For many Rust Belt teams their play in competitive games was more of a slap in the face than the sub-zero temperatures that greeted them on their return home. Fifteen northern teams were shutout on opening weekend, while six others were series losers. A few teams had their opportunity for a victory squelched when Arctic air spread as far south as the Carolinas, forcing the cancellation of games.
The MAC led the winless parade with five teams still looking to break the seal. The Horizon League followed with three teams held winless.
On the positive side, sixteen Rust Belt teams won weekend series and one earned a split.
The Good…
• Illinois (4-0), for the first time since 2000, hit .357 as a team. First baseman, David Kerian, 7 of 14, and 2B Reid Roper, 7 RBI, led the Illini offense.
• Indiana (2-1) took two of three games from #18 Stanford. Hoosier starters allowed five runs over sixteen innings; closer Ryan Halstead earned two saves.
• Ohio State (3-0) came from behind in their first two games, winning on a walk-off wild pitch in their opener against George Mason. Ryan Riga pitched six scoreless innings, striking out four in an 8-0 victory over Pitt.
• Michigan State (2-1) defeated Northwestern and New Mexico. Outfielder Cam Gibson had 12 total bases with a slash line of .500/1.000/.538
• Ohio University (3-0) recorded 47 hits in their sweep of UNC Ashville.
• Central Michigan (3-1) starters allowed one earned run in sixteen innings; outfielder Logan Regnier had three triples and six RBI.
• Notre Dame (3-1) beat Oklahoma twice. Second baseman Cavan Biggio posted a slash line of .500/.938/.579 with 15 total bases.
• Milwaukee (3-1) took three of four from Maine, hitting .340 as a team.
• Wright State (3-0) hit five home runs, two of them grand slams. Outfielder Ryan Fucci went 6 for 12 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI.
• IUPU Fort Wayne (3-1) beat Alabama A&M three times. The Mastodons hit .355; right fielder Shane Trevino had 15 total bases.
• Northern Illinois (3-0) scored 34 runs on 35 hits in victories over Niagara and South Dakota State, twice. Shortstop Brian Sisler was 8 of 14 with 7 RBI.
• UIC (2-1-1) took two of four games from Mississippi Valley State, the series final went down as a 5-5 tie. Jeff Boehm was a monster; the senior first baseman hit 3 home runs, had 13 RBI and scored 6 runs with a slash of .615/1.385/.762.
• Akron (2-1) lost the second game of the Furman series, 8-7 in 10 innings. The Zips only walked 5 batters in 27.2 innings.
• Bradley (2-1) defeated Omaha and North Dakota State before falling to Grand Canyon 30-7 on Sunday. The Antelopes scored in the first seven innings, pounding out 28 hits, four home runs.
• Evansville (2-1) won the series from Arkansas-Little Rock. The Purple Aces only used six pitchers in the three games; they posted a 2.25 ERA with 21 K’s.
• Indiana State (2-1) was led by second baseman Derek Hannahs, .571/.714/.600.
• Xavier (2-2) defeated Army and Wofford. Andre Jernigan hit .500, stole 4 bases, scored 3 runs and hit 3 doubles on his way to being named Big East Player of the Week.
The Bad…
• Michigan (1-2) hit .196 as a team; despite the game winning hit on Sunday, pre-season All American Jacob Cronenworth went 2 of 14 in the series.
• Purdue (1-2) allowed 37 runs in three games against Western Carolina, compiling an 11.16 team ERA. The Boilermakers did strikeout 15 in the series finale.
• Kent State (1-2) compiled 8 errors and hit .156 and .133 in two losses to Winthrop; KSU pitchers walked 17 and struck out 31 in the series.
• Cincinnati (1-3) was outscored 41-14 in three losses to the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Ian Happ posted big numbers .438/.938/.500, 2 HR’s and 4 RBI.
• Bowling Green (1-2) played well in winning the opener 7-6, before dropping the last two games of the series to Ohio Valley Conference favorite, Southeast Missouri State University.
• Illinois State (1-2) lost two consecutive games to Arkansas State before the finale was cancelled due to weather. Paul DeJong (.462/.1.077/.500) hit a pair of home runs.
The Ugly…
• Oakland (0-3) scored five runs on the weekend.
• Dayton (0-3) lost to South Carolina-Upstate, Army and Wofford.
• Northwestern (0-3) allowed 10 runs in three games, unfortunately they only scored 6 runs in those same games.
• Butler (0-3) hit .225 as a team and posted a team ERA of 8.14.
• Valparaiso (0-3) gave up 22 runs in the second game with San Diego State.
• Youngstown State (0-3) starters lasted 3.2, 3.1 and 1.2 innings; the staff compiled a 9.75 ERA.
• Southern Illinois (0-3) was shut out twice and scored 4 runs in the second game of their series with Austin Peay.
• ISU-Edwardsville (0-3) lost twice to Oklahoma, 11-1 and 9-1.
• Eastern Illinois (0-3) allowed 18, 10 and 11 runs in three losses to Georgia.
• Miami (0-2) scored 2 runs in two games; the pitching staff allowed 4 home runs.
• Eastern Michigan (0-3) hitters batted .167 against Arizona and struck out 29 times in 96 at bats.
• Western Michigan (0-3) scored 4 runs on the weekend and mustered 15 hits.
• Ball State (0-2) lost to Kentucky and UNC Wilmington, their game with Richmond was cancelled due to cold weather.
• Toledo (0-3) had a bullpen implosion, allowing 16 hits, 10 BB’s and 18 earned runs in 10.1 innings of relief.
• Chicago State (0-3) scored first in all three games at Charleston Southern before surrendering the lead.
