Breds Open Season at UNC Asheville

Friday, February 18

Asheville, NC

1 p.m.

Murray State

UNC Asheville

Jake Donze is the top returning pitcher for the Breds in 2011

2/17/2011 10:26:27 AM | Baseball

MSU begins quest for third-straight .500 season

GAME NOTES

GAMES 1-3

MURRAY STATE vs. UNC ASHEVILLE
Feb. 18-20, 2011 • Asheville, N.C.

First Pitch
Friday: 1 p.m.; Saturday: 12 p.m.; Sunday: 12 p.m.
Series History: 1st Meeting
Last Meeting: 1st Meeting
Stadium: Greenwood Field (Capacity: 500)
Dimensions: 325 (LF), 395 (CF), 335 (RF)
Live Stats: None

MURRAY STATE THOROUGHBREDS
Overall Record: 0-0-0
Conference Record: 0-0-0
Last 5/Last 10: -
Streak: -
Website: www.GoRacers.com
Head Coach: Rob McDonald
Career Record: 161-220-2 (8th year)
Record at MSU: 161-220-2 (8th year)

UNC ASHEVILLE Bulldogs
Overall Record: 0-0-0
Conference Record: 0-0-0
Last 5/Last 10: -
Streak: -
Website: www.uncabulldogs.com
Head Coach: Tom Smith
Career Record: 17-35 (2nd year)
Record at UNCA: 17-35 (2nd year)

FIRST PITCH
This weekend marks the start of the 2011 baseball season. The Breds open the season on the road for the seond-straight season when they travel to face UNC Asheville on Feb. 18-20. The series is set to get underway at 1 p.m. Friday, and conclude with a 12 p.m. first pitch Saturday and Sunday.

INSIDE THE SERIES
The Breds and Bulldogs are meeting for the first time on the diamond. The series marks just the second against a team from the Big South Conference. MSU dropped a series (1-2) at Gardner Webb in 2007.

Probable Pitching Matchups
FRIDAY, FEB 18
Pitcher    W-L    ERA    K/BB
Tyler Beers (R)    0-0    0.00    0/0
Ryan Dull (R)    6-4    4.40    45/13

SATURDAY, FEB 19
Pitcher    W-L    ERA    K/BB
Luke Shuemaker (L)    0-0    0.00    0/0
Robert McIntosh (R)    1-1    7.50    9/3

SUNDAY, FEB 20
Pitcher    W-L    ERA    K/BB
Jake Donze (L)    6-6    6.02    71/56
Elliot Criss (R)    0-0    0.00    0/0

Season Openers
The Breds open their 66th season of college baseball as they travel for a three-game series against UNC Asheville. MSU is 29-36-1 in season openers. The Breds have won two-straight season openers, and are 3-4 under Coach McDonald in openers.

Weekend Weather
After having nearly a foot of snow fall last week, the weather for the opening week of the season couldn't look much better. For friday's opener, the temperature is supposed to be 68 degrees under mostly sunny skies, while Saturday has a high of 51 and a high of 64 on Sunday.

Opening on the Road
For the second time in as many seasons, Murray State will begin the season on the road. The Breds opened the 2010 season with a sweep over Lipscomb. MSU is opening the season on the road for the fourth time in the Rob McDonald era. The Breds are 1-2 in openers on the road.

Season-Opening Sweep
The Breds three-game season-opening sweep over Lipscomb in 2010 was the first for the program since 1963. The last three-game opening-weekend sweep came against Delta State on March 21-23, 1963. MSU has had five two-game sweeps over that span.

Breds vs. The Big South
The weekend series will mark just the second for the Breds against a team from the Big South Conference. The only other games came against Gardner-Webb in 2007. The Breds won the series opener, but dropped the final two games of the series.

Breds in the Tar Heel State
Murray State is making just their second trip to the state of North Carolina. The Breds only other trip to the Tar Hell State came on March 3-4, 2007 at Gardner-Webb.

Plenty of New Faces
Murray State will have plenty of new faces on the roster in 2011 as 15 of the 29 players on the roster are newcomers.

Newcomer Gets Ball in Opener
Junior college transfer Tyler Beers will get the ball on opening day as the Breds starting pitcher. He is the first newcomer to get the opening-day start since Kentucky transfer Kalen Gibson in 2006.

Cole Takes Over Pitching Duties
Chris Cole enters his first season as the pitching coach for the Breds. Cole is no stranger to the OVC as he spent the last four seasons as the pitching coach at Tennessee Tech.

Pitching Staff Split
The Breds pitching staff is split in 2011 as MSU features seven right-handed pitches and seven left-handed pitchers.

Inexperience on the Bump
There will not be much experience on the mound in 2011 as only senior Jake Donze has thrown more than 20 innings in his collegiate career. Donze has thrown 155 innings in his career, while the rest of the staff has combined to throw 41.2 innings.

13-Game Homestand
After starting the season with four-straight games on the road, the Breds return to the friendly confines of Reagan Field for a 13-game homestand, which runs from Feb. 25-March 13.

New Bat Standards
The NCAA has changed the standards for the bats in 2011, making them play more like wood bats. All composite bats used must be BBCOR (bat-ball coefficient of restitution) certified.
The new BBCOR standard regulates the flexibility of non-wood bats in their construction along with the resultant “trampoline effect” of balls springing off the striking surface of the barrel. This will be accomplished by making barrel walls thicker and less flexible, or by installing barrel inserts behind the “sweet spot” to block flexing. It also requires that the length/weight differential of bats be no greater than 3.0 (or -3) units without the grip.

Elliott Earns All-America Honors
Shortstop Brandon Elliott made history last season as he became the first player to earn Freshman All-America honors when he was selected to the third team by Ping!Baseball.

Consistency
The Breds have been the most consistent team in the OVC over the past two seasons as MSU is the only team in the conference to finish in the top three in the league standings in each of the past two seasons. The Breds finished second in 2009, and third in 2010.

Breds Pay Tribute to Thomas McGuirk
Murray Sate will play the 2011 season in honor of Thomas McGuirk. On Oct. 2, 2010, the freshman left hander from Medina, Ohio, was killed in a car accident in Murray. This season, the Breds had the initials T.M. stitched into their hats in his honor.

OVC Changes 2012 Schedule
The Ohio Valley Conference recently announced a change to the schedule beginning in 2012. The OVC will now play a three-game conference series on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, moving away from the Saturday doubleheader and Sunday single game.

Breds Picked Sixth
Murray State was picked to finish sixth in 2011 OVC preseason poll, as selected by the league's head coaches. Jacksonville State was tabbed as the preseason favorite.

On Deck
The Breds conclude their four-game road trip to start the season as they travel to face Arkansas State on Feb. 22. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.