Jan. 29, 2010

Ball State has been picked as the team to beat in the Mid-American Conference, in voting by the league’s head coaches and released by the conference office.

The Cardinals received 72 points as the favorite to win the West Division and were selected by five coaches to win the MAC Tournament.

Ball State returns 16 letterwinners from last season’s West Division championship squad. Highlighting the list of returnees is junior Kolbrin Vitek, a preseason All-American. He batted .389 with 25 doubles and 67 RBI.

Bowling Green earned 64 points to emerge as the leader in the East Division, edging Kent State with 61 points. The Golden Flashes received three votes to win the MAC Tournament, while the Falcons garnered two votes.

The regular season opens on Friday, Feb. 19. The 2010 MAC Tournament will be held May 26-29 at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

2010 Predicted Order of Finish

(2009 MAC/overall records, points)

West Division

1 Ball State (14-10, 26-25) 72

2 Toledo (14-12, 24-30) 52

3 Central Michigan (12-15, 28-30) 44

4 Eastern Michigan (13-14, 25-35) 35

5 Northern Illinois (10-16, 19-34) 29

6 Western Michigan (9-18, 14-35) 21

East Division

1 Bowling Green (18-8, 28-22) 64

2 Kent State (17-9, 43-17) 61

3 Ohio (18-9, 29-24) 49

4 Miami (15-12, 30-25) 39

5 Akron (12-15, 19-33) 25

6 Buffalo (6-20, 20-35) 14

Tournament Champion

Ball State (5), Kent State (3), Bowling Green (2), Eastern Michigan (1), Miami (1)