MAC Announces Baseball Players & Pitchers of the Week

Helped Miami to a 2-1 series win at Furman. Batted .636 with one home run and 6 runs batted in. Was 7-for-11 overall. Hit safely in all three games, including multiple hits in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader. Tied his career high with four hits in the opener Saturday, then added two hits – both doubles – in the nightcap. Established a new career high with four RBIs in the finale. Finished the weekend with a slugging percentage of 1.091 and an ob-base percentage of .643. Scored four runs, walked twice and had a sacrifice fly. Was perfect in the field, recording 27 outs at first base.

MAC East Division Baseball Pitcher of the Week

The Kent State baseball team rode the arm of senior southpaw ace David Starn to blank No. 9 Georgia Tech to lift the lid off of the 2012 season in grand fashion in the opening game of the Rock Hill Coca-Cola Classic last Friday (Feb. 17) at the Winthrop Ballpark.A 2012 Louisville Slugger Third Team Pre-Season All-America selection, Starn twirled eight shutout innings and tallied nine strikeouts while scattering just four hits and walking only two on 104 pitches. He upped his career strikeout total to 229, passing current Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed reliever Matt Guerrier (220; 1997-99) for sole possession of third place in school history and improved to 19-9 in his collegiate career with the win. The co-captain tossed his fourth career shutout and second in three starts and struck out six or more batters for the 18th time.The Golden Flashes (1-0) earned their second victory over a top-10 team in their last four games dating back to last season courtesy of the triumph over Georgia Tech (0-1). Kent State downed then-No. 5 Texas, 7-5, in the second game of the 2011 NCAA Championship Austin Regional last June. The victory also marked the second time Kent State downed GT in as many seasons. The Flashes posted a 6-1 win over the then No. 19-Yellow Jackets on Feb. 20, 2011, at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta. Starn was on the hill for last year's win at Georgia Tech as well, tossing seven innings of four-hit ball and fanning six en route to earning the mound triumph.

MAC West Division Baseball Player of the Week

Arnold had a monster opening weekend at Troy, batting .500 (6-for-12) with four home runs, eight RBI, eight runs scored and a slugging percentage of 1.500. Arnold's four home runs — one in game one, one in game two and two in game three — were one more than his entire 2011 total and equaled his total from his first three seasons combined in the Maroon and Gold. His efforts were culminated by being named Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week Monday by Collegiate Baseball News. The senior is currently riding an 11-game hitting streak, dating back to 2011, in which he is hitting at a .395 clip (19-for-48) with 14 RBI.

MAC West Division Baseball Pitcher of the Week

Senior right-hander Cal Bowling led the Cardinals to their first season-opening victory since 2005 as Ball State defeated Dayton, a 32-win team from last season, Friday afternoon. Bowling worked 6.2 innings in his second season as the Cardinals’ Friday starter and held the Flyers to just two earned runs and nine hits. He struck out five batters while only walking one in the no decision despite leaving the game with a 3-1 lead. 

Apthorpe went five innings on Saturday, allowing just one earned run versus Big 12 opponent, Kansas. In the five innings Apthorpe struck out four, while allowing just two hits. Apthorpe twice faced bases-loaded situations with less than two outs, and was able to only yield the one run in his five innings, despite those two difficult situations. For the week, Apthorpe's ERA was .180, and his b/avg. was .125.

Logan Walker, Bowling Green

Walker went 4-for-8 on the weekend in two starts. In both games, Walker recorded the first hit for the Falcons, both in his first at-bat of the respective games. Walker was on base a total of four times throughout the weekend, including three times versus Saint Louis.

Dodridge made the most of his first start since April 28, 2010, earning his first victory in nearly two years after missing all of 2010 with an injury. Dodridge picked up the Chippewas' lone win of the season, a 14-7 decision over Troy, by tossing 5.2 innings and giving up three runs on five hits. He struck out six in the effort, mixing in a plethora of off-speed pitches that kept the Trojans at bay.

Lee Longo, Eastern Michigan

Longo opened the 2012 campaign on fire, collecting four hits in his first seven at-bats for a .571 batting average and a .714 slugging percentage in the EMU opener against USC Upstate,Feb. 17, and Kentucky, Feb. 18. Longo had three singles, a double, a walk and arun scored. He was also error-less in the field recording all 10 putouts at first base.

 

Weber pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run and striking out a pair of batters against USC Upstate, Feb. 17.

George Roberts, Kent State

After beginning the 2011 campaign mired in an 0-for-26 slump, Kent State junior first baseman George Roberts got his 2012 campaign off to a strong start, batting a team-best .538 with a team-high .692 slugging percentage, seven hits, two doubles and three RBIs to help the Golden Flashes finish with a 2-1 mark at the Rock Hill Coca-Cola Classic — including a 5-0 blanking of No. 9 Georgia Tech last Friday (Feb. 17). Roberts posted multiple hits in each contest, including going 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored to power Kent State's bats in the victory over the Yellow Jackets.

Brooks Fiala, Miami

Picked up the RedHawks’ first win of the season on Saturday by an 8-2 count… threw 7.2 innings, allowing five hits and two runs (both earned)… struck out a career-best nine batters while walking none… did not hit a batter.

Alex Beckmann, Northern Illinois 

Beckmann opened the 2012 season with the Northern Illinois baseball team at SEC foe Tennessee. The Batavia, Ill. native led the Huskies in hits and batting average, going 5-for-11 at the plate (.455) and adding an RBI, a double and a walk to his statistics. He also led the Huskies in on-base percentage during the series at .500. With runners on base, Beckmann batted .600 (3-of-5). With his glove, Beckmann recorded nine putouts and two assists in right field. He made several outstanding catches at the warning track and against the wall, and in game one Saturday in the bottom of third, recorded an assist on a play at home plate that prevented Tennessee from adding another run. In game one of the doubleheader Saturday afternoon Beckman was the most consistent at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 and cut Tennessee's lead in half, 6-3, with his RBI. NIU eventually came back to within one of UT in the game. Northern Illinois finished the weekend 0-3 to Tennessee, who is also receiving votes in several of the collegiate baseball polls.

Seth Streich, Ohio

Streich posted a team-best .556 batting average, going 5-for-9 at the plate with a double, a home run and four RBI this past weekend at UNC-Wilmington. Streich also scored two runs and posted a .636 on-base percentage. In game one, against UNCW, Streich went 1-for-2 after starting the game on the mound for the Bobcats. In game two, the dual-threat player went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. He also scored two runs and had three RBI, lifting Ohio to a 6-4 victory over the Seahawks. In the series finale, Streich went 2-for-3 with an RBI as the Bobcats fell short 5-2.

Jason Moulton, Ohio

Moulton started game two of the Bobcats’ doubleheader this past Saturday against UNC-Wilmington. In his first start of the season, Moulton went 4.2 innings, allowed just three hits and did not give up a run. He also struck out four and walked only one batter.

Ben Hammer, Toledo

Hammer started all three games in center field this past weekend at Western Kentucky, hitting a team-high .400 (4-for-10) with three runs scored, three RBI and three stolen bases. Hammer hit safely in all three contests, including one multi-hit effort. The 2011 second-team All-MAC performer finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored and one RBI in Saturday’s first contest of a twinbill (Feb. 18).

Jack Scanlon, Western Michigan

Scanlon batted 3-for-9 (.333) over three-games this weekend, as the Broncos opened the season in Tempe, Ariz., at last year's PAC-10 runner-up and preseason No. 15/17 Arizona State ... Scanlon was the only Bronco to record a hit in every game and drove in a run ... he also drew two walks and had a .455 on-base percentage ... in Game 1 of the three-game series, Scanlon recorded his first hit of the season off of ASU Friday ace and Preseason All-American Brady Rodgers, singling through the left side.