May 9, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Baseball Player of the Week
Justin Banks
Youngstown State, Junior, Second Base (Steubenville, Ohio.)
Youngstown State junior, Justin Banks, is the Horizon League Baseball Player of the Week for the period ending May 9.
Banks went 9-for-17 (.529) with five doubles and seven RBIs in five games this week. He hit safely in four of the contests and recorded more than one hit on three occasions. On Tuesday against Ohio, Banks went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. After being held hitless in game one of Saturday's doubleheader with Kent State, the junior bounced back with a 4-for-5 performance that included three doubles and five RBIs to lead the Penguins to a 10-6 victory. On Sunday he went 2-for-4 with an RBI single, a double and a run scored in game one. He capped the week with an RBI single in game two. His three doubles against Kent tied the school record for doubles in a game. The feat was last accomplished by Jim Lipinski on April 10, 2001, against Akron.
Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Aaron Sorenson
UW-Milwaukee, Junior, Picher (Sheboygan, Wis.)
UW-Milwaukee junior, Aaron Sorenson, is the Horizon League Baseball Pitcher of the Week for the period ending May 9.
Sorenson picked up his seventh-straight win with eight innings of work against Wright State on Friday. His win streak tied the school record for consecutive wins, while he scattered four hits and just two runs in the 8-2 game. Sorenson struck out seven batters and walked one in throwing at least eight innings for the fifth time in 10 starts on the year.
Other Top Horizon League Player Performers - May 9
Mark Hallberg, UIC, Freshman, 1B (Barron, Wis.)
Freshman Mark Hallberg helped the Flames to five victories over this past week, batting .435 (10-for-23) with seven runs scored and five RBI, while extending his team-season best hitting streak to 18 games. Hallberg's most impressive performance came in Sunday's 10-8 extra-inning victory over Cleveland State, going 3-for-6 at the plate with three runs scored and a RBI. For the season, Hallberg leads the Flames in batting average (.365), runs (44), hits (66) and doubles (14). In conference play, Hallberg is batting .333, while leading the squad in runs (17), hits (21) and doubles (4).
Brian Shoup, Wright State, Sophomore, 3B (Tipp City, Ohio)
Shoup led the way for WSU this week driving in three RBI against Dayton and going three-for-five against UWM in the finale with five RBI including a home run. Shoup reached base in every game this week, four with hits and one with two walks. In the second game of a doubleheader against UWM Shoup was walked twice and hit by a pitch, recording no official at-bats and also drove in an RBI in the first game of the day.
Charlie Reschke, UW-Milwaukee, Senior, 2B (Sheboygan, Wis.)
Reschke batted .444 (8-for-18) for the week with three doubles, a triple and nine RBIs, helping the Panthers to a 3-3 record and series victory over Wright State. Reschke also collected three hits in game one, including his 45th career double, which tied a school record. In game two, he had hits in all three at bats, including a three-run triple on his way to five RBIs for the game. The day pushed the Sheboygan native to second in school history for career hits, leaving him just two shy of becoming the second player to 200 hits (198).
Bobby Cash, Cleveland State, Freshman, Infielder ( Hudson, Ohio)
Cash has raised his average almost 60 points during a current nine-game hitting streak to a .304 average, the third highest on the team. He rapped four hits against UIC on Sunday (May 8), with a triple, double, two singles, two RBI and two runs scored. He posted a 3-for-3 performance against Ohio at Jacobs Field on Tuesday, including a double and a run scored. He has shown his versatility by playing second base, third base and shortstop on numerous occasions throughout the season.
Clayton Deeb, Butler, Junior, 1B (Hebron, Ind.)
Deeb had a pair of doubles and drove in two runs in Butler's 4-0 victory over Franklin. He gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run double off the right field wall. He later added a second two-base hit in the bottom of the eighth inning. Deeb added eight putouts and an assist in the game.
Other Top Horizon League Pitcher Performers - May 9
Bryan Bokowy, Butler, Freshman, LHP (Munster, Ind.)
Bokowy picked up his second collegiate victory with a strong seven-inning stint against Franklin. The first-year lefthander blanked the Grizzlies on four hits, before giving way to freshman Brian Deter in the eighth inning. Bokowy chalked nine strikeouts with just one walk, while turning in the longest pitching stint of his young career.
Matt Gnacinski, Youngstown State, Junior, RHP(Erie, Pa.)
Junior Matt Gnacinski went 1-0 and did not allow an earned run in three appearances this week. He allowed four hits and struck out five in five innings of work while opponents hit only .211 against him. The junior allowed an unearned run against Ohio on Wednesday before throwing a total of four shutout innings against Kent State during the weekend. He picked up his second career win on Saturday, allowing one hit in three shutout innings. He added a shutout inning on Sunday.
Ross Vagedes, Wright State, Sophomore, RHP (Tipp City, Ohio)
Vagedes made two starts this week, throwing in the Raiders cross-town battle with Dayton and then picking up the only win of the week for WSU in a 15-1 defeat of the Panthers. Vagedes allowed only one unearned run against UWM as he struck out three batters and allowed only four runners past second base.
Zach Peterson, UIC, Sophomore, Pitcher (Minnetonka, Minn.)
Sophomore pitcher Zach Peterson went 1-0, including a save, and finished with an ERA of 1.00 to help the Flames to two victories over this past week. His most impressive performance came in a 14-1 victory over Cleveland State, scattering one run and eight hits in eight innings of work against the Vikings. Peterson has factored into each of his last six appearances, winning five games and saving one. The Minnetonka, Minn., has not lost a game since March 21st and has picked up seven straight decisions. For the season, Peterson is 8-1 with an ERA of 3.25 with 33 strikeouts in 63.2 innings pitched. In conference play, Peterson is 3-0 with an ERA of 3.60 and 15 K's in 25 innings pitched.
Horizon League News & Notes
Butler Bulldogs (15-26, 2-6 HL)
Butler had just one game last week because of final exams, but the Bulldogs recorded their second shutout of the season with a 4-0 victory over Franklin.
Freshman Alex Rinearson boasts Butler's longest current hitting streak at six straight games, while senior Robby Santoni and freshman Joe Pauley have each hit in five consecutive contests. Rinearson, who leads the Bulldogs in hitting on the season, and Pauley have each hit safely in nine of Butler's last ten games.
Cleveland State (9-31, 2-14 HL)
Cleveland State will have its quietest week on the field, as the Vikings host Pittsburgh at Classic Park in Eastlake on Wednesday for their only competition. The 6:00 p.m. contest will give the players ample time to focus on exams and end-of-semester classwork.
UIC Flames (29-17-1, 10-6 HL)
Sophomore hurler Ryan Zink captured two victories in two days, earning a complete-game, 8-2 victory over Cleveland State in Game One of Saturday's doubleheader, allowing two runs and eight hits, while fanning four batters. Zink bounced back on Sunday afternoon, tossing 2.1 innings of scoreless and hitless relief, striking out four batters to pick up the 10-8 extra-inning win over the Vikings.
Senior third baseman Bryan Russo went 0-4 against Cleveland State in Game Two of Saturday's doubleheader, ending his streak of 37 straight games of reaching base safely.
UIC has participated in six extra-inning games this season, winning four of those contests.
UW-Milwaukee Panthers (20-23, 11-5 HL)
Senior Charlie Reschke continues to make a name for himself in the Panther record books. Over the weekend, he tied the school record for career doubles (45) and moved into second place on UWM's career hit list with 198. Last month, he became just the second player in team history with 600 at bats and he is attempting to be the first with four .300 seasons in his career.
Junior Aaron Sorenson has won seven-straight starts to move his record to 8-2. His win streak is tied for the longest in a season in school history, while his win total is just one off the school record of nine. The Sheboygan native has done a lot of the work himself, throwing 54.1 of 59 possible innings and going less than eight innings twice, including a seven-inning complete game against Illinois.
Wright State Raiders (19-25, 8-8 HL)
The Raiders snapped a ten-game losing streak with their win at Miller Park, which also snapped a seven game Horizon League losing streak. The Raiders pushed their average back to .300 this weekend, after a 15 hit barrage against the Panthers. The Raiders will play a non-conference contest against Bowling Green on Wednesday before closing out the Horizon League schedule with a trip to Butler this weekend.
Youngstown State Penguins (25-18, 7-1 HL)
YSU's victory over Kent State was the first since May 1, 2001 when the Penguins won 12-4.
Justin Thomas was charged with his first loss since March 12 on Saturday. Since the March 12 loss to Missouri, Thomas has gone 5-1 with an ERA of 1.44. He has struck out 58 hitters and walked only 11 while surrendering 40 hits. Redshirt Erich Diedrich hit his team-high fourth home run of the season on Saturday.
Jim Phillips was named YSU's Male Athlete of the Year on Thursday evening at the department's annual banquet. He preceded that with a 2-for-4 performance against Ohio on Wednesday in which he hit a three-run homer in the first and an RBI double.
.
