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Contact: Kevin Zeise

May 25, 2004

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State baseball team will open the 2004 Horizon League Championship on Wednesday (May 26) against Detroit at Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio. Cleveland State and Detroit will battle in the tournament's second game, starting at 2:30 p.m. The Vikings enter the tournament as the third seed after finishing just ahead of Wright State and UW-Milwaukee.

About the Vikings: The Vikings come into the Horizon League Championships on a bit of a slide, having lost three of four games at Butler over the weekend. The Vikings took the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday before losing the nightcap and Sunday's contest. Before heading to Indianapolis, however, the Vikings knocked off Ohio State, 7-2, on Wednesday (May 19) in Columbus, Ohio.
Cleveland State 7, Ohio State 2 (May 19) - The Vikings scored all seven runs with two outs as they defeated Ohio State in Columbus. Jim Waller (Canton, Ohio/Glen Oak) and Gary Ball (Mansfield, Pa.) homered for the Vikings, who picked up just their fifth non-conference win of the year.
Butler 4, Cleveland State 2 (May 21) - Dave Boyza (Willowick, Ohio/Eastlake North) suffered his seventh loss of the year, allowing four unearned runs as Butler capitalized on a Viking error in the sixth inning. Cleveland State notched just four hits by four different players, though Cory Rojeck (Wickliffe, Ohio) extended his season-long hitting streak to 10 games.
Cleveland State 4, Butler 2 (May 22) - Cleveland State rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 4-2 win over Butler. A two-run home run by Ben Smith (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin) provided the game-winning margin. Gian Testa (Tallmadge, Ohio) picked up the win, while Gary Ball worked a perfect ninth to record his first career save.
Butler 3, Cleveland State 2 (8 innings) (May 22) - Steve Chinn (Valley City, Ohio/Buckeye) went 3-for-4 with a run and one batted in, but the Vikings dropped their second extra-inning game of the year. Gary Ball worked three innings and took the loss, giving up an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth.
Butler 5, Cleveland State 2 (May 23) - Dominic Erney (Parma Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) collected two of the Vikings' four hits, but the Vikings lost the regular season finale in Indianapolis. Butler sprayed 12 hits, 10 of them off starter Matt Kaltenbach (Stow, Ohio), who dropped to 4-7 on the year.

About the Tournament: The Horizon League Championship has a bit of a new look this year. The play-in game between the league's sixth and seventh seeds has been eliminated, with the top seed receiving a bye in the first round. The championship seeds and opening matchups are listed below:
#1 UIC - winner of #4 Wright State/#5 UW-Milwaukee, Thursday, 10:30 a.m
#2 Butler - #7 Youngstown State, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
#3 Cleveland State - #6 Detroit, Wednesday, 2:30 p.m.
#4 Wright State - #5 UW-Milwaukee, Wednesday, 10:30 a.m.

Scouting the Titans: Detroit finished the Horizon League season at 10-12 following a two-game split with UIC over the weekend. The Titans and Vikings split their four games this season on May 14-16, with the Vikings taking games two and four of the series. Charlie Anderson continues to lead the Titan offense with a .390 average and 14 home runs, though he struggled against Cleveland State pitching the first time around. Viking hurlers held Anderson to a three singles in 13 at-bats with one RBI, two runs scored and four walks. On the mound, Bob Lothian has a 5.35 ERA to lead the regular starters. Lothian shut the Vikings down in the second game of a doubleheader on May 15, scattering four Viking hits in a 5-0 Detroit victory.

Familiar Foes: Cleveland State and Detroit have met in the last three championships with the Vikings taking two of the three games. Last season, the Vikings knocked off the Titans in the play-in game, 7-3, while Detroit eliminated the Vikings in 2002 at Jacobs Field, 4-2. In 2001, the Vikings defeated the Titans, 1-0, to end their tournament run.

Beware of the Vikings: Cleveland State has a history of causing problems for teams in the Horizon League Championship. Last season, the Vikings entered the tournament as the seven seed, but defeated Detroit, Wright State and Youngstown State in elimination games before falling to Butler. Then, in 2001, the Vikings made another charge out of the consolation bracket, eliminating Detroit, Butler and UIC, after first falling to the Flames, before losing in the championship game to UW-Milwaukee.

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 157 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 157-266 record at Cleveland State, and, coupled with the five years he spent as the head coach at George Washington, a career mark of 273-400-1.

So Much For Polls: Entering the season, the Vikings were picked to finish sixth in the Horizon League in a poll of league coaches. Cleveland State then pulled off the surprise of the season, tallying 11 wins and finishing third in the league. UIC lived up to preseason expectations, winning the conference, while UW-Milwaukee and Youngstown State, who were picked second and third, respectively, finished fifth and seventh.

Kaltenbach Keeps Getting Better: Matt Kaltenbach has been solid in Horizon League play, posting a 3.37 ERA in his five league starts. The junior has struck out 34 and walked seven in 34.2 innings of work, allowing 13 earned runs. After a slow start to the season, he has lowered his ERA to 4.81 runs per game, striking out 68 while allowing just 23 walks. He went five innings, allowing five runs, in picking up the win against Notre Dame on April 28, and got another win on May 19 at Ohio State, working six innings and striking out eight.

Chinn Music: Steve Chinn, who missed eight games with a separated shoulder, hasn't missed a step since his return on May 14 against Detroit. Since returning, the sophomore has hit .344 with nine runs scored and three batted in. He has also notched a pair of triples to go along with four doubles. Chinn suffered the injury 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 eight games, Chinn still leads the team in batting average (.335), doubles (12), runs scored (24) and RBI (22).

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?: Catcher Doug Besozzi (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont) has moved into second place in school history with 701 at-bats and fifth place with 201 hits. He returned to the lineup on April 23 after missing a pair of games with a pulled hamstring and is currently fourth on the team in hitting with a .294 average and second in RBI (21). He is also tied for second with three other players in home runs (2). The senior has been solid behind the plate, making 256 putouts and 40 assists while committing five errors. He has also thrown out 15 of 46 stolen base attempts (33 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 has been solid in Horizon League play this season, posting a 2.10 ERA in four starts and two relief appearances with three complete games. He is 2-3 in Horizon League play, recording 34 strikeouts in 34.2 innings of work. 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 .375 (36-for-96) in the 26 games since to raise his average to .308.

Break Out The Brooms: The April 10 doubleheader sweep of Youngstown State was the first for the Vikings since taking two from the Penguins on April 4, 2001. The Vikings came just short of claiming their first league series sweep since a four-game sweep of Detroit on April 16-18, 1999.

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 2-2 in extra inning games this season after suffering a 3-2 loss in eight innings on May 22 at Butler. Cleveland State picked up a 3-2 win in eight innings on May 2 at UIC, and opened the year with an extra-inning win at Youngstown State on April 9, winning 5-2 in 12 innings. 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 home season finale against Ohio on May 18 at Eastlake Stadium was called due to the weather. 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. With 62 strikeouts this season, he has 266 in his career, placing him in second-place all-time in Cleveland State history. 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:
March 6 at Indiana - 3.0 IP, 5 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), 5 BB, 3 K
March 13 at George Washington - 4.2 IP, 4 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), 8 BB, 4 K
March 20 at Marshall - 6.1 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 4 BB, 4 K
March 27 at Purdue - 7.1 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 4 BB, 6 K
April 6 at Akron - 6.2 IP, 4 hits, 5 runs (2 earned), 1 BB, 3 K
April 11 at Youngstown State - 7.1 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 BB, 4 K
April 17 vs. Wright State - 4.2 IP, 10 hits, 9 runs (7 earned), 0 BB, 6 K
April 23 vs. UW-Milwaukee - 8.2 IP, 9 hits, 6 runs (4 earned), 3 BB, 10 K
April 30 vs. UIC - 3.2 IP, 5 hits, 8 runs (4 earned), 4 BB, 0 K
May 5 vs. Duquesne - 5.0 IP, 6 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), 2 BB, 3 K
May 10 vs. Kent State - 7.0 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 2 BB, 9 K
May 16 vs. Detroit - 7.1 IP, 8 hits, 4 runs, 3 BB, 10 K
May 21 at Butler - 6.0 IP, 8 hits, 4 runs (0 earned), 1 BB, 4 K

Player of the Week: Junior Ben Smith 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, Ohio) 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 will get its 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.
April 6 - at Akron (Canal Park - Akron Aeros)
April 9 - at YSU (Eastwood Field - Mahoning Valley Scrappers)
April 10 - at YSU (DH) (Eastwood Field - Mahoning Valley Scrappers)
April 11 - at YSU (Eastwood Field - Mahoning Valley Scrappers)
April 23 - vs. UWM (Eastlake Stadium - Lake County Captains)
April 24 - vs. UWM (DH) (Eastlake Stadium - Lake County Captains)
May 7 - vs. Kent State (Eastlake Stadium - Lake County Captains)
May 10 - vs. Kent State (Jacobs Field - Cleveland Indians)
May 18 - vs. Ohio (Eastlake Stadium - Lake County Captains)

Up Next: The winner of the Horizon League Championship receives the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Championship. The first round of the championship runs June 4-6 on campus sites.