Hitting for the cycleIt took Ball State University junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker four at bats Friday to perform a feat that hadn't been done in six years for the Cardinals. Hazelbaker notched the first cycle since 2003 against Kent State University starting pitcher Brad Stillings in just five innings.
"I was trying to put good swings on the ball," Hazelbaker said. "It was something I hadn't done before."
Hazelbaker led off the bottom of the first with a double and scored on sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek's double. In the second inning he hit an opposite field, solo home run to left with two outs. He made his next plate appearance in the fourth inning and knocked a single, also to left field.
In the fifth Hazelbaker came up again with two outs and two runners on base. He sent a line drive over the center fielder that went all the way to the wall 400 feet away and made it into third base with a stand up triple.
Hazelbaker said the center fielder was playing him to hit the ball the other way.
"I figured they'd try throwing inside," Hazelbaker said. "I was thinking up the middle and I got a good pitch."
He added a walk in the seventh inning, before striking out on three changeups from left-hander Andrew Chaffin in the ninth inning.
Hazelbaker picked a good day to impress scouts from more than a dozen major league teams in attendance for the series. Hazelbaker is hitting .443 with 13 stolen bases and a .526 on-base percentage.
Out sickJunior right fielder Ryan Chenoweth did not play due to a bout with the flu. Chenoweth was a game-time decision Friday, but was unable to play and did not see action Saturday either. Replacing him was freshman Cody Elliot who went 1-for-6 on the weekend with an RBI and two runs. Elliot committed an error Saturday, his first in 11 games.
Brooks Wallace Award WatchThe series brought three players on the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award watch list to Ball Diamond. Vitek was joined by two Golden Flashes, senior first baseman Greg Rohan and sophomore designated hitter Ben Klafczynski.
Of the three, Rohan made the biggest play when he sent a towering three-run home run to left field in the eighth inning Friday. The reigning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year went 3-for-8 with three RBIs and two runs during the weekend.
Vitek had his start on the mound getting rained out Sunday. He finished 5-for-8 with five RBIs, two runs and a home run.
Klafczynski struck out four times and finishing 1-for-9 with one RBI and one run.
Around the MACAfter two weekends of MAC play, there are no undefeated teams remaining in the conference. Kent State, the University of Toledo and Northern Illinois University all lost once this weekend after starting the season with sweeps.
Ohio University took the lead in the MAC East Division with a sweep at Western Michigan University. The Bobcats hold a half-game lead over the Golden Flashes and are up two games on Miami University, who swept Eastern Michigan University.
In the west, Toledo is up half a game on Northern Illinois after winning a series against the University of Akron. The University at Buffalo split their two-game series against the Huskies, earning their first MAC win. Defending champions Eastern Michigan is the last winless team in the MAC.
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