Baseball Weekly Release #15

May 22, 2006

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Player of the Week

Joe Nowicki, UW-Milwaukee
Senior * 1B * Milwaukee, Wis.
Nowicki helped the Panthers to a 4-1 record, going 12-for-21 (.571) with 10 RBI and eight runs scored in the five games. He compiled a 1.095 slugging percentage by collecting seven extra-base hits, including five (three doubles, two homers) in a 5-for-5, five-RBI effort to open Saturday's doubleheader at Butler. The senior also had two-baggers in each of the other games versus the Bulldogs, and raised his season average to .375.

Pitcher of the Week

Zach Peterson, UIC
Junior * RHP * Minnetonka, Minn.
Peterson won his fifth consecutive decision, allowing only two earned runs and striking out six batters in seven innings at Wright State on Friday. Peterson did not walk a batter while improving to 8-3 overall, and he leads the League in ERA (2.10), strikeouts (66) and innings pitched (98.2). Peterson also shares the League lead with those eight victories.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending May 21

Tony Barnes, Butler
Junior * OF * Valley City, Ohio
Barnes batted .421 (8-for-19) in five games last week, collecting six base hits and six RBI against UW-Milwaukee. He doubled twice, homered twice and scored four runs against the Panthers to close the regular season.

Rich Ranells, Cleveland State
Junior * 3B * Highland Heights, Ohio
Ranells paced the Vikings on Saturday, hitting .571 (4-for-7) with two runs scored and an RBI versus Youngston State. He had two hits in each game and added also scored once in each end of the twinbill.

Bart Babineaux, UIC
Senior * OF * New Iberia, La.
Babineaux made history Friday, hitting his 18th homer of the year to eclipse the UIC single-season record which had stood for 21 years. He was 5-for-11 with two homers and six RBI in the series.

Erich Diedrich, Youngstown State
Sophomore * DH * Bay Village, Ohio
Diedrich drove in six runs versus Cleveland State, giving him a school-record 56 for the year. He went 3-for-5 with a homer, three runs scored and four RBI in the nightcap, after notching the game-winning single in the tenth inning of the opener.

Josh Hungerman, Cleveland State
Freshman * LHP * Pittsburgh, Pa.
Hungerman worked four innings of scoreless relief in Saturday's nightcap against Youngstown State. The freshman southpaw scattered five hits (all singles) and struck out one without issuing a walk.

Aaron Sorenson, UW-Milwaukee
Senior * RHP * Sheboygan, Wis.
Sorenson pitched a gem against Butler on Saturday, tying the UWM single-game record with 13 strikeouts in the 8-3 victory. He allowed six hits and walked only one in eight innings, yielding three runs (two earned).

Eric Shaffer, Youngstown State
Senior * LHP * Akron, Ohio
Shaffer picked up his fourth win of the season with five shutout innings against Cleveland State on Saturday. The senior allowed only five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out five in his 70-pitch effort.

Horizon League Players and Pitchers of the Week

Date-- Player of the Week
Feb. 21-- Bart Babineaux, UIC
Feb. 28-- Brian Shoup, Wright State
Mar. 7-- Mike Goetz, UW-Milwaukee
Mar. 14-- Erich Diedrich, Youngstown State
Mar. 21-- Ross McCoy, UW-Milwaukee
Mar. 28-- Mike Goetz, UW-Milwaukee
Apr. 3-- Joe Dempsey, Butler; Bart Babineaux, UIC
Apr. 10-- Bart Babineaux, UIC
Apr. 17-- Steve Chinn, Cleveland State
Apr. 24-- Justin Wilson, Wright State
May 1-- Zak Rivera, UW-Milwaukee
May 8-- Justin Banks, Youngstown State
May 15-- Justin Johnson, UIC
May 22-- Joe Nowicki, UW-Milwaukee

Date-- Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 21 -- Robert Michalkiewicz, UW-Milwaukee
Feb. 28-- Joe Smith, Wright State
Mar. 7-- Zach Peterson, UIC
Mar. 14-- Josh Vollmer, Butler
Mar. 21-- Garret Holleran, Wright State
Mar. 28-- Zach Peterson, UIC
Apr. 3-- Robert Barrett, Wright State
Apr. 10-- Eric Shaffer, Youngstown State
Apr. 17-- Joe Skinner, UIC
Apr. 24-- Zach Peterson, UIC
May 1-- Brian Long, Cleveland State
May 8-- Rick Cavaiani, UW-Milwaukee
May 15-- Robert Barrett, Wright State
May 22-- Zach Peterson, UIC

Around the Horizon League

Flames re-writing record books
UIC won two of three games at Wright State, improving to 34-18 overall and 22-7 in the League. The Flames became the first team to shut out Wright State in 2006, capping the weekend with a 7-0 whitewash.

Senior outfielder Bart Babineaux reached two milestones over the weekend. His home run Friday was his League-best 18th of the season, eclipsing the 21-year-old school record of 17, while his four RBI give him a League-high 64 to equal the Flames' one-year standard. Babineaux also leads the League with a .728 slugging percentage.

UIC boasts the League's top offense with a .325 batting average that features four of the top ten individuals. Senior DH Ben Trotter ranks second with a .400 clip, followed by sophomore second baseman Mark Hallberg (fifth at .371), and Babineaux (ninth at .348).

Junior right-hander Zach Peterson picked up his 19th career victory on Friday, tying him for fourth place on the school's career charts. Peterson is on pace to win the League's pitching triple crown as his eight wins in 2006 tie him for League honors while he tops the loop charts in earned-run average (2.10) and strikeouts (66). Peterson has walked only nine batters in a League-high 98.1 innings, anchoring a pitching staff which tops the loop charts with a 3.60 ERA.

Panthers steal second place, first-round bye
UW-Milwaukee climbed into the second spot in the standings following a three-game sweep of Butler in which UWM hit .363 as a team in outscoring the Bulldogs 29-13. The Panthers' 31-23 overall record includes an 18-12 loop ledger and four consecutive victories.

Senior right-hander Aaron Sorenson tied a school record with 13 strikeouts in Saturday's opener against the Bulldogs, equaling a mark he set versus BU last year and shared with two other pitchers.

Fellow senior Rick Cavaiani won his seventh consecutive decision in Friday's series opener. His 8-1 overall record matches UIC's Zach Peterson for the most victories by a Horizon League pitcher in 2006, with six of those wins coming in circuit action.

UW-Milwaukee leads the League with 395 runs scored and 622 hits this season. The Panthers' 138 doubles are one short of the one-year program record.

Senior outfielder Mike Goetz had his hitting streak snapped at 32 games Saturday, but he has reached base safely in 62 consecutive contests (dating back to 2005). He leads the nation with a .498 average, trying to become the first Division I player to finish over .500 since 1990. The senior also owns the League's top marks in hits (106), runs scored (63), doubles (23), stolen bases (17) and on-base percentage (.583).

Raiders making pitch for tourney success
Wright State dropped two of three games versus UIC over the weekend, slipping into third place at 17-13 in the League and 28-25 overall.

The Raiders' 28 victories ensure WSU's first winning season since 2001, while the 17 League victories were the most for the program since 1997. A 7-0 shutout in Saturday's nightcap marked the first shutout suffered by Wright State this season.

Junior closer Joe Smith continued his dominance against League batters with three scoreless innings for his 12th save of the year. Smith has not allowed a run in 28.1 innings against loop foes this year, striking out 37 while allowing only 12 hits. Overall, he owns a 3-0 mark and a 0.80 ERA, fanning 60 batters in 48 innings. With Smith in the bullpen, WSU is now 23-0 when leading after eight innings this year.

Senior right-hander Robert Barrett anchors the starting rotation for the Raiders, standing third in the League with a 3.00 ERA. He enters the League Championship with a 7-3 overall record, including one complete-game shutout. Junior right-hander Erich Schanz adds a 5-3 record and 3.73 ERA.

Junior second baseman Ross Oeder has already set two school records this season, being hit by pitches 15 times in 2006 and 36 in his career. Oeder's .452 on-base percentage is sixth-best in the League.

Penguins go the extra mile, inning
Youngstown State took two games from Cleveland State after having Friday's opener rained out. That missed game relegated the Penguins to fourth place, despite a 16-13 League ledger. YSU tries to climb back over .500 this week, coming into the League Championship at 26-27 overall. The 16 League victories represent the most in the school's five-year run in the Horizon League.

YSU's 4-3, 10-inning victory in Saturday's opener preserved the Penguins' perfect (4-0) record in extra frames this year. Youngstown State also defeated Butler in extras twice in March and outlasted UW-Milwaukee 4-3 in 12 innings on May 13. A 15-5 triumph in the nightcap marked the 14th time YSU has reached double digits this season.

Sophomore right-hander Ryan Sellman earned his sixth win of 2006 on Saturday. All six of his wins (plus three saves) have come against League competition, supplementing a 2.17 ERA in loop play.

Junior outfielder Brent Parks doubled three times in Saturday's twinbill. His 20 two-baggers this year (second-best in the League) are the fourth-most in YSU history and the most since Todd Santore hit 21 in 2001. Ironically, Parks had only five doubles in 92 games during his first two years with the Penguins.

Sophomore DH Erich Diedrich ranks seventh in the League with a .358 batting average.

Bulldogs making history of their own
Butler dropped to 18-34 overall (9-21 in the League) after being swept in three games by UW-Milwaukee. In midweek play outside the League, the Bulldogs edged instate rival IPFW 6-5 but lost 7-0 at Indiana State.

Junior outfielder Tony Barnes homered twice versus UWM on Saturday, boosing his season total to a team-high 11 round-trippers. The total is the highest for a BU player since Eric Storey hit 13 in 2000.

Senior Jeff Brown played all nine positions versus IPFW. He ended the game on the mound and faced just three batters in one scoreless inning to earn the save in his first collegiate appearance. Brown also threw out a runner attempting to steal in his one-inning stint behind the plate, while his day at the plate included two hits, a run scored and an RBI.

Sophomore shortstop Joe Pauley hit safely in 19 of Butler's last 22 games in the regular season to lift his season average to .309 and tie junior outfielder Tony Barnes for team honors. Barnes collected six hits and drove in six runs in the three games versus UW-Milwaukee. Brown is just one point under the .300 mark entering the League Championship.

Vikings fall short in regular-season finale
Cleveland State saw its losing streak hit six games after dropping both ends of Saturday's doubleheader to Youngstown State and having Friday's contest rained out. CSU enters the League Championship at 9-40 overall including a 6-22 mark in the League.

Senior infielder Steve Chinn registered hits in each game and has now reached base safely in 46 of 49 contests this season. His .359 batting average is sixth-best in the League, and Chinn will finish his career ranked among the school's all-time top ten in eight different offensive categories. Chinn's 28 RBI this year lead the team in that department.

Junior outfielder John Westra hit his first home run of the year in the regular-season finale. Westra is the only other Viking over .300 on the year, carrying a .303 average.

Sophomore Nathan Schaefer ranks ninth in the League with a team-high 51 strikeouts this season.

Head coach Jay Murphy remains one win away from 300 in his career. The veteran skipper holds a 299-474-1 ledger in 15 seasons at Cleveland State and George Washington, including 183 wins at CSU.

On Deck for the Horizon League

UIC enters the Horizon League Championship as the top seed, but history indicates that the Flames are anything but a lock to earn the automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.

Five teams stand in the way of UIC, hoping to continue a string of surprises in the tournament. The top seed has won only four of the last 11 loop summits since 1995, although UIC accomplished the feat in both 2003 and 2005. Butler (1998) and UW-Milwaukee (2001) are the only other schools to achieve the "double" since 1995.

In contrast, the top seed won 11 of the first 14 MCC/Horizon League Championships.

Youngstown State is the lowest seed to claim the tournament pennant, as the Penguins entered the 2004 summit as the seventh (and lowest) seed. In recent history, Butler claimed the 2000 League crown as a fourth seed, duplicating the result of Northern Illinois four years earlier.

The Horizon League champion earns one of 30 automatic entries into the NCAA Championship. The entire 64-team field will be announced by the NCAA on Sunday afternoon, with schools assigned to 16 different sites for regional play (June 2-5). The winners of each four-team pod then advance to super-regional competition (June 9-12), with the winners of those two-of-three series moving on to Omaha, Neb., and Rosenblatt Stadium for the College World Series beginning June 16.

Horizon League Champions Through the Years

Year-- Regular-Season / Tourn. (Seed)
1981-- Oral Roberts/ Oral Roberts (1)
1982-- Oral Roberts/ Oral Roberts (1)
1983-- Oral Roberts/ Oral Roberts (1)
1984-- Oklahoma City / Oklahoma City (1)
1985-- Oral Roberts/ Oral Roberts (1)
1986-- Oral Roberts/ Oral Roberts (1)
1987-- Oral Roberts/ Oral Roberts (1)
1988-- Evansville/ Evansville (1)
1989-- Evansville/ Notre Dame (3)
1990-- Notre Dame/ Evansville (2)
1991-- Evansville/ Notre Dame (2)
1992-- Notre Dame/ Notre Dame (1)
1993-- Notre Dame/ Notre Dame (1)
1994-- Notre Dame/ Notre Dame (1)
1995-- Detroit/ Wright State (3)
1996-- Butler/ Northern Illinois (4)
1997-- Wright State/ Detroit (2)
1998-- Butler/ Butler (1)
1999-- Butler/ UW-Milwaukee (2)
2000-- UIC, UW-Milwaukee (tie)/ Butler (4)
2001-- UW-Milwaukee/ UW-Milwaukee (1)
2002-- UIC/ UW-Milwaukee (2)
2003-- UIC/ UIC (1)
2004-- UIC/ Youngstown St. (7)
2005-- UIC/ UIC (1)
2006-- UIC