Live Stats | 'Berg Athletics Network
TIFFIN, Ohio—The Heidelberg University baseball team will end the 2012 regular season Saturday by hosting Capital University in an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader at Peaceful Valley in Tiffin, Ohio. A sweep will clinch a berth in the upcoming OAC Baseball Tournament for the Berg for the 10th straight season. Seniors Daniel Brannum (Jamestown/Greeneview), Ricardo Lizcano (Toledo/Start), Sly Nino (Willard), Ross Pruitt (Elletsville, Ind./Edgewood) and Elvin Williams (Euclid) will play in their final home game and will be honored following the conclusion of the doubleheader.
Live stats for both games will be available here. In addition, both games will be broadcast live on the ‘Berg Athletics Network. Jeff Garvin will have the call.
Heidelberg (23-15, 9-7 OAC) is riding a season-long six-game winning streak following an 8-5 win Tuesday at Defiance, in which Lizcano collected six total bases on his eighth home run and 12th double of the season, and now stands alone as the school career leader with 425.
The Berg offense is paced by Pruitt and Lizcano. Pruitt (.374, 33 RBI, 0 HR, 36 R) is fourth in the OAC in hits, fifth in runs-batted in and runs scored, and seventh in batting average. He also leads the team with 18 multi-hit games, including six with three or more safeties. Lizcano (.331, 43, 8, 35) leads the circuit in home runs, slugging percentage (.669) and walks (27), is second in RBI, sixth in on-base percentage (.459) and tied for seventh in runs. He also leads the team with 13 games with two or more RBI and needs one triple to break a tie with Jeremy Wentworth (2006-09) for the school career record.
On the mound, freshman right-hander Ryan Minteer (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) and junior righty Tyler Fruhwirth (Beavercreek) lead the starting rotation. Minteer (3.31 ERA, 31 K, 49.0 IP) is 3-2 in 10 appearances (seven starts) with two complete games and one shutout. He scattered four hits and allowed one run while striking out six batters in a complete game effort in his last outing. Fruhwirth (4.31 ERA, 33 K, 56.1 IP) is 4-3 in 11 appearances (nine starts) with two complete games and one shutout. He is tied for sixth in the league in innings pitched.
Brannum and junior right-hander Teddy Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) have combined to account for nearly 60 percent of the team’s appearances out of the bullpen. Brannum (4.09, 37, 44.0) has made 21 appearances and is tied for fourth in the OAC in wins (7-0) and tied for eighth in strikeouts. Lowe (5.04, 18, 30.1) is 3-2 with one save in a team-high 22 appearances.
Capital (15-20, 4-11 OAC) has won three of its last five games following a doubleheader split Sunday with Columbus cross-town rival Otterbein University. The Crusader attack is led by Ryan Pearson (.330, 16 RBI, 0 HR, 22 R) and Patrick Jackson (.326, 33 RBI, 1 HR, 31 R). Jackson is tied with Pruitt for fifth in the OAC in RBI and leads the team with 16 stolen bases in 16 attempts.
Robert Fravel and Garrett Griffin anchor the pitching staff. Fravel (4.78, 14, 49.0) is 3-1 in 12 appearances (eight starts) with two complete games, while Griffin (5.53, 22, 53.2) is 3-4 in 12 appearances (11 starts) with one shutout and is 10th in the league in innings pitched. Jeremy Finchum (4.99, 19, 52.1) has made nine appearances out of the bullpen and is 4-4, while Michael Flegal (11.22, 27, 25.2) is 1-4 in 14 appearances.
The 2012 OAC Baseball Tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday, May 10-12 at either Marietta College or the University of Mount Union, each of which has clinched no worse than the No. 2 seed.