League in nearly every offensive category, including batting average (.500), doubles (9), home runs (6), RBI (22) and walks (12). As a team, the Titans are hitting .273 with 22 home runs. Detroit has struggled on the mound, however, with just two pitchers posting an ERA under 4.00 and a team ERA of 6.53. Adam Myers is the top starter for the Titans, with a 5.58 ERA and a 3-5 record in 59.2 innings pitched. Head Coach Jay Murphy: In his eighth year as the skipper of the Cleveland State baseball team, Jay Murphy is the second-winningest head coach in Cleveland State history. His 151 wins are second only to Fernando Arrango's 252 over a 13 year span. Murphy has significantly strengthened the non-conference schedule, providing a rigorous test for the Vikings before they enter league play. In 2002, he came within a game of leading Cleveland State to its first NCAA Tournament appearance, falling in the league championship game to UW-Milwaukee, 4-1. Murphy has a 153-261 record at Cleveland State, and, coupled with the five years he spent as the head coach at George Washngton, a career mark of 269-395-1. What A Difference A Year Makes: With two weekends remaining in the Horizon League season, Cleveland State is in second place with an 8-7 record. At the same point last season, the Vikings were 2-13 and in last place. Cleveland State is four wins shy of tying the school's all-time single-season win total in conference play with eight league games remaining. Kaltenbach Keeps Getting Better: Matt Kaltenbach (Stow, Ohio) has been solid in Horizon League play, posting a 3.00 ERA in his three league starts. The junior has struck out 18 and walked two in 21 innings of work, allowing just seven earned runs. After a slow start to the season, he has lowered his ERA to 5.34 runs per game, striking out 44 while allowing just 16 walks. He went five innings, allowing five runs, in picking up the win against Notre Dame on April 28. Chinn Music: Steve Chinn (Valley City, Ohio/Buckeye) is scheduled to return to the Viking lineup this week after missing the last two weeks with an injured shoulder. Chinn was injured diving for a ground ball in the April 28 win over No. 8 Notre Dame after going 3-for-4 in five innings with a home run, two runs scored and three driven in. He also went 4-for-6 in the win over George Washington on March 12, driving in five runs. Despite missing the last eight games, Chinn still leads the team in hits (41), doubles (8), batting average (.333) and RBI (19). Chinn Receives Luke Easter Award: Steve Chinn was honored with the 2004 Luke Easter-Wahoo Club Memorial Scholarship on May 10 at Jacobs Field. The sophomore is the 26th recipient of the award, which is presented annually to the CSU underclassman who best exemplifies the spirit of Luke Easter through Leadership, Unselfish concern for teammates, Keen loyalty and Enthusiasm for the game of baseball. Who Is That Masked Man?: Doug Besozzi has been named to the watch list for the 2004 Johnny Bench Award, presented annually to the best collegiate catcher, by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. Besozzi returned to the lineup on April 23 after missing a pair of games with a pulled hamstring. He is currently fourth on the team in hitting with a .302 average and second in home runs (2) and RBI (17). The senior has been solid behind the plate, making 190 putouts and 33 assists while committing four errors. He has also thrown out 11 of 36 stolen base attempts (31 percent). Besozzi, one of the top catching prospects in the midwest, hit .298 last year and banged out a pair of home runs while committing just four errors behind the plate. Ball's Throwing Strikes: Sophomore Gary Ball (Mansfield, Pa.) has posted outstanding performances in each of his three league starts this season. He has given up just three runs on 10 hits in 20 innings while striking out 13 and walking five. Ball is 2-1 in league play, losing only a 3-1 decision at UIC on May 1. He opened the league season with a three-hit, complete game shutout of Youngstown State on April 10, then, after missing his start against Wright State due to injury, duplicated the feat with against UW-Milwaukee on Saturday (April 24). The win over UWM earned Ball Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors for the first time in his career. Ern-ing His Keep: Junior third baseman Dominic Erney has come on strong after a slow start to the season. Since reaching a season-low .219 on April 14 at Bowling Green, the Parma Heights-native has started to heat up, batting .333 (22-for-66) in the 18 games since to raise his average to .275.
More Brooms: Cleveland State recorded its second doubleheader sweep on April 24 with a pair of 5-0 wins over UW-Milwaukee. The Vikings got their first sweep on April 10 at Youngstown State, winning 4-1 and 1-0. Cleveland State last swept two league doubleheaders in 1998, when they claimed twin bill wins over Wright State and Illinois-Chicago.
South Bend Stunner: Cleveland State pulled off one of the biggest upsets in school history on April 28 by defeating No. 8 Notre Dame, 12-5, in Notre Dame, Ind. The Vikings used six Irish errors to score eight unearned runs. The win over Notre Dame is the first in 13 tries for Cleveland State baseball.
Seizing The Opportunity: Cleveland State won three of four against Youngstown State from April 9-11 by taking advantage of YSU mistakes. With the Vikings hitting just .239 against the Penguins, CSU used three sacrifice bunts, a sacrifice fly and 11 Youngstown State errors to score nine unearned runs in the series. By comparison, the Vikings only committed two errors on the weekend.
Extra, Extra: Cleveland State is 2-1 in extra inning games this season after picking up a 3-2 win in eight innings against UIC on May 2. The Vikings played their first extra-inning game on April 9 at Youngstown State and came away with a 5-3 win in 12 innings. Tied at one after nine, the Vikings broke through for four unearned runs in the top of the 12th, keyed by a single, a hit batter and three walks to take a 5-1 lead. The Penguins got two runs back on a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning, but Gian Testa hung on for his first win of the season. The Vikings also went into extra frames against Michigan on April 21, but came out on the short end of a 2-1 decision in 14 innings. The Vikings went to extra innings twice last year, losing at Akron on March 25 and against Youngstown State on April 19.
Fifth Time's The Charm: Cleveland State finally opened the home portion of the season on April 16 when the Vikings hosted Wright State. The opener against the Raiders was the fifth time this season that Cleveland State has tried to play at home. The Vikings were originally scheduled to open at home on March 30 before heavy rains cancelled that game and a home contest with Duquesne the following day. Also lost was an April 4 game against Binghamton at Eastlake Stadium. An April 13 contest with Toledo at Forest Hill Park was also lost due to rain. Most recently, the series finale between CSU and UW-Milwaukee at Forest Hill Park on April 25 was rained out. It's not just home games that have been affected, as a March 16 contest at Pittsburgh was cancelled due to snow. If this season is anything like last year, cancellations and postponements will be commonplace, as the Vikings had 14 games postponed or cancelled due to weather in 2003.
Boyza's Back: Senior Dave Boyza continues to make strides in his return from Tommy John surgery following the 2002 season. He had his best outing of the year at Jacobs Field on May 10, holding Kent State to one run on five hits while striking out nine, in getting his second win of the year. Boyza earned Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors on March 23 after picking up his first win in nearly two years on March 20 against Marshall. The lefthander went 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out four. Here's a look at the left-hander's starts this season:
Player of the Week: Junior Ben Smith (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin) earned Horizon League Player of the Week honors on March 16 for his offensive outburst in the series at George Washington. Smith hit .538 (7-for-13) with two home runs and four runs batted in. In the March 12 win against the Colonials, Smith went 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored. He also played flawless defense at shortstop, recording eight putouts and four assists without committing an error. Before Smith's award, the last Viking to earn league weekly honors was Jerry Long, who was named Pitcher of the Week on April 29, 2002, while the last position player to earn the award was Keith Lillash on March 19, 2001.
Outstanding Ochwat: Mike Ochwat (Garfield Heights) has shown to be a valuable pitcher both out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation. Ochwat pitched a two-hit gem in the second game against UW-Milwaukee on April 24, striking out five and walking just one. He made his first start of the season on April 10 against Youngstown State and allowed just five hits and one run in six innings, picking up his first win of the season. Ochwat has appeared in eight games, allowing five earned runs in 30.2 innings. The junior picked up his first career save in Cleveland State's win over George Washington on March 12. He has 19 strikeouts while allowing 29 hits and seven walks.
Season Ends Early: The 2004 season has ended quite early for sophomore catcher Jon Skelley (Medina, Ohio/Buckeye). Skelley had started three games behind the plate and one at designated hitter before suffering a broken arm on March 21 at Marshall. He underwent surgery on March 24, and will get a medical redshirt for the season.
A Professional Feeling: Cleveland State has posted a 6-4 mark when playing in a professional stadium this season. After losing at Akron's Canal Park on April 6, the Vikings took three out of four at Youngstown State's Eastwood Field and another two of three at Eastlake Stadium against UW-Milwaukee. The Vikings will get their share of time in a professional ballpark this season, as at least 13 of CSU's games in 2004 will be played in professional stadiums. Cleveland State will host five games at Eastlake Stadium, home to the Class A Lake County Captains, and an additional game at Jacobs Field, home to the Cleveland Indians. The 2004 Horizon League Championship is scheduled for Eastwood Field, home to the Class A Mahoning Valley Scrappers, for May 26-30, where the Vikings will play a minimum of two games. Below is a complete listing of CSU's games in professional baseball parks.
A Home To Call Their Own: After playing the past eight seasons at Euclid Memorial Field, Cleveland State opened its first season at Forest Hill Park in East Cleveland on April 16 against Wright State. As part of the Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) program with the Cleveland Indians, the Viking baseball team spent time renovating the game field and surrounding fields at the park. Cleveland State will share the park with East Cleveland Shaw High School, with both groups pitching in to maintain the field. Viking pitchers should benefit from the move, as Forest Hill Park features dimensions better suited to college baseball. The field plays 330 feet down the lines and 400 feet to straightaway center.
Up Next: The Vikings close out the home portion of the regular season with a 6:30 p.m. game against Ohio on Tuesday (May 18) at Eastlake Ballpark.
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