If there was ever such a thing as a deceptive record, it would be Eastern Michigan's.
The preseason Mid-American Conference West favorite has a 7-12 overall record but started the league schedule strong with three wins against Bowling Green, last year's regular season champs. The Eagles join Ball State (15-7) in a four-way tie atop the MAC West at 3-1.
First-year Cardinals coach Greg Beals knows how tough EMU will be in the baseball team's four-game series this weekend at Ball Diamond. The series will cap a 12-game home stand for BSU.
"They had a good first weekend (in the MAC)," Beals said. "Their overall record's not good, but they played six games in Florida against very good competition. You've still got to look at them as a threat."
Individually, the Eagles' top threats are junior third baseman Derrick Peterson (.350 batting average), junior right fielder Ryan Goleski and shortstop Brian Bixler, last year's MAC Freshman of the Year. The starting rotation is led by Dave Pierdon (3-2, 3.26).
"Bixler puts the ball in play and gets on base a lot," Beals said. "Ryan Goleski is definitely a threat. He's not having as good a year, but he's got four home runs."
While Ball State has been surging of late, the pitching and defense has been slipping. The Cardinals have committed 10 errors in their last five games and yielded 36 runs in the past four contests.
Beals pointed out that, with the wind, pitchers have had some tough days to pitch. However, defensively, it's a matter of fundamentals and communication.
"The pitchers just have to stay focused and make good pitches," he said. "If you make good pitches, that's all you can do.
"Defense is always a concern. Errors are part of the game, but it's not been as much physical as a mental thing. Sometimes we haven't played the wind properly. The last couple games we've had some throws from the outfield go to the wrong base and give up an extra base. That's a communication thing."
Numbers-wise, Ball State's .326 batting average and 4.91 ERA are significantly better than EMU's .281 and 6.36. Matt Singleton (.435) and Kyle Dygert (.433) lead nine players who are batting .300 or better. Brad Snyder (4 home runs, 24 RBIs) and Adam Metzler (6, 30) have batted in the most runs.
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