Hello Cardinal nation! Great to have you reading my blog again on some of the current Cardinals and how they are performing in summer league play. Before I dive in and chat about some of the performances, just want to say how awesome it is being able to keep up to date with this crew.
There are many things I enjoy about what I get to do as a Ball State student but nothing means more to me than getting contacted by players during the week and having them say thanks for what I do. I always laugh a bit inside when it happens because I am simply doing what I love to do…and don’t know why anyone would want Luke Martin always tweeting about them! Haha!
Anyways, I know many already know this and don’t need me to say it but the Ball State baseball family is a special one. I am a lucky guy to have been around the program for such a short amount of time and get to know some of the best people this campus and community has to offer.
Alright…. enough of off the diamond talk, let’s see how some of the guys are doing across the country!
Brandon Estep--Great Lakes League—Grand Lake Mariners
- I do want to point out last week in my blog I said,” it is only the beginning of summer league play, which means plenty of time to improve for Estep.” I believe Estep got the memo. The future senior leader for Ball State had a week to remember for the Mariners, as he delivered eight hits during the course of seven days, including a double, triple, and a HR. Estep also scored four runs and provided six of his seven RBI’s in summer league play during that seven day time span. Good to see one of the good guys….wait…good to see one of the great guys producing big numbers!
Caleb Stayton--Great Lakes League—Lake Erie Monarchs
-Okay…I cursed Caleb Stayton. It was only a matter of time before my tweets of saying “Stayton has recorded a hit in every game so far for the Monarchs” would catch up to him. Sorry buddy! At least Caleb responded to his first hitless game of the summer by going 3-3, which I believe makes up for the game of not recording a hit.
Looking at the whole week for Stayton, mentioned he has been able to get on base frequently. Only one game this whole summer Stayton has been held hitless, which is pretty impressive for the soon to be sophomore for Ball State. Stayton has produced five hits and 3 RBI’s during the Monarch’s stay in Alaska!
Nick Hollowell--Great Lakes League—Grand Lake Mariners
- Another Cardinal playing for the Mariners is putting up big offensive numbers. I am really interested to see how Hollowell can keep this type of play up this summer, mostly because of how he can find a bigger role for himself on the 2015 roster. No doubt he can be a reliable bat but I am sure Hollowell would love to do more.
As I type this tonight, Hollowell is having a memorable game right now with a grand slam and a single, putting the Mariners way ahead of the Hamilton Joes tonight. Hollowell’s week as a whole, He mustered three hits, including a triple, and two RBI’s. The only glaring issue is strikeouts, as Hollowell has struck out 9 times. If Hollowell can cut down on his strikeouts, he will be more of a valuable asset for the Cards in 2015.
Ryan Spaulding--Northwoods League—Kalamazoo Growlers
- Remember I mentioned earlier how Stayton has been really good about producing a hit each game he is in the lineup for the Monarchs…Ryan Spaulding is doing the same for the Growlers. I will be honest; I didn’t realize how great of a week he had until looking over the stats tonight. Spaulding has played in eight games and assembled at least one hit in seven of the eight games, had two hits or more in four of the seven games with at least one hit, and added nine RBI’s and six runs scored. A terrific week for Spaulding and right now he is on pace for another one, with a two RBI single tonight for the Growlers in a 10-5 loss.
David Current--Great Lakes League—Cincinnati Steam
- Not saying the first outing was awful or even close to being bad for David Current but his second outing was significantly better than his first. Current bounced back and earned his first win of the summer for the Cincinnati Steam in a 10-8 contest against the Hamilton Joes. Current pitched five innings, surrendered two runs (one earned), six hits, seven K’s, and only walked two batters. Current now has 10 K’s compared to four walks and brought his ERA down to 3.12.
BJ Butler--Hampton League—Westhampton Aviators
- What a summer this young man is having. There are going to be spots up for grabs in the pitching rotation in 2015 for Ball State and I wouldn’t be surprised if Butler was a one of the pitchers who earned one of those spots. I will be honest and go out on a limb here and pick him as my pitcher to watch heading into 2015. Butler is 3-0 in summer league play, with his latest outing going 4.1 innings with four runs (all earned), sox hits, two K’s, and two walks. The stat line doesn’t look overwhelming but remember Butler went 14.1 innings without giving up an earned run this summer.
Sean Kennedy--Great Lakes League—Hamilton Joes
- Summer got off to such a great start for Sean Kennedy but a three game stretch following his first start hurt his batting average, only reaching base twice in 11 at bats (both walks). Kennedy is not just playing third base, like he did for Ball State, this summer, as the 2nd team All-MAC third basemen has made starts at first base, along with playing the hot corner. Kennedy is in the midst of a four game hitting streak, which is by far the longest of the summer for him. Kennedy’s offensive numbers are five hits, one RBI, and two runs scored this past week, including action tonight in a loss against the Mariners.
Mike Roberson--Midwest League—Dupage County Hounds
- I have to give Roberson credit where credit is due because my last blog post I left out one of his hits was a walk off hit for a win…and he was given the offensive MVP award for the night. My goodness, how it got passed me till a week later is beyond me but better late than never! Haha! In all seriousness, great to see Mike Roberson continue his great play for the Dupage County Hounds. Roberson has been disciplined at the plate, still remaining as the only Hound this season to have not struck out swinging. Roberson also has three sacrifice flies, two sacrifice bunts, and drawn 3 walks. All of those stats prove he is being smart with the bat in his hands. Roberson is also one of three players who have appeared in five games or more and still have an unblemished fielding percentage.
Elbert Devarie--Summit City Sluggers—Fort Wayne, Indiana, area
- What a week to begin summer play for Elbert Devarie, as he hit his first home run in a long time, as he still has never recorded a single home run in the Cardinal and White. Elbert didn’t have any huge numbers this past week for the Summit City Sluggers but he did provide two solid performances back-to-back, going 1-4 in both games with 1 RBI. Really looking forward to what else EJ can provide this summer for the Sluggers.
Alex Maloney--Alaska Baseball League—Anchorage Glacier Pilots
- Maloney hasn’t produced a game like he did in his first time out for the Pilots, but he still has provided some timely hits for his team this summer. Maloney had a solid week with three hits through five games, including two runs scored. Out of those five hits for Maloney, two of them went for extra bases, both of them doubles. The two doubles were the first extra base hits of summer league play for Maloney. He has a game tonight for the Pilots and will have plenty of opportunities to improve his offensive numbers. I enjoy watching him at the plate but it is the web gems I enjoy more, as Maloney is still perfect in fielding percentage to this point. Only three other players on the Pilots who have appeared in 6 games or more can join Maloney with a perfect fielding percentage.
Anthony Gomez--Midwest League— Northwest Indiana Oilman
- Not much has happened for Gomez since the last time I wrote about him a week ago but he was able to earn his first win of the summer for the NW Indiana Oilmen in a 2-1 nail biter. Gomez entered the game in a game tied at one and pitched his way through one inning surrendering one hit and recorded one strikeout. When you look at the past four innings of work for Gomez this summer, he has given up one hit, zero runs, three K’s and two walks.
Check Back Next Week!
Those are the updates for now! Be sure to check back next week for more updates on the Cardinal players in summer league action! Doing my best to reach out to all of them! Going to do what I can to set up some interviews and post a podcast along with a recap blog for next week. Until next time, be sure to follow me on twitter @LukeMartinBSU for the most up to date tweets on Ball State Baseball!
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