Baseball Weekly Release #2

Feb. 27, 2007

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Player of the Week

Joe Dempsey, Butler
Senior Catcher * Stow, Ohio
Dempsey was the catalyst to the Butler offense as the Bulldogs registered their best start (3-0) since 1979. He batted .455 (five-for-11) with three runs scored and seven RBI in a three-game sweep of Morehead State. All seven RBI came Sunday in a three-for-three effort which included two homers and three runs scored.

Pitcher of the Week

Dan Barker, Wright State
Junior RHP * Northmont, Ohio
Barker posted a complete-game shutout against #24 Mississippi for a 1-0 victory in the rain-shortened, five-inning contest on Saturday. The junior worked into and out of trouble, allowing only three hits---all singles---and stranding seven Rebel base-runners.

Around the Horizon League

Bulldogs off to fast start
Butler is off to its best start (3-0) since 1979 after sweeping Morehead State in a three-game weekend series. The Bulldogs' pitching led the way Saturday in 2-0 and 4-1 triumphs before the offense erupted for five homers among 19 hits in a 21-9 victory.

Senior catcher Joe Dempsey drove in seven runs Sunday, one short of the school's single-season record. Paul Beck was the last Bulldog with eight RBI in a game, accomplishing the feat against Bradley on March 8, 2003.

The five homers were also one off the school standard, also set against Morehead State on Feb. 21, 1998. Sophomore Kyle Cox had two round-trippers and went four-for-eight over the weekend. As a team, Butler hit .340 with six doubles and six home runs.

Senior outfielder Tony Barnes and junior shortstop Joe Pauley each scored four runs in the three games.

Junior right-hander Jon Dages was dominant in his first start of the season, shutting out the Eagles on two hits over six innings Saturday. Dages fanned four and only allowed one runner to reach second base to gain the 2-0 victory.

Junior lefty Bryan Bokowy completed Saturday's twinbill sweep with another quality start, yielding one run on seven hits over six innings. He struck out three and did not walk a batter in his first action of 2007.

Raiders take two of three from Ole Miss
Wright State opened its 2007 campaign by winning a three-game series at 24th-ranked Mississippi over the weekend. WSU dropped the opener 3-2 on an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday, but came back to gain a 1-0, five-inning victory Saturday and registered a 5-2 triumph in the rubber game Sunday.

The series victory was Wright State's first in a season-opening set since 1995. In the process, WSU defeated a ranked team in the first week of the season for the second year in a row, adding the latest triuphs to a win over #21 TCU last spring.

Sophomore first baseman Jeremy Hamilton paced the Raider attack with two hits and four RBI, clubbing a double and a homer in his first action of the spring. Senior second baseman Ross Oeder went four-for-nine at the plate with two runs scored. The senior reached base at least twice in each contest at Mississippi and leads the League with a .583 on-base percentage for the season.

Senior third baseman Dan Biedenharn added to his career totals with three sacrifices. He ranks third in school history with 24 in his career.

Senior lefty Jason Bennion tossed 3.2 innings of scoreless relief in two outings, getting the save on Sunday. He struck out four and allowed only two hits.

Vikings gain experience in South Carolina
Cleveland State dropped two of three games on its trip through Charleston, S.C., winning the opener (3-2) at Charleston Southern on Friday before falling 15-3 at the College of Charleston on Saturday and dropping a 4-3 decision at Charleston Southern on Sunday.

Friday's victory put CSU at .500 (2-2) for the first time since 2001, when the Vikings won their first two games of the season. Cleveland State needed 24 games to post its second victory last spring.

Senior lefty Stephen Procner allowed three hits and two runs (one earned) Friday but got a no-deciion for his efforts. The Vikings won that game on junior catcher Josh Geric's RBI sacrifice bunt in the ninth inning.

Sophomore left-hander Josh Hungerman allowed one earned run in 3.1 innings Sunday, but was hurt by three unearned tallies in that 4-3 setback. Procner and Hungerman have combined for a 1.73 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 26 innings of work so far in 2007. Procner has given up four earned runs in 12.2 innings, with Hungerman owning a 0.71 ERA over 13.1 frames in his first two starts of the season.

Junior outfielder Vasili Pahoulis was the top offensive threat for CSU over the weekend, collecting four hits in seven at-bats with a double, two runs scored and two RBI. He leads the team with a .429 average for the season.

Penguins see first action of 2007
Youngstown State took the field for the first time this year at Stephen F. Austin, dropping all three games of the weekend series. YSU, which had its scheduled opener canceled by weather a week earlier, was outscored 29-7 in Texas.

Sophomore third baseman John Koehnlein hit safely to lead off all three contests, carrying over a streak which now includes safeties in nine consecutive games. He went five-for-11 for the weekend. Junior catcher/DH Erich Diedrich added three hits in ten at-bats, scoring a pair of runs and driving in two.

Eleven players saw their first Division I action over the weekend, with freshman outfielder/ pitcher Eric Marzec going two-for-five with two RBI at the plate and tossing one scoreless inning of relief. Redshirts Dustin Wachter and Tom Clayton, plus true freshman Anthony Munoz, each started all three games for the Penguins at SFA.

Big innings hurt YSU's starters, who combined for an 11.40 ERA over the weekend. Junior right-hander Lucas Engle had a one-hitter through four innings, but surrendered five runs in the fifth inning of Friday's opener.

Junior right-hander Chuck Schiffhauer was touched for ten hits in Saturday's contest, while fellow junior Adam Kalafos struck out seven but allowed two home runs Sunday.