May 20, 2008

Contact: Greg Murphy

Complete Release in PDF Format

2008 HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
#5 Milwaukee (21-34) vs. #4 Cleveland State (21-29)
Date: Weds., May 21, 2008
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Site: Eastwood Field (Niles, Ohio)

AROUND THE HORN: Cleveland State enters the 2008 Horizon League Championship as the fourth seed and will begin play with an opening round game against fifth-seeded Milwaukee on Wednesday (May 21) at 11:00 a.m. at Eastwood Field in Niles, Ohio. The seven-team tournament takes place from Tuesday through Wednesday, May 20-25 with sixth-seeded Valparaiso and seventh-seeded Butler playing an elimination game on Tuesday (May 20). The field will be narrowed to a six-team, double elimination tournament from there.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: CSU played five games last week, posting a 1-4 record. Here are brief recaps of each game.

Game 46 - Duquesne 7, CSU 4 (May 13): Duquesne broke a 2-2 tie with a pair of runs in the third and held on to defeat CSU. Kyle Bischof finished with three hits, while Tom Carter drove in two runs.

Game 47 - Pittsburgh 4, CSU 2 (May 14): CSU dropped its final home contest of the season to Pittsburgh, 4-2, as heavy rains forced the game to be called after five innings.

Game 48 - CSU 3, Butler 1 (May 16): Josh Hungerman allowed one run on four hits with eight strikeouts in his first complete game of the season as the Vikings won the series opener at Butler, 3-1. Josh Geric drove in two runs.

Game 49 - Butler 5, CSU 1 (May 17): Ryan Kruszka scattered just three hits over eight innings to lead Butler to a 5-1 win over CSU. Brad Buell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the second, for an RBI, but the Bulldogs responded with five unanswered runs.

Game 50 - Butler 8, CSU 5 (May 17): Butler scored six runs in the eighth inning to rally from a 5-2 deficit and win the series finale with Cleveland State, 8-5.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State has a completely different look from last season's squad as the roster features 26 new players. Senior Bobby Cash (.302, 17 R, 7 2B, 3 HR, 25 RBI) moves from shortstop to second base, while senior Josh Geric (.280, 22 R, 5 2B, 7 HR, 27 RBI) returns to anchor the Viking defense behind the plate. The other six field positions have new faces as junior John Foco (.239, 22 R, 8 2B, 15 RBI) has locked down the starting spot at first base, while senior Alex Kerins (.335, 47 R, 15 2B, 11 HR, 51 RBI) starts at third base and redshirt freshman Tom Carter (.272, 28 R, 9 2B, 2 HR, 19 RBI) at shortstop. Senior Kyle Bischof (.305, 31 R, 11 2B, 8 HR, 44 RBI), junior Brad Buell (.339, 52 R, 16 2B, 2 HR, 25 RBI) and freshman Adam Heideman (.321, 25 R, 7 2B, 3 HR, 16 RBI) make up the outfield from left to right.

FOUR NAMED TO ALL-LEAGUE TEAM: Cleveland State had four players named to the 2008 All-Horizon League team with Alex Kerins and Brad Buell earning spots on the first team. Kyle Bischof was named to the second team, while Kerins, Buell, Bischof and Adam Heideman were chosen to the all-newcomer team.

A LONG TIME COMING: With their selections to the all-league first team, Alex Kerins and Brad Buell became the first set of CSU teammates to be named to the first team since Keith Lillash and Jeff Haase earned the honor in 2000. In addition, Kerins and Buell became the first Vikings to earn first team all-league accolades since Jerry Long in 2002.

HEADING THE WRONG WAY: Friday's 3-1 win at Butler allowed the Vikings to snap a season-high six game losing streak. However, after getting swept by the Bulldogs in Saturday's twinbill, the Vikings have now lost eight of nine games heading into the Horizon League Championship.

CSU IN TOURNAMENT PLAY: The Vikings claim an all-time record of 16-20 in the Horizon League Championship, including a 1-2 mark in each of the last three seasons. CSU has advanced to the championship two times (2001, 2004), but lost both times.

500: Kevin Kocks earned his 500th career victory when the Vikings won the second game against Canisius on April 22. The 15-year coaching veteran claims a 504-401 career mark.

VIKINGS REACH 20 WINS: When the Vikings defeated Akron on April 29, it allowed CSU to reach the 20-win plateau for the 18th time in program history and the first since the 2001 team won 23 games.

... AND GET 10 IN THE LEAGUE: Friday's win at Butler allowed the Vikings to reach the 10-win mark in league play for the second straight season, coming up two wins shy of tying the school-record for conference wins in a season.

ALL THE WAY: Southpaw Josh Hungerman, Wednesday's probable starter, enters the league tournament coming off his best performance of the season, a 3-1 win over Butler. He pitched his first complete game of the season, giving up just four hits and striking out eight to earn Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors. He leads the team with five wins and is second in the conference with 60 strikeouts.

HE'S THE MAN: Freshman Adam Heideman did not let an early season slump affect him as the rightfielder has hit safely in 16 of the last 21 games to raise his average nearly 200 points to .321. During the last 19 contests, Heideman has totaled 12 runs, nine RBI, three doubles and two homeruns. His best offensive game of the season came on April 25 against Youngstown State, as he tallied a career-high four hits in six at-bats, scored four runs and drove in three. To put his recent production at the plate into perspective, Heideman was batting just .130 on April 5.

CLUTCH RBI'S: The Vikings have driven in 248 runs this season with 106 of those, or 43-percent, coming with two outs. Alex Kerins leads the way with 20 two-out RBI, while Kyle Bischof has 17 and Bobby Cash 13.

OUCH!: You'll have to forgive Adam Heideman if he is a little sore as the freshman has been hit by a pitch a Horizon League leading 16 times. It is a CSU single season school-record, breaking the old mark of 14 by Brian Beaumier in 2002.

CLOSE CALLS: Cleveland State is just 4-9 in one-run games and half of the Vikings league losses are by two runs or less. CSU has five league losses by one run and another two by two runs.

TURNING TWO: CSU has been able to get out of several jams this season with a league-leading 53 double plays. The Vikings were ranked seventh in the nation in the latest statistics for double plays per game (1.29).

POWER SURGE: CSU is second in the Horizon League with 43 homeruns, nearly doubling its homerun total of 24 last season. Individually, Alex Kerins ranks second in the conference with 11 homeruns, while Kyle Bischof is sixth with eighth and Josh Geric tied for eighth with seven.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: Junior John Brown has made the most of his opportunity during the final month of the season. After not starting since March 15, Brown was called upon as a pinch hitter against Butler on April 20 in the first game of a doubleheader and responded with the game-winning walk-off double. He started the next 17 games at designated hitter, totaling nine runs, 11 RBI, four doubles and one homerun.

IN RELIEF: Drew Fronczek has had a solid season out of the bullpen, leading the team with a 2.62 ERA and a 3-2 record in 34.1 innings of work. He has given up just 13 runs (10 earned) with 22 strikeouts and one save. Over his last 11 appearances, Fronczek has worked 12.2 innings, giving up just four runs and fanning 11.

KERINS' BIG YEAR: First team All-Horizon League selection Alex Kerins has been one of the top offensive producers in the conference this season, ranking first in the league in RBI (50), second in homeruns (11), third in slugging percentage (.618) and total bases (110), sixth in hits (62) and eighth in doubles (15). Over the last 14 games, Kerins has gone 24-for-54 (.444) with 16 runs, 14 runs batted in, six doubles and two homeruns during that time. Earlier this season, he tied a school-record with three homeruns in a win at Eastern Michigan (April 7) also finishing with seven RBI.

THE CATALYST: Junior Brad Buell has been nothing short of spectacular as CSU's leadoff hitter this season, reaching base safely in 47 of 50 games. He ranks first in the league in stolen bases (22) and third in runs (52). Over the last 14 games, Buell, who was chosen to the all-league first team, has gone 20-for-50 (.400) with 13 runs and six RBI, recording multiple hits in seven of those games. In an April 22 extra inning win over Canisius, Buell drove in the game-winning run with a one-out, walk-off double. He was inserted into the game in the sixth inning after arriving late due to class.

ON THE RUN: The Vikings lead the league with a school-record 93 stolen bases this season, shattering the old mark of 74 set in 1995. Brad Buell leads the team and is first in the conference with 20 stolen bases, needing five more to break the school record of 24 stolen bases by Tim Miller in 1980. Alex Kerins (16) and Bobby Cash (15) rank third and fourth in the league, respectively.

BISH "OFF" THE HOOK: Very few players in the Horizon League have been as consistent at the plate as senior Kyle Bischof, a second team all-league pick, this season as the leftfielder has reached base safely in 44 of 50 games, ranking fourth in the league in homeruns (8), fifth in RBI (44) and seventh in walks (21).

ON DECK: If the Vikings win the Horizon League Championship, CSU would advance to one of 16 four-team regionals in the 2008 NCAA Baseball Championships. The regionals will be held from May 30 through June 2 at campus sites.