Ball State Sweeps Baseball Player of the Week Honors
MAC Pitcher of the Week
Kyle Nicolas, Ball State, RHP
Sophomore, Massillon, Ohio
Nicolas earned two saves over the weekend, preserving wins over Charleston Southern and Notre Dame. Nicolas pitched 4 no-hit innings, allowing no runs and striking out 10. As a team, Ball State won all three of its games at the Swig & Swine Classic in Charleston, highlighted by two wins over Notre Dame.
MAC Player of the Week
Ross Messina, Ball State, DH-OF
Junior, Kansas City, Mo.
Messina was the top bat for Ball State as the Cardinals went 3-0 at the Swig & Swine Classic in South Carolina. Messina went 6-for-9 (.667) with 3 XBH to help Ball State beat Charleston Southern and pick up two wins over Notre Dame. In two games vs. Notre Dame, Messina went 6-for-7 with three RBIs and two runs as the Cardinals outscored the Irish 8-2 over the two games. He finished the week with a 1.111 slugging pct., four RBI’s and 10 total bases.
Other Nominees
Tyler Hays, Bowling Green, RHP
Freshman, Copley, Ohio (Copley)
Hays, a freshman right-handed pitcher from Copley, Ohio, pitched one of the better games in program history in a 1-0 win at Belmont on Saturday (March 2). Hays logged 7.0 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out 12 batters. Hays, who picked up his first collegiate win on the day, struck out the side in the seventh to cap his day. Hays combined with redshirt-junior Chase Antle for an 18-strikeout shutout, coming just three strikeouts away from tying the school record. The win allowed the Falcons to end their season at Belmont with a victory.
Zavier Warren, Central Michigan, SS
Sophomore, Southfield, Mich. (Birmingham Groves)
Warren continued his hot start to the 2019 campaign as the Chippewas played the first three-games (Hoftstra, Butler, Pitt) of their eight-game spring break trip in Kissimmee, Fla. On Friday's 24-7 blowout victory over Hofstra, the Southfield, Mich., native notched a pair of doubles with 4 RBI and drew three base on balls. On Sunday's 4-3 win over Pitt, Warren finished 2-of-5 at the dish with a pair of doubles and one run driven in. For the season, Warren is now batting .317 with 13 hits, two homers and a team-best 13 RBI.
Zach Schultz, Kent State, RHP
Junior, Indiana, Pa. (Indiana)
Schultz picked up his first win of the season against Charleston Southern, spinning 5.0 scoreless innings and fanning a career-high eight batters. Against a Buccaneer offense that had averaged more than seven hits and five runs per game on the season, the Indiana, Pa. native allowed just three hits and two walks in the win.
Scott Granzotto, Eastern Michigan, LHP
Sophomore, Northville, Mich. / Gabriel Richard
Granzotto posted was nearly flawless in a pair of appearances against Incarnate Word, Feb. 27, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, March 3. The left-hander posted a 1-0 record with an ERA of 0.00 in 5.2 innings of work. Granzotto allowed just three hits while striking out seven.In a midweek start against UIW, Granzotto went the first three innings to get the 6-5 victory over the Cardinals. He fanned three batters while allowing a hit and a walk in 52 pitches thrown. In a followup appearance against TAMCC, he struck out four Islanders in 2.2 innings of work. On the second he has a 1-1 mark with an ERA of 2.40 in 15.0 innings of work. More impressively, batters have just a .232 average against.
Jeff Timko, Eastern Michigan, OF
Jr.-So., Rochester Hills, Mich. / Brother Rice
Timko led the Eagles this week in a four-game set in the state of Texas. Timko paced the EMU offense with a .533 batting average (8-for-15) with three runs scored and a trio of RBIs. Two of his eight base-hits were triples for a total of 12 total bases and a .800 slugging percentage.In the weekend finale against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Timko tallied four hits in a perfect effort at the plate. With his monster day at the plate, he is the first Eagle to notch four hits in a contest in 2019. Timko is also the last EMU player to have notched four-or-more hits in a contest, doing so in a 11-5 victory over Nicholls State, exactly one year ago to the day, on March 3, 2018. On the year, he has a .393 batting average with 11 hits in 28 at-bats.
Pete Schuler, Kent State, Senior
Pleasant Prairie, Wis. (St. Joseph)
Schuler posted a .316 batting average and .474 slugging percentage, collecting six hits with three doubles and two runs on the week. The Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Native notched a hit in every game of the week and is on a six-game hitting streak dating back to Feb. 24. In Kent State’s 5-3 win over Charlotte, Schuler went 2-for-4, collecting his second multi-hit game of the season. Starting three games behind the plate and one at first base, the senior was perfect on the field with 32 put outs.
Spencer Mraz, Miami, Pitcher
Junior Middleburg Heights, Ohio (Berea-Midpark)
Mraz was stellar in his start this week in leading Miami to a series-opening victory over Oakland. The junior went 6.0 innings, allowing no runs on only three hits. He struck out four. Mraz is now 2-1 on the season with a 3.95 ERA.
Mackay Williams, Miami, Outfield
Senior, Overland Park, Kan. (Olathe North)
Williams had a great series against Oakland this past weekend. He hit .364 and had a slugging percentage of .818 and an on-based percentage of .462. In Miami's 14-3 win in the second game of the doubleheader Friday, Williams put on a career performance. He finished 2-for-4 with five RBIs and one run scored. That included a triple and an inside-the-park home run.
Ty Jandrowski, NIU, Pitcher
R-Senior, Kenosha, Wis. (Bradford/Madison College)
Jandrowski had a season-high four strikeouts in 5.1 innings against Kansas on March 2. The redshirt-senior allowed two runs on six hits in a 3-1 loss to the Jayhawks.
Brendan Joyce, NIU, OF
Junior, South Elgin, Ill. (St. Charles North/Parkland College)
Joyce hit .444/.545/.556 in three games against Kansas last weekend. Joyce was 3-for-4 in the series finale Saturday with an RBI double and a stolen base. He had two stolen bases on the weekend.
Jack Liberatore, Ohio, RHP
R-Freshman, Greensburg, Pa.
Liberatore was phenomenal in earning in his first collegiate win. Liberatore tossed 7.0 innings of shutout baseball in Ohio's 2-1 win over USC Upstate. Liberatore allowed just five runners to reach base and did recorded a walk. Liberatore struck out six batters in the win and had a WHIP of 0.7143.
Rudy Rott, Ohio, INF
Senior, Holmen, Wis.
Rott led the way for Ohio once again in the series against USC Upstate. In Ohio's 10-7 lost to USC Upstate, Rott was 3-for-5 with a home run and double while knocking in three RBI. Rott added one RBI in Ohio's 2-1 win in the final game of the doubleheader on Saturday. Rott had eight total bases during the week with four RBI.
John Servello, Toledo, Outfielder
Sophomore, Hollidaysburg, Pa. (Hollidaysburg)
Servello led the Rockets at the plate this past weekend, going 5-for-11 and driving in a team-high seven runs while posting an OPS of 1.534. The sophomore was a big reason why UT won 13-5 in the series opener, going 4-for-5 with a career-high six RBIs, including a grand slam. Servello is hitting .333 with a .528 slugging percentage and a .467 on-base percentage this year.
Michael Jacob, Toledo, LHP
Senior, St. Clairsville, Ohio (St. Clairsville)
Jacob was terrific in the Rockets' series-opening win at Davidson on Saturday. He threw 7.0 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and two walks, and he struck out a career-high 13 batters. Jacob has thrown at least six innings in all three starts this season and UT is 3-0 in games in which he has started. His 20 strikeouts this season are second in the MAC.
Logan Hudson, Western Michigan, Infielder
R-Sophomore, Caledonia, Mich.
Through nine games this season Logan Hudson leads the Broncos with a .500 batting average including hitting .556 over the weekend at South Florida. Hudson registered at leads one hit in two of the three games played against the Bulls and had one double in game two and three. In the series finale on Sunday, Hudson had a career day going 4-for-5 at the plate with a career-high six RBI’s. Hudson alone scored six of the Broncos’ nine runs in game three, including a bases clearing double in the top of the ninth against USF. Hudson’s six RBI’s was three shy of the program record and the most by a Bronco since Nate Grys had seven last season vs. Northwestern. The redshirt sophomore became the second Bronco this season to have a game with at least four RBIs. To begin game three on Sunday, Hudson hit his second home run of the season, marking the fifth straight game WMU has had a home run.
