The 99th season of Ball State baseball gets underway this weekend when the Cardinals play four games at Georgia Southern. Ball State returns the majority of its offense and the conference ERA champion from last year's 38-19 team that had the best home record in the nation. BSU, in year 15 under Rich Maloney, brings back three outfielders who started 38 games or more last year in Ross Messina, Aaron Simpson and Mack Murphy. Messina was second team all-league last year (.316 with 33 XBH) and Simpson hit .321 while leading the team in runs, triples and stolen bases. Catcher Chase Sebby was the 2019 MAC Defensive Player of the Year and in the opener he'll be catching John Baker, who owns 17 career wins and was dominant last year (7-2, 2.13 ERA, 90 Ks). Ball State has several other veteran arms, including Kyle Nicolas, who struck out 82 batters last year and recorded six saves. 

Bowling Green fields one of the youngest rosters in college baseball in 2020. The Falcons have just two seniors – Jake Wilson and Damon Egnor. The junior class consists of six players, while the rest of the roster is comprised of underclassmen. The Falcons have 14 freshmen on this year's club. Bowling Green formed a clear identity last season, establishing a winning formula led by pitching and defense. BGSU's .968 fielding percentage in 2019 nearly broke the school record, which was set in 2011 (.972). The Falcons placed a MAC-best three players – SS Neil Lambert, 2B Riley Minorik and CF Jake Wilson – on the league's All-Defensive Team. In his first season with the program, Kyle Hallock's pitching staff ranked in the top five in the MAC in ERA (5.43) and fewest-hits allowed (482). The Falcons allowed just 298 runs, which ranked second in the league. When looking at ERA, eight of Bowling Green's top nine pitchers were either freshmen or sophomores.

 

The Chippewas return plenty of talented stars headlined by the likes of All-American shortstop Zavier Warren, power-hitting catcher Griffin Lockwood-Powell, steady mainstay corner infielder Zach Heeke, and speedy outfielder Zach Gilles.The pitching staff is loaded as well with starters Cameron Brown and Jordan Patty, both right-handers, back as top-of-the-rotation types bolstered by a deep and veteran bullpen featuring the likes of left-handers Ryan Palmblad, Garrett Willis and Garrett Navarra and right-handers Ian Leatherman, Logan Buczkowski and Cameron Miller. Several veterans, such as versatile Chase Rollin, along with a number of newcomers are expected to contribute significantly, Bischel said. Chief among them are pitchers J.T. Rogoszewski and Jarrod Melle. Both are 6-foot-3 right-handers. Rogoszewski, a junior who transferred from North Carolina, will start the opener on Friday against UNLV. Melle, a sophomore transfer from UConn, is slated to start the series finale on Sunday. Predictably, the Chippewas were picked to finish first in the preseason poll of MAC coaches and they are ranked 38th in Collegiate Baseball magazine's Fabulous 40 preseason poll. Only one other MAC team, Ball State (39th), is ranked.

The Eagles return a slew of key production from a season ago to this year's squad. Offensively, redshirt junior Jeff Timko will look to build on an impressive redshirt sophomore season that saw him lead all Eagles in home runs (five), and tie for the team lead in triples (five). Junior Scott Granzotto, sophomore Justin Meis, and redshirt junior Davis Feldman highlight the key returners on the bump. Granzotto tied for the team lead, with Meis, in wins (three), led the team in ERA (3.88), and was the only Eagle to toss a complete game in 2019. Meis was the only freshman to earn a win for the Green and White, and led the team in innings pitched (58.0). While Feldman was out due to injury last season, the Warren, Mich. native is considered the ace of the staff. In his last fully-healthy season, 2017, he made 19 appearances on the mound, including three starts. The fifth-year product totaled a 4.79 ERA in 47 innings, racking up 28 strikeouts, and notched a pair of wins as well as a pair of saves.

Kent State returns seven key contributors from the 2019 lineup, a pair of starters as well as arms that missed last season due to injury. The Flashes went 30-24 last year, the 21st consecutive season with 30 or more wins.  The Golden Flashes were picked second in the MAC in a split pre-season coaches poll and coaches agreed they were the odds-on favorite to win the MAC tournament. Headlining the returners to the lineup are a pair of 2019 All Americans in Ben Carew and Justin Kirby. Carew hit .406 with 24 stolen bases last season. Carew led the MAC in batting average and ranked second in both on-base percentage (.474) and hits (89), third in both runs scored (60) and stolen bases (24) and tenth in slugging percentage (.525) earning third team All-America and All-Region accolades as a result. Kirby was named the MAC Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-American in 2019. The Georgia native hit .313 in his freshman campaign with seven homers, 11 doubles and 30 driven in. He became the first Kent State player since 2005 to hit three home runs in a game, doing so against Northern Illinois. On the mound, the Flashes return a pair of starters in Luke Albright and Zach Schultz. Albright was named second team All-MAC last season and makes the transition into a full-time starter. In 51 innings last season as a freshman, Albright had a 2.81 ERA, striking out 54 and walking 23. Schultz threw 54 innings last year, Schultz had a 2.68 ERA, striking out 49 and walking 18. The Flashes also get a boost from the return of Collin Romel and Ryan Lane, who missed the 2019 season with injuries. Kent State also has solid bullpen arms Tyler Drabick (3 saves, 3.73 era) and Peyton Deats (3.77 era in 28.2 innings) returning as well.

 

Expectations are high for a Miami team that is coming off a 37-19 overall record and 15-11 performance in the Mid-American Conference. The RedHawks return 22 letterwinners, including eight out of nine position starters in 2020. Sophomore pitcher Sam Bachman, the MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year last season and a Freshman All-American is back to lead the pitching staff. Also returning is First-Team All-MAC second baseman Landon Stephens, First-Team All-MAC designated hitter Cole Andrews and Second-Team All-MAC catcher Cal Elvers. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association released its 2020 preseason poll. The Miami RedHawks cracked the poll, coming in ranked 33rd. Miami was the only Mid-American Conference team to receive votes in the poll. 

NIU returns its top seven hitters from 2019, led by senior catcher Jake Dunham who led NIU with four home runs, 43 walks, and a .429 on-base percentage. Dunham hit .278 with a slugging percentage of .403 while playing all 56 games last season. He had an 18-game streak of consecutively reaching base from April 19 to May 23. Behind the plate, Dunham led the MAC with 30 runners caught stealing. The Huskies also return senior outfielder Brendan Joyce who had a team-best .298 batting average in 2019 and sophomore Nick Drobushevich who hit .285 as a freshman with a team-high 44 RBI and 15 stolen bases. Drobushevich hit .356 in conference games last season with 26 RBI and had a 12-game hitting streak from April 3-21. Senior infielder Tommy Szczasny also had a 12-game hitting streak last season, hitting .280 with 35 walks and 11 stolen bases. He finished the year on an 11-game hitting streak, earning a spot on the MAC All-Tournament Team after hitting .538 with an .846 slugging percentage in four games. His three-run home run with two outs in the seventh inning helped vault NIU to a 6-3 elimination game victory over Ohio. The Huskies' pitching staff will be anchored by junior right-hander Michael Lasiewicz, who led NIU with six wins, a 3.94 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 75.1 innings pitched. Lasiewicz threw NIU's first complete game shutout in five seasons in the Huskies' opening game of the MAC Tournament, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out eight Miami RedHawks in a 4-0 victory. He was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team for that effort. Lasiewicz had five starts of at least six innings and three runs or less allowed in conference play.

 

Junior LHP Brett Manis returns to Ohio after leading the MAC in saves last season with seven. Manis had a team-best 3.00 ERA and struck out 64 batters while only walking 13 in 2019. Manis earned MAC co-pitcher of the week after tossing 4.1 innings and striking out seven batters in Ohio's MAC Tournament spot clinching win against Western Michigan. In the MAC Tournament, Manis tossed a career-high 6.0 innings of relief in Ohio's 17-inning win over Miami. Junior RHP Edward Kutt IV was second-team All-MAC and returns to Ohio. Kutt IV appeared in 23 games on the mound last season and made eight starts. Kutt IV logged 76.2 innings pitched with a 3.64 ERA and 67 strikeouts. Kutt IV a career-high eight batters against Bowling Green in 6.0 innings and earned his only save of the season to send Ohio to the MAC Tournament in OU's win over Western Michigan on the last day of the season.

 

The Rockets enter the 2020 season with a new leader for the baseball program in head coach Rob Reinstetle. Last July, Reinstetle was named the 12th head coach in team history following a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky. He has also made stops at Ole Miss, South Alabama, and College of Charleston, but Toledo is the first head coaching position of his career. Toledo returns a significant chunk of its offensive production from last season. Of the 278 RBIs tallied by Rocket hitters in 2019, 75 percent were recorded by returning players. Seven of the nine regulars in the lineup from last season are back in 2020, providing some continuity for a team that went through so many changes during the offseason. Toledo returns two of its three weekend starters from last year and both figure to factor into the rotation equation early on. Team captain Layne Schnitz-Paxton posted a 4.26 ERA in 61.1 innings last season while striking out 47. He started a career-high 11 games and has one of the weekend rotation spots locked down. In his first season with the Rockets last year, senior Doug Smith was second on the team with 63.2 innings pitched and made 13 starts, striking out 43.

 

Western Michigan returns 25 letterwinners from last year's squad that posted an 18-31 overall record and a 11-13 Mid-American Conference record. Last season WMU boasted the fourth best offense in the MAC with a .287 batting average to go along with a .422 slugging percentage and 32 home runs. Leading the way offensively will be 2019 First Team All-MAC selection Blake Dunn. Dunn led the Broncos last season in batting average (.374), runs (43), hits (71), triples (2), slugging percentage (.521), on-base percentage (.467) and stolen bases (30). Returning on the mound for the Broncos will be 2019 Second Team All-MAC selection Brady Miller. The right-handed pitcher posted a 5-2 record last season with a 3.10 ERA. Miller's 3.10 ERA was the lowest by a Bronco pitcher since All-American Keegan Akin back in 2016.