March 31, 2008

Contact: Greg Murphy

Complete Release in PDF Format

GAMES 17-21

Eastern Michigan (5-17) at Cleveland State (7-9, 2-1 HL)
Date: Tues., April 1, 2008 • 4:00 p.m.
Site: Pipe Yard Stadium (1,000)
Lorain, Ohio

Cleveland State at Ohio (12-10)
Date: Weds., April 2, 2008 • 6:00 p.m.
Site: Bob Wren Stadium (4,000)
Athens, Ohio

Wright State (7-13, 2-3 HL) at Cleveland State
Date: Fri., April 4, 2008 • 6:00 p.m.
Sat., April 5, 2008 • 12:00 p.m. (DH)
Site: Pipe Yard Stadium (1,000)
Lorain, Ohio

AROUND THE HORN: Cleveland State (7-9, 2-1 HL) will once again attempt to play its home opener when the Vikings host Eastern Michigan on Tuesday, April 1, at the Pipe Yard in Lorain, Ohio. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CSU will then travel to Ohio University on Wednesday, April 2, for a 6:00 p.m. contest before hosting Wright State for a three-game Horizon League series this weekend at the Pipe Yard. The opener is slated for Friday, April 4, at 6:00 p.m. with a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday, April 5, beginning at 12:00 p.m.

THE HEAD COACH Kevin Kocks (Eastern Kentucky `82)
At CSU: 21-52 (2nd Year)
Overall: 490-380 (15th Year)

Kevin Kocks is in his second season at the helm of the CSU baseball program. Named the ninth head coach in school history in June of 2006. In 13 years at Bellarmine University and Spalding University, he led his teams to seven postseason appearances and 11 winning seasons. Kocks led Spalding to the NAIA World Series in 2002, 2003 and 2005, including a fifth place finish in 2005. He has been named league coach of the year on six occasions.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings opened Horizon League play by winning two of three games at Valparaiso over the weekend. Following are brief recaps of all three games.

Game 14 - Valparaiso 7, CSU 0 (March 29): Elliott Gibbs threw a complete-game, four hitter and Zach Rodeghero went 4-for-5 with three RBI as Valparaiso won the series opener against Cleveland State. Sam Clyde, Bobby Cash, David Hurd and Tom Carter had one hit apiece for the Vikings.

Game 15 - CSU 4, Valparaiso 2 (March 29): Brian Long allowed two unearned runs on four hits in his first career complete game and Kyle Bischof hit a two-run homer in the first inning as CSU topped Valparaiso, 4-0. Alex Kerins hit a solo homer in the sixth, while Matt Madrid had a sacrifice bunt RBI.

Game 16 - CSU 7, Valparaiso 5 (March 30): Cleveland State scored three runs in the seventh and added an insurance run in the eighth to defeat Valpo, 7-5, in the series finale. Anthony Sambula earned his first career victory, allowing no runs on one hit in 4.1 innings out of the bullpen. Josh Hungerman and John Foco combined to go 7-for-9 with three runs scored and three RBI.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State has a completely different look from last season's squad as the roster boasts 26 new players. Senior Bobby Cash (.196, 3 R, 1 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI) moves from shortstop to second base, while senior Josh Geric (.348, 5 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBI) returns to anchor the Viking defense behind the plate. The other six field positions have new faces as junior John Foco (.300, 4 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI) has locked down the starting spot at first base, while senior Alex Kerins (.286, 12 R, 3 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI) starts at third base. and redshirt freshman Tom Carter (.245, 5 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI) at shortstop. Senior Kyle Bischof (.296, 11 R, 4 2B, 3 HR, 14 RBI), junior Brad Buell (.313, 14 R, 5 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI) and freshman Travis Miller (.179, 4 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI) make-up the outfield from right to left with freshman Adam Heideman (.150, 1 R, 1 2B) also receiving action.

ON THE MOUND: The strength of the Vikings during the early part of the season has been its starting rotation, highlighted by three juniors. Lefthander Josh Hungerman (1-2, 4.91 ERA, 25.2 IP, 24 SO) and righty Brian Long (3-1, 2.00 ERA, 36.0 IP, 24 SO) have anchored the staff with each earning Horizon League Pitcher of the Week honors one time this season. Southpaw Sam Suitca (1-3, 5.33 ERA, 27.0 IP, 13 SO) is CSU's third starter.

IN THE PEN: The CSU bullpen is led by junior set-up man Drew Fronczek (0-0, 1.59 ERA, 11.1 IP, 5 SO) and closer Vasili Pahoulis (1-3, 4.50 ERA, 10.0 IP, 2 SV, 6 SO). Pahoulis is in his first season as a pitcher after spending the last three years as a regular in the outfield.

SWEET 16: CSU may be two games under .500 after 16 games, but do not discount how far the Vikings have come. The 7-9 start is the best in program history since the 1986 team opened 8-8.

COUNTDOWN IS ON: Head coach Kevin Kocks is 10 wins shy of 500 for his career. The 14-year veteran has is 490-380 during his tenure as a manager. He is 21-52 in his second season at Cleveland State.

AT HOME LATE: After opening the season with 16 straight games on the road, Viking fans will have 20 chances to see CSU play at home this season, beginning with the home opener on Tuesday, April 1, against Eastern Michigan. The Vikings, who play 14 of their 20 games in April at home, have a season-long seven-game homestand from April 19-26 and play 12 of their final 21 contests at home.

NEW LOOK VIKINGS: After leading the Vikings to a 14-44 overall record in his first season at the helm, head coach Kevin Kocks set out to revamp the Viking roster and brought in 26 new players. Despite the large number of new players, the Vikings will not lack experience as the 43-man roster boasts 25 upperclassmen, including 10 seniors and 15 juniors.

IN A PINCH: CSU pinch hitters have excelled this season, going 4-for-13 (.308) when called upon. Josh Lowe is 2-for-4 in pinch hit situations, including a home run at Louisville (Feb. 23), while Dustin Mills has a pinch hit home run at Charlotte (March 1).

CLUTCH RBI'S: The Vikings have driven in 63 runs this season with 24 of those, or 38-percent, coming with two outs. Kyle Bischof, Brad Buell and Bobby Cash lead the way with three two-out RBI each.

POWER SURGE: CSU has hit 15 home runs through 16 games this season to rank third in the Horizon League. However, the Vikings trail Wright State, which has 17 homers in 20 contests and Valparaiso, which has hit 16 home runs in 24 games. It is a far cry from last season when the Vikings totaled just 24 home runs in 58 games. Individually, Alex Kerins ranks second in the league with four homers, while Kyle Bischof is tied for fifth with three.

CARTER ON A ROLL: Redshirt freshman shortstop Tom Carter has hit safely in nine straight games, the longest current streak on the team. In fact, Carter has raised his average to .245 by going 11-for-33 (.333) with five runs, three doubles and two RBI over the last nine games. He was just 1-for-16 (.062) in CSU's first five games of the season.

SAMBULA GETS FIRST WIN: Freshman Anthony Sambula earned his first career win in the series finale at Valparaiso on Sunday, March 30. The southpaw came out of the bullpen and worked the final 4.1 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three, to earn the victory. It was just the third career appearance for Sambula, who is slated to be a mid-week starter for CSU this season.

CL-V-LAND STATE: Entering the 2008 season, head coach Kevin Kocks said that the Vikings would need to get better defensively and the squad has responded, committing a league-low 24 errors and leading the conference with a .960 fielding percentage. Last season, CSU committed 50 errors through the first 16 contests and finished last in the Horizon League with a .933 fielding percentage.

BISH "OFF" THE HOOK: Senior Kyle Bischof has hit safely in nine of the last 10 CSU contests to raise his season average to .296. Over the last 10 games, Bischof is 13-for-35 (.371) with 10 RBI, eight runs scored and home runs in three of the last four games. Prior to the streak, Bischof was hitting just .158.

ISN'T HE A PITCHER???: Well, yes, but junior Josh Hungerman is also dangerous swinging the bat, hitting safely in all five games he has started as designated hitter. Hungerman, who went 4-for-5 in Sunday's (March 30) win at Valparaiso, is hitting .409 (9-22) with four runs, two doubles and three RBI this season. On the mound, Hungerman is 1-2 with a 4.91 earned run average, ranking second in the Horizon League with 24 strikeouts.

GOING LONG: Junior Brian Long has been CSU's best pitcher through the first month of the season, going 3-1 with a 2.00 earned run average. Long was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 26 after leading the Vikings to an 8-5 win at 22nd-ranked Louisville on Feb. 24. He worked eight innings, allowing four runs (two earned) and struck out eight to earn his first win since going five innings in a 7-5 win over Ohio State on April 24, 2006. On Saturday (March 29), Long pitched his first career complete game, giving up two unearned runs on just four hits with six strikeouts.

SAVE IT: CSU recorded just four saves during the 2007 season and has already matched that total through 16 games this year. Vasili Pahoulis has two saves, while Chris Bauman and Drew Fronczek have one save each.

IN RELIEF: Junior Drew Fronczek has been CSU's top middle reliever this season, appearing in eight of the 13 games and working 11.1 innings. He has allowed four runs, but only two have been earned, on 10 hits, while striking out five. In a Feb. 29 contest at Charlotte, Fronczek worked 2.1 innings, allowing just two hits as he kept the score tied at 2-2 before being removed in the ninth. On March 2 at Charlotte, Fronczek entered the game in the seventh inning and worked 1.1 innings. He allowed one run on two hits and once again maintained a CSU lead.

RUN, VIKINGS, RUN: After leading the league in stolen bases (68) and attempts (99) last season, head coach Kevin Kocks wanted to run even more this season in order to put pressure on the defense. He has certainly succeeded, as the Vikings are rank second in the league in both stolen bases (30) and attempts (49) this season.

TURNING TWO: CSU has been able to get out of several jams this season by turning a league-leading 22 double plays, two more than second place UIC and Milwaukee. Even more impressive is that CSU has turned two 22 times in 16 games, while UIC (22 games) and Milwaukee (21 games) have both turned 20 twin killings in more games played then CSU.

ON DECK: The Vikings are scheduled to play five games next week with four coming on the road. CSU opens the stretch with a single game at Canisius on Tuesday, April 8, at 2:00 p.m. before hosting Malone at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9. CSU then travels to Milwaukee for a three-game league series with the Panthers on Friday and Saturday (April 11-12).