Ball State University Athletics
Louisville 4, BSU 0
March 17, 2006 | Baseball
Ball State placed runners on first and second twice in the opening inning, but couldn't register a run prior to the third out.
In the bottom of the third, Louisville put runners on the corners, but failed to score.
U of L put a run on the board in the bottom of the fifth as Michael Urti walked and advanced to third with an error on a pickoff move at first. Urti scored on a fielder's choice RBI by Chris Cates.
Senior second baseman Kyle Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola) notched Ball State's first hit of the game in the top of the sixth, but was picked off while attempting to steal second base to end the inning.
Louisville posted two straight hits to open the bottom of the sixth, as Daniel Burton and Jorge Castillo each knocked the ball into right field. A sac bunt moved them over, followed by a Derrick Alfonso RBI single, giving U of L a 2-0 lead with runners on the corners and one out. Senior catcher Matt Singleton (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) helped the BSU defense end the threat by starting a defensive play that ended with two picked off base runners.
In the bottom of the seventh, Urti doubled to the right field warning track and Pete Rodriguez singled to right-center to put runners on the corners again for U of L. Cates drove in the Cardinals' third run with a sac fly to deep right-center. Nick Haley found a gap in the Ball State defense as he chopped a hit into shallow left field followed by an Isaiah Howes single to shallow right, which scored another run to give U of L a 4-0 lead.
Redshirt-sophomore Ben Snyder (Bellevue, Ohio/Bellevue) made his fifth start, pitching 6.1 innings with six strikeouts, three walks, seven hits and three earned runs.
Senior Jeff Michael (Elkhart, Ind./Concord) entered the game with one out in the bottom of the seventh and finished with 1.2 innings pitched, one strikeout and two hits.
Ball State's mini rally couldn't bring the Cardinals back in the ninth. Senior center fielder Mike Sullivan (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) opened the ninth inning with a single to center field for Ball State's second hit of the game. Singleton pushed him to second on a single down the right field line, while Dygert grounded to the second baseman who got the out at second and then a double play ended the game in favor of Louisville.
Louisville holds a 7-5 all-time series lead, including a 9-1 victory in the last meeting between the squads on March 13, 2004.
The Cardinals continue their series at U of L with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at noon and a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
