Live Stats at Denison | Live Audio at Denison | Live Stats vs. OWU | 'Berg Athletics Network
TIFFIN, Ohio—The Heidelberg University baseball team will play a pair of midweek games, facing Denison University on Tuesday, March 20 at Bid Red Baseball Field before hosting Ohio Wesleyan University on Wednesday, March 21 at Peaceful Valley in Tiffin, Ohio in the 2012 home opener. Game time for Tuesday’s contest is slated for 6 p.m. Wednesday’s game is set for 4 p.m.
Live stats for Tuesday’s game at Denison will be available here.
Wednesday’s game against Ohio Wesleyan will be broadcast live on the ‘Berg Athletics Network. Jeff Garvin will have the call. Live stats for that game will be available here.
The Student Princes (7-6) are coming off a 2-1 series victory at Manchester (Ind.) College over the weekend. The Berg tallied 25 runs over the three-game series and is averaging 5.6 runs per game. Three regulars are batting .300 or better, led by senior pitcher/outfielder Ross Pruitt (Elletsville, Ind./Edgewood), whose .436 (17-for-39) average is sixth in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while his 17 hits are tied for fourth with freshman third baseman Steve Kisan (North Royalton/Lakewood St. Edward). In his first 13 career games, all starts, Kisan is tearing at a .354 (17-for-48) clip with seven extra base hits, including a team-high five doubles, tied for third in the conference, and is tied for second on the team with Pruitt with seven runs batted-in. Kisan belted his first career home run in Friday’s 6-5 win at Manchester. Senior infielder Ricardo Lizcano (Toledo/Start) is pacing along at .300 (15-for-50), leads the team and is tied for sixth in the OAC with 12 RBI, and is tied for second with a pair of round-trippers. Freshman first baseman Eric Monroe (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) is batting .400 (8-for-20) in nine games.
Junior right handed pitcher Teddy Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) has anchored the pitching staff from the bullpen, going 3-1 in a team-high eight appearances (12.2 innings) with one save and a 2.84 earned run average. His three wins are tied for third in the OAC and he is holding opposing hitters to a meager .186 batting average. Senior righty Daniel Brannum (Jamestown/Greenview) has seen action in seven games and is 1-0 with one save over 12.2 innings and 12 strikeouts against just three walks. Junior right hander Tyler Fruhwirth (Beavercreak), freshman righty Ryan Minteer (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township), sophomore righty Chris Thomas (Canton/Perry) and sophomore southpaw Karl Boedecker (Commerce Township, Mich./Walled Lake) have each started at least two games.
Denison (5-7) has won two of its last three games, including a 3-2 victory over The College of Mount St. Joseph in Port Charlotte, Fla. Infielders Evan Nicholson and Kyle Clemmenson are pacing the Big Red offense. Nicholson his hitting .333 (14-for-42) and leads the team or is tied for the team lead with 14 hits, eight runs scored and three stolen bases. Clemmenson is hitting .300 (9-for-30) and leads the Bid Red with two homers and has driven in five runs. Tim Duxbury has guided the pitching staff, going 2-1 in three starts with 14 strikeouts and a .300 ERA over 21.0 innings. Connor Murphy is 1-1 in three starts, including two complete games and one shutout. He is holding opposing batters to a .154 average and has a 1.25 ERA over 21.2 innings. Chris Fries is 1-1 with a team-high two saves and a 2.00 ERA out of the bullpen.
The two teams met earlier this season at the Snowbird Baseball Classic in Port Charlotte, with Denison taking a 9-5 win on March 10. Evan Nicholson was 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored, while Tyler Nicholson was 2-for-5 with three RBI and one run scored. Tyler Vaske allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out 10 batters over five innings to earn the victory. Freshman outfielder Austin Fleming (Clinton Township, Mich./De La Salle) went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs for Heidelberg. Freshman righty Bryan Peters (Cuyahoga Falls/Woodridge) allowed five runs (one earned) in five innings, but Lowe was tagged with the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in 2.1 innings.
OWU (8-4) has won three of its last four contests following a 9-4 win over Mount St. Joseph in Port Charlotte. A trio of Battling Bishops are hitting above .350, led by J.J. Buckey, who is pacing at .419 (13-for-31) and leads the team with nine runs scored, 11 RBI and a .462 on-base percentage. Seth Frentsos is hitting .368 (14-for-38) with a team-high 14 hits, nine runs, five doubles and a .955 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. Tim Knezovich is tearing at .350 (14-for-40) with four doubles and five RBI. Three more Battling Bishops are hitting above .280.
Steve Skarsten is a perfect 4-0 in four starts on the hill with 17 strikeouts against only four walks in 26.2 innings. He has a 1.69 ERA. Charles Cooper is 1-1 in four appearances, including two starts, with a 2.45 ERA over 14.2 innings and is tied with Skarsten with 17 strikeouts. OWU utilizes a bullpen-by-committee, with three relievers each seeing in action in four games to date.
The Berg and OWU also met at the Snowbird Baseball Classic, with the Battling Bishops shutting the Student Princes out, 7-0. Frentsos was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored and James Toland was 3-for-4 and drove in two runs. Skarsten threw eight innings, fanning six while allowing just four hits. Heidelberg recorded just four hits at the plate. Thomas allowed all seven runs on three hits over 7.1 innings on the mound.
Following Tuesday and Wednesday’s midweek games, the Student Princes will face Case Western Reserve University in a split-site series. The Berg will host the Spartans on Saturday, March 24 in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. before traveling to University Circle on Sunday, March 25 to wrap-up the three-game set.