A proposal to add a week to the baseball regular season will be voted on today by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. The proposal will likely be passed by the Board of Directors after the Division I Legislative Council passed the legislation in its April 20 meeting. Ball State University baseball coach Greg Beals is not pleased with the council's decision.
"For me it's another win for the Southern schools," Beals said. "That's something they've been fighting for. I'm not a big fan of it."
The additional week would push the start date of the Division I baseball season up a week in the 2010 season, likely to Feb. 12. Because Northern schools cannot play home games in February, the additional week means another home weekend for many Southern teams.
Beals said he supported adding a week to the season, but wanted it to be placed at the end of the year.
Schools cite the amount of class their players miss because of midweek games as a reason to extend the season.
The move to add the week comes just two weeks after the NCAA instituted a uniform start date for DI baseball, a move that was seen as a win for Northern schools.
Hazelbaker update: Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker did not play in Wednesday's game against IPFW. He was hit in the knee by a pitch Tuesday against Purdue University in the eighth inning. Beals said Hazelbaker would be all right for the weekend series at Eastern Michigan University.
"He was sore today," Beals said. "He's not injured. I'm confident he'll be fine for the weekend."
Hot corner: Freshman third baseman Tim Issler made his third consecutive start Wednesday. Issler made the most of his last start going 2-for-2 at the plate with two runs and an RBI.
"It's important for Tim, in these midweek games, to get quality at-bats," Beals said. "It's important for him to get his feel and timing back."
Issler usually works his way into the lineup when sophomore Kolbrin Vitek is on the mound or being given a day to rest his arm as designated hitter.
"His weekend playing time is based on Kolbrin's pitching," Beals said. "It may not be as regular as you'd like it to be."
In the three-game stretch, Issler went 4-for-10 with three runs and two RBI. He raised his average 25 points with his week.
Base running blunder: With one out in the second inning and sophomore shortstop T.J. Baumet on second, freshman catcher Aaron Etchison grounded out to first base. Baumet rounded third and headed for home, only to be thrown out by 10 feet to end the inning.
"T.J. got out of his mind for a second," Beals said. "He thought he was back at Brownsburg High School."
Baumet finished the game 1-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to five games.
MAC Roundup: Eastern Michigan University, the Cardinals' weekend opponent, split a doubleheader with Michigan State University. The Spartans came back to beat the Eagles 6-5 in extra innings in game one, but Eastern Michigan took the night cap 6-1. Kent State University and Ohio University both swept doubleheaders. The University of Toledo, MAC West Division leader, was swept by Oakland University in a doubleheader. Valparaiso University knocked off Northern Illinois University 12-2 in DeKalb, Ill.
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