March 14, 2005
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Baseball Player of the Week
Jeff Gremley
UIC, Senior, SS (Frankfort, Ill.)
UIC senior Jeff Gremley is the Horizon League Baseball Player of the Week for the period ending March 14.
Gremley dominated Saint Louis pitching over the weekend, helping UIC to the three-game sweep over the Billikens. Gremley batted .692 (9-for-13) with nine runs scored, eight RBI, three doubles, two triples, a homer and a slugging percentage of 1.462. His most impressive performance came in the Flames' 14-7 victory over Saint Louis on Sunday, going 4-for-5, with five runs scored and four RBI, including a triple and a homer.
Baseball Pitcher of the Week
Matt Crawford
Wright State, Senior, RHP (Chagrin Falls, Ohio)
Wright State senior Matt Crawford is the Horizon League Baseball Pitcher of the Week for the period ending March 14.
Crawford went toe to toe with one of the best pitchers in the Midwest, Rowdy Hardy of Austin Peay, with the Raiders needing a win to avoid the 0-3 weekend. With frigid temperatures he went five innings allowing four hits, all singles, and only one runner reached third base on his own, without the aid of a Raider error. Crawford threw 86 pitches in his five innings and retired nine of the first ten batters he faced.
Other Top Horizon League Player Performers - March 14
Alex Rinearson, Butler, Freshman, Third Base (Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
Rinearson batted .533 (8-15) while helping Butler split four games last week. He had one hit in Butler's 4-3 victory over Xavier, and then he notched three hits and drove in three runs to help the Bulldogs post an 11-10 come-from-behind victory at Indiana. The first-year infielder added four hits and three RBI's in seven trips to the plate in Butler's first two games at Birmingham Southern. On the week, Rinearson had one double, a team-high six runs batted in and two runs scored.
Brian Vickers, Wright State, Senior, Catcher (Perrysburg, Ohio)
After a rough couple games Vickers began to pick up the pace in the final game of the weekend, where he went four-for-five against Austin Peay. Vickers drove in the Raiders lone RBI against Evansville will a sacrifice fly in the first and bashed two doubles and chipped in two more singles to close out the weekend. Vickers walked once and threw out two-of-four base runners in the Aces' Diamond Classic. Now hitting .366 on the season with a team high 14 RBI the Raiders captain looks to get back into a groove against Duke this weekend.
Horizon League News & Notes
Butler Bulldogs (2-6, 0-0 HL)
The Bulldogs had the biggest comeback in Steve Farley's 14 seasons as Butler's head coach in their win at Indiana. Butler trailed, 10-0, heading into the sixth inning on a cold and snowy day, and the umpires notified Farley that they were going to call the game if Butler didn't score. The Bulldogs responded with nine runs in the sixth inning and then added two more in the eighth to pull out an 11-10 victory!
Butler had a season-high 19 hits in a 14-9 loss at Birmingham Southern. Sophomore Matt Ferguson, a transfer from Dayton, led the way with four hits, while sophomore Dustin Bucalo added three. Sophomore Tony Barnes hit his first home run of the season. Senior right-hander Jim Knytych pitched four shutout innings in relief to pick up the win at Indiana. He allowed just three hits in his relief stint.
Cleveland State (0-3, 0-0 HL)
The planned double-header against Xavier on Sunday has been cancelled. The teams will attempt to salvage the series on Monday, March 14 with a double-header set to begin at either noon or 1:00 p.m.
Additionally, the Vikings will now battle Morehead State in a double-header on Tuesday (March 15) beginning at 1:00 p.m. before playing the Eagles in a single game on Wednesday (March 16) at 1:00 p.m.
UIC Flames (3-8, 0-0 HL)
UIC has scored 101 runs over their last eight games against Saint Louis for an average of 13.1 runs per game. All three of UIC's victories were secured by relievers. UIC raised its team batting average from .220 to .287 in their three-game series against Saint Louis. The Flames will travel to Bradenton, Florida for a series against Iowa this week.
UW-Milwaukee Panthers (2-7, 0-0 HL)
Milwaukee will look to end its five-game losing skid when it returns to action, March 19, in Bradenton, Fla. The Panthers open their annual Florida trip with a single game against Rhode Island at 1:30 p.m.
Wright State Raiders (4-8, 0-0 HL)
The Raiders went 1-2 at the Evansville Aces' Diamond Classic lossing their first two games to Northern Illinois and Evansville then defeating the Governors of Ausitn Peay to close out thier weekend. The Raiders have now went 1-2 on their first four weekends to open the season. With a 13-5 win over the Governors, Wright State is now won four games when scoring at least 10 runs in the contest. The Raiders are a perfect 4-0 in games when they score in double figures and 0-8 when held under the 10 run barrier.
Youngstown State (1-9, 0-0 HL)
The Penguins will look to avenge their two losses against Missouri on Monday, March 14. After completing their three game series versus the Tigers, YSU will travel to Morehead State where they will play a mid-week two game series beginning on Wednesday, March 16.
