Baseball Weekly Release #6

March 26, 2007

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Erich Diedrich, Youngstown State
Junior DH * Bay Village, Ohio
Diedrich batted .435 (10-for-23) with two homers and 12 RBI in five outings last week, leading YSU to a three-game sweep at Butler. He was four-for-six with a school-record nine RBI including a grand slam in the second game versus the Bulldogs, a 15-5 Penguin triumph. He hit safely in all five games---extending his hitting streak to 12---and scored six runs during the week.

Horizon League Pitcher of the Week

Mike Rauwerdink, UW-Milwaukee
Senior RHP * Sheboygan, Wis.
Rauwerdink pitched the Panthers to their first victory of the year, a 3-1 triumph at UIC on Saturday to snap UW-Milwaukee's season-opening 14-game losing streak. The senior allowed only three hits and one unearned run in his seven innings of work.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending March 25

Joe Dempsey, Butler
Sr. * C * Stow, Ohio
Dempsey hit .444 with two homers and six RBI in four games. He homered and drove in four runs at Dayton on Wednesday and collected four hits in a weekend set versus Youngstown State.

John Westra, Cleveland State
Sr. * OF * Sturgis, Mich.
Westra hit .706 (12-for-17) with seven runs batted in. He posted ten hits with two doubles and a homer at Wright State, lifting his batting average 108 points to .321 in one week.

Jake Carr, UIC
So. * 1B * Chicago Ridge, Ill.
Carr singled to set up the game-winning homer in Friday's victory over UW-Milwaukee, and came back with a two-run shot in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader.

Grant Berkovitz, UW-Milwaukee
Jr. * SS * Sheboygan, Wis.
Berkovitz paced the Panther offense with two doubles among his six hits in 12 at-bats, scoring two runs and driving in four. He carries a ten-game hitting streak into the week.

Jeremy Hamilton, Wright State
So. * 1B * Cincinnati, Ohio
Hamilton posted a .438 (7-for-16) average with two triples and a home run. He drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning single in Saturday's nightcap versus Cleveland State.

Joe Ochs, Butler
So. * LHP * Noblesville, Ind.
Ochs worked five innings of relief to get the victory versus Marian on Tuesday, allowing only one run on four hits while striking out three in the Bulldogs' come-from-behind triumph.

Stephen Procner, Cleveland State
Sr. * LHP * Girard, Ohio
Procner earned his first victory of the season with a complete-game seven-hitter versus Wright State on Saturday. He struck out three in the 7-2 triumph.

Steve Crnkovich, UIC
So. * RHP * Downers Grove, Ill.
Crnkovich turned in a quality start Saturday versus UW-Milwaukee, allowing three earned runs on four hits over 7.2 innings but was tagged with a 3-1 loss.

Jason Bennion, Wright State
Sr. * LHP * Taylorsville, Utah
Bennion won one game and saved another in a weekend series versus Cleveland State, pitching 2.1 innings of scoreless ball. He has not allowed a run in 11.1 innings of work.

Lucas Engle, Youngstown State
Sr. * RHP * Maysville, Ohio
Engle earned his third victory in a row with a complete-game effort at Butler on Saturday. He struck out a career-high ten batters while giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits.

Around the Horizon League

Penguins sweep to the top of the standings
Youngstown State begins the week in first place at 3-0 in the League after sweeping a three-game series at Butler. The Penguins have now won six of their last seven games overall after a 1-10 start.

Junior DH Erich Diedrich set a school single-game record with nine RBI in the middle game at Butler, hitting a grand slam and three-run shot in the 15-5 victory. He extended his hitting streak to 12 games after a 10-for-23 week which included 12 RBI.

Junior right-hander Lucas Engle won his third game in a row with a career-high ten strikeouts Saturday, pacing YSU's 8-4 victory. Engle threw the first complete game by a Penguin hurler this season, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits.

YSU hit .354 for the week including a lofty .400 clip in Indianapoilis. The Penguins have posted double-digit hit totals in seven of their last eight games after accomplishing that feat only twice in the first ten.

Sophomore third baseman John Koehnlein hit .522 (12-for-23) to lift his season average to a team-best .405 (second-best in the League). He scored 12 runs in the five games, and has hit safely in 11 consecutive contests.

Freshman Aaron Swenson posted his first victory with five innings of work in Sunday's series finale.

Raiders keep rolling, take another series
Wright State won two of three games versus Cleveland State over the weekend, improving to 4-2 in League play. WSU's 10-7 overall mark also includes Tuesday's 16-4 loss to Tennessee.

Sophomore first baseman Jeremy Hamilton tripled twice and homered against the Volunteers, and drove in the winning run with his ninth-inning single Saturday versus CSU. Hamilton is tied for the League lead with 19 RBI this season, hitting .349. Sophomore shortstop Justin Parker is next on the team charts with 14 RBI and carries a nine-game hitting streak into the week.

WSU's success can be attributed in part to a consistent line-up. The same four players have started all 17 games on the infield, with Hamilton at first, senior Ross Oeder at second base, Parker at shortstop and senior Dan Biedenharn at third base. Oeder leads the League with a .470 average, 22 runs scored, and 31 hits.

On the mound, senior lefty Kyle Kearcher became the League's first four-game winner with his six-inning effort Sunday versus CSU. Kearcher is now 4-1 with a 3.30 earned run average in 30 innings this season.

Senior left-handed closer Jason Bennion has not allowed a run in 11.1 innings this year, striking out 11 while allowing only six hits. Bennior is now 1-0 with three saves after gaining a win and a save versus Clevealnd State.

Panthers break into victory column
UW-Milwaukee snapped a season-opening 14-game skid by sweeping Saturday's doubleheader at UIC, giving the Panthers the series victory and a share of second place (2-1) in the League standings.

UWM hit .310 for the week, led by junior shortstop Grant Berkovitz and sophomore infielder Andy Hetebrueg. Each player had a .500 average for the week, with Berkovitz driving in four runs against UIC. Hetebrueg and senior infielder Kyle Silver each scored twice and had three hits in Saturday's series finale, with Hetebrueg's two-run double capping a six-run fifth inning.

Berkovitz is now batting .375 (15-for-40) during his current ten-game hitting streak.

The Panthers scored 20 runs in the three games after managing only 29 while hitting just .249 as a team in their first 13.

Senior right-hander Mike Rauwerdink shut down the UIC offense in Saturday's first game, allowing only three hits in seven innings of work to gain his first victory of the 2007 campaign. Two relievers finished the three-hitter, marking the fewest hits allowed by UWM since Robert Michalkiewicz and Jed Dolske three-hit Butler on April 9, 2005.

UW-Milwaukee's 14-game skid marked the school's worst ever to start a season. The Panthers had dropped their first eight contests in 2000.

Flames looking for consistency
UIC dropped two of three games against UW-Milwaukee to open the League slate, slipping to 6-12 overall.

Senior infielder Chad Schroeder shares the top spot on the League charts with a .544 on-base percentage. He is hitting .314 but has also drawn 15 walks and been hit by 12 pitches this season.

Senior catcher Ben Trotter has compiled a five-game hitting streak, batting .389 (7-for-19) with eight runs batted in during that span. Trotter had two RBI in the Flames' 9-8 victory in Friday's series opener.

Junior infielder Micky Pingree has five doubles in his last five games, giving him a team-high seven two-baggers for the year. The season total is second-best on the League charts, trailing only Wright State's John Kopilchack (eight). Pingree's 12 RBIs match Trotter and senior outfielder Larry Gempp Jr. for the team lead.

Freshman right-hander Steve Crnkovich's tough luck continued with a 3-1 loss Saturday. He threw 7.2 innings, allowing three runs on only four hits, but received only one run of support. In his last three starts, Crnkovich has allowed only seven runs in 19.2 innings but owns an 0-2 record during that span. For the year, the freshman owns a 1-3 record despite a League-leading 2.70 earned-run average.

Vikings stop slide but can't claim series
Cleveland State carries a 3-17 record into the week, opening League play by winning one of three games at Wright State over the weekend.

CSU snapped a 13-game losing streak with Saturday's 7-2 victory behind the complete-game effort of senior left-hander Stephen Procner, who allowed two runs on seven hits to pick up his first victory of the year. Procner lowered his season earned-run average to 3.98 (sixth in the League) in winning for the first time in five decisions. Opponents are batting only .224 against Procner this season.

Cleveland State started last week hitting only .211 as a team but hit .308 in four games to improve to .233 overall. Senior outfielder John Westra led the Vikings with a torrid .706 mark (12-for-17), scoring four runs and driving in seven. Three of his hits went for extra bases, with two doubles and a home run.

Junior infielder Bobby Cash added eight hits and a .471 batting average, and both players are now hitting a team-best .321 (25-for-78) for the season, with Cash scoring 11 runs and Westra driving in 12.

Junior outfielder Wallace Richardson has made the most of his opportunity as a starter. He had five hits---all for extra bases (four doubles and a home run)---last week, lifting his season average to .281. Six of his nine hits this spring have gone for extra bases.

Bulldogs' pitching struggles
Butler went 1-4 last week, including a three-game sweep at the hands of Youngstown State. The Bulldogs enter the week at 8-13 overall, 1-5 in League play as they approach the end of a month-long homestand.

Sophomore left-hander Joe Ochs gained the lone victory with five innings of relief Tuesday, holding cross-town rival Marian to one run on four hits as Butler rallied for a 7-4 victory. The Bulldogs then fell 9-8 in 12 innings at Dayton on Wednesday before being outscored 30-12 by the Penguins.

Senior catcher Joe Dempsey provided a spark at the plate, collecting eight hits in 18 at-bats and driving in six runs. He homered twice and now leads the team with (a League-best) four round-trippers and 17 RBI, ranking third in the circuit in that category. Dempsey has also struck out only six times in 68 at-bats this year.

Freshman second baseman Jason Jamerson has taken over the top spot on BU's hitting charts with a .346 average, batting .429 (6-for-14) with three runs batted in last week. His 11 RBI for the season trail only Dempsey and junior shortstop Joe Pauley (12) on the team charts in that category.

Butler pitchers have allowed 39 runs (34 earned) on 65 hits in 38 innings during their current four-game losing streak.

Crusaders break out big bats in DH sweep
Valparaiso improved to 4-11 on the season with a sweep of former Mid-Continent Conference foe Chicago State on Saturday. The Crusaders rapped out 28 runs on 30 hits in posting 12-2 and 16-1 victories, with the nightcap featuring a 12-run barrage in the fifth inning.

Senior outfielder Brian Rzepka took advantage of his opportunities Saturday, driving in seven runs and scoring twice in a four-for-five day at the plate. All of hits hits were singles, and he has only one extra-base hit among 17 safeties this season but leads Valpo with 15 RBI on the year. Rzepka has hit safely in seven consecutive games and is at .362 for the season.

Senior infielder Michael Arensdorf has now hit safely in 14 of 15 games, and leads the Crusaders with a .415 clip and 17 runs scored.

On the mound, freshman lefty Ranko Ivetic earned his first collegiate victory with 5.1 innings of work in the nightcap, allowing only one run on three hits while triking out six. Senior southpaw Nick Mazzone gained his first win of 2007 in the opener, working five innings and yielding only one run on two hits.

Valparaiso gets a sneak preview of Horizon League play Tuesday with a trip to UIC. The Crusaders also are slated to play Butler on April 3 in Indianapolis and May 1 at home.

Panther-Raider battle highlights loop slate
The two teams tied for second place square off this weekend as UW-Milwaukee travels to Wright State for a three-game series. UW-Milwaukee (2-1) and WSU (4-2) trail Youngstown State (3-0) early in the League pennant chase.

YSU's Penguins put that unbeaten mark on the line when they visit UIC (1-2), while Butler (1-5) hosts Cleveland State (1-2) in the League's other weekend series. All three sets are scheduled to begin with single games Friday, followed by doubleheaders Saturday.

All six teams will compete at the 2007 U.S. Army Horizon League Championship, scheduled for May 23-27 at UIC's Les Miller Field. Seeding for the tourney will be based on the teams' performance through a 30-game League schedule. Each school is slated for home-and-home series against each opponent, with nine of the ten series taking place over the next ten weekends. The lone exception comes with mid-week action on consecutive Wednesdays (April 10 and 17) constituting that three-game set.

UIC won its fifth consecutive regular-season title last spring but Wright State rode a wave of momentum and the home-field advantage to the 2006 tournament championship, outscoring four opponents 52-5 in the process to claim its first League title since 1995.