Ball State University Athletics
Ball State Hands Dayton 16-5 Loss
April 11, 2006 | Baseball
The Cardinals started strong with five runs in the first inning. Senior first baseman Brad Miller (Muncie, Ind./Central) lined a shot into left field in the top of the first for an RBI double, driving in senior center fielder Mike Sullivan (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) who reached on a walk. Redshirt-sophomore right fielder Justin Rogers (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) singled to right center – extending his hitting streak to a season-high 13 games – to score Miller from second. Senior third baseman C.J. Webb (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) singled through the right side and senior second baseman Kyle Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola) reached on catcher's interference to load bases. A walk of senior left fielder Chris Pestle (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) forced in Rogers from third, then a single to center by junior Matt Gard (Muncie, Ind./Central) drove in Webb and Dygert for the final runs of the inning.
Freshman Jay Broughton (Indianapolis, Ind./Triton Central) threw three innings of hitless ball, before being broken up with a single up the middle in the bottom of the fourth during his fourth start of the season.
Ball State added three runs in the fifth, as Sullivan singled through right side and moved to third with a hit-and-run play on Miller's single through the right side. Rogers hit a liner back off the pitcher's glove for an RBI infield single to score Sullivan, then Webb hit a hopper to the second baseman, who mishandled the play, allowing Miller to score. BSU added its eighth run of the game on a Dygert groundout to second, scoring Rogers from third base.
Dayton posted its second hit of the game in the sixth with a double off the center field wall by Josh Burt. After a walk of Kevin Miller, Michael Massa reached on a fielder's choice with Miller out at second. The Flyers scored on a single popped up into center field, with Burt crossing the plate for their first run of the game. Galen Schumm nailed a three-run shot off the top of the left field wall to cut the score to 8-4 in the sixth frame.
Redshirt-sophomore Ben Snyder (Bellevue, Ohio/Bellevue) took the mound to replace Broughton, who finished 5.1 innings with four hits, four earned runs, three strikeouts and one walk.
The Cardinals erased Dayton's four-run sixth by adding eight of their own in the seventh. Miller smashed his ninth homer of the season over the left center fence on a 2-1 count, giving the Cardinals a five-run cushion at 9-4. Rogers drilled his second triple of the year to center field, then Webb hit an infield single off the pitcher to score Rogers. Dygert reached on a fielder's choice followed by a Pestle single through the left side, then Gard doubled down the right field line to score both. Sullivan doubled down the left field line to score Gard and push senior catcher Matt Singleton (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) to third. An error by the Flyers' third baseman allowed two runs to score and Miller to reach second, with the score now 15-4. Rogers notched his fourth hit of the day with a single through the right side. Miller scored on a failed pickoff attempt at first base for BSU's last run of the inning, ahead 16-4.
Senior Jeff Michael (Elkhart, Ind./Concord) retired the side in the seventh with three strikeouts.
Michael loaded the bases in the eighth after a hit batter, single to center and a walk. A sac fly to center scored Massa for the Flyers' lone run of the inning, moving the score to 16-5 in favor of BSU.
Freshman Cory Dragstrem (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) posted a single to the third baseman in the ninth for his first collegiate hit, but Ball State didn't register a run in the inning.
Freshman Adam Quinn (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) finished the pitching duties for the Cardinals in the ninth. Broughton (2-1) picked up the win.
The Cardinals host IPFW (11-14) tomorrow for a 3 p.m. game at Ball Diamond, before traveling to Kent State (17-11, 6-3 MAC) this weekend.
