May 21, 2007
Contact: Josh Rattray
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Cleveland State Baseball
U.S. Army Horizon League Championship
First Round - vs. Butler
Date: May 23, 2007
Time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
Location: UIC's Les Miller Field - Chicago, Ill.
All-time Series: Butler leads, 29-26
Live Stats: www.CSUVikings.com
Live Video: Horizon League Network - www.CSUVikings.com
FIRST PITCH: Cleveland State (13-42, 10-17 HL) opens Horizon League Championship action on Wednesday (May 23) at 11:00 a.m. CDT versus Butler in Chicago, Ill. The Vikings, the tournament's No. 4 seed, are riding a three-game winning streak into the double-elimination tournament. CSU and Butler split the season series 3-3. The winner of Wednesday's match-up will take on host UIC on Thursday.
PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Fourth-seeded CSU heads into the Horizon League Championship playing its best baseball of the season. The Vikings have won three straight and have scored 50 runs in their last six games. CSU is led by junior shortstop Bobby Cash (.277), who leads the team in hits, runs and walks. Seniors third baseman Rich Ranells (.268) and centerfielder John Westra (.254) are among the team's leaders and have both hit as high as third in the lineup. Sophomore Matt Madrid (.235), who leads the team with five home runs, starts at second base and sophomore Ryan Baechel (.226) rounds out the infield at first base. Alongside Westra in the outfield, junior Vasili Pahoulis (.232) starts in right and sophomore Nate Radtke (.234) mans left field. Junior Josh Geric (.228), a switch hitter, starts at catcher and has also started at DH early in the season. Sophomore Josh Hungerman (.273), who is also the team's No. 2 starting pitcher, starts in the DH spot and slugged .429 in the regular season.
...PREVIEWING CSU'S PITCHING: Cleveland State's pitching staff has seen dramatic improvement, posting a 5.25 ERA this season after having an 8.02 ERA last season. Senior Stephen Procner (3-9, 4.63 ERA) and sophomore Josh Hungerman (2-8, 3.58 ERA) are the team's top two starters while senior Pat McKitrick (4-3, 3.35 ERA) has been the team's best reliever. Senior lefty Brandon Hewitt (2-8, 5.17) is also pitching his best this season, consistently working into the later innings of his starts. CSU's top lefty reliever, sophomore Michael Babin (1-0 with three saves), has emerged as a key member of the pitching staff in 20 appearances.
HEAD COACH Kevin Kocks: Kevin Kocks was named Cleveland State's ninth baseball coach on July 27, 2006 and has already made a big impact on the Viking program, finding the team a new home field, rebuilding the locker room facilities and infusing a new attitude into the team. In 13 years at Bellarmine University and Spalding University, Kocks has made seven postseason appearances and enjoyed 11 winning seasons. Kocks led Spalding to the NAIA World Series in 2002, `03 and `05 and was named the conference coach of the year six times in his career.
WEDNESDAY'S STARTER
Stephen Procner - Sr. - Girard, Ohio
Procner (3-9) is the Horizon League leader in strikeouts (70), tied for second in innings pitched (91.1) and third in opponent batting average (.270). He started twice versus Butler this year, allowing seven runs on 13 hits in 17.2 innings. He struck out 17 Bulldogs in the two starts, and held Butler to a .210 batting average.
THURSDAY'S STARTER
TBA
Thursday's starter will depend on the opponent. If CSU wins Wednesday, it would face UIC or Wright State if No. 6 Youngstown State defeats No. 3 UW-Milwaukee on Wednesday afternoon. If seeds hold on Wednesday, CSU will play UIC at 7:00 p.m. CDT on Thursday.
CSU IN THE LEAGUE TOURNEY: Cleveland State has won at least one game in each of the last four league championships and is 7-8 at the league tourney dating back to 2003. The Vikings won three games and claimed runner-up honors in 2004.
CSU VS. BUTLER: Cleveland State and Butler split the season series three games apiece, with each team winning two of three contests at home. Cleveland State won a 10-6, 13-inning affair at Butler on March 30 before the Bulldogs swept a doubleheader in Indianapolis the next day. When Butler came to northeast Ohio, CSU won a 3-0 decision on April 13 before the two teams split a twinbill the following day.
CLIMBING THE LEAGUE LADDER: CSU's 10-17 finish in Horizon League play marked the first time the Vikings have been in double digits in league wins since going 11-12 in 2004. Cleveland State, which was 6-22 in the league last year, also saw a 4.5-game improvement in league play in its first season under Kevin Kocks.
FOLLOW CSU WITH LIVE STATS: Fans can follow Cleveland State at the Horizon League Championship online by following live stats on the CSU athletics home page at www.CSUVikings.com. To access the live stats, click on the Live Stats link on the schedule at the bottom of the front page next to the scheduled game.
...HORIZON LEAGUE NETWORK: Video of game of the Horizon League Championsihps will be streamed live on the internet on the Horizon League Network at www.HorizonLeague.org. A link to the video stream will be available at CSUVikings.com.
CASH GETS CREDIT: Bobby Cash, CSU's leading hitter with a .277 batting average, was named Horizon League Athlete of the Week after batting .478 (11-for-23) and scoring 11 runs in five games last week. The Hudson, Ohio also walked twice, stole two bases and got on base at a .520 clip. Cash, who batted leadoff last week after hitting in the second spot for most of the season, had four multi-hit games last week, including a 3-for-6 effort versus Pittsburgh and a 3-for-5 performance against Youngstown State.
EVEN STEPHEN: Stephen Procner has been one of the Horizon League's top pitchers, leading the league with 70 strikeouts, tying for second with 91.1 innings pitched and is holding opponents to the third-lowest batting average in the league (.270). The Girard, Ohio native worked at least 8.2 innings in four of five starts from March 24-April 14, including complete game wins at Wright State on March 24 and Youngstown State on April 10. He threw the first nine frames of CSU's 13-inning 10-6 win at Butler on March 30 and fell just one out short of a complete game versus the Bulldogs on April 14. He pitched 7.0 innings or more in eight of his 14 regular season starts.
...LEAGUE HONORS FOR PROCNER: Stephen Procner was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on April 16 after working 17.2 innings victories over Youngstown State and Butler. Procner allowed four runs on 11 hits for the week, striking out 14 while walking just three. He is the second Viking pitcher this season to win the weekly honor, as Josh Hungerman captured the award on Feb. 19.
WHAT A RELIEF: One of CSU's strongest areas has been the bullpen. Viking relievers have combined to post a 4.90 ERA in 169 innings of work (compared to a 5.45 ERA for the starters). Pat McKitrick has been the team's best relief pitcher, owning a 4-3 record with a 3.35 ERA over 45.2 innings pitched. McKitrick, the only pitcher on the team with four wins, has struck out 39 against just 17 walks and is holding opponents to a .244 batting average. Michael Babin has emerged as CSU's best lefty reliever, going 1-0 with a 5.17 ERA and a team-leading three saves in 20 appearances.
DESIGNATED PITCHER: Josh Hungerman owns a 3.58 ERA and ranks sixth in the Horizon League with 57 strikeouts, but it's his bat that has done most of the damage lately. The sophomore from Pittsburgh hit .381 (8-21) with a home run, three doubles and eight RBI last week in the designated hitter position.
ON DECK: The winner of the Horizon League Championships receives the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, which begins June 1 at 16 regional sites.
