Ball State University Athletics
Cardinals Strike Back with 7-0 Shutout of EMU; Fall 5-4 in Series Finale
April 22, 2006 | Baseball
SERIES GAME TWO
After EMU failed to score the game's first runner in scoring position during the third inning, Ball State senior first baseman Brad Miller (Muncie, Ind./Central) slugged his 12th home run of the season over the left field wall in the fourth to give the Cardinals their first lead of the series.
In the fifth, senior catcher Matt Singleton (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) doubled to right center field to score senior left fielder Chris Pestle (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) from third base. Pestle singled down left field line, moved to second on a sac bunt and advanced to third on groundout. Senior center fielder Mike Sullivan (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) drove a single to deep left center, allowing Singleton to score from second. Miller capped off the inning by slugging a two-run shot, his second home run of the game, over the left field wall to score Sullivan and land BSU a 5-0 lead.
The Cardinals drove in another run in the eighth as junior designated hitter Matt Gard (Muncie, Ind./Central) posted a single past the second baseman to score senior second baseman Kyle Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola), who singled through right side.
In the ninth, Miller slugged his third homer of the game -- a solo shot -- to move the score to 7-0. It is the second time this season that Miller has notched three home runs in a game, with the first coming April 4 against Valparaiso.
Sophomore Tyler Pritchard (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) picked up the win to move to 4-2 on the season. Pritchard finished five innings, striking out five batters, while allowing six hits, one walk and no earned runs.
Junior Richie Fralick (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) earned the save by closing out the final four innings, allowing two hits while walking two batters.
The combined shutout is just the second of the season for BSU, with the first coming in a 5-0 defeat of Miami on April 1. The win is also the first night game victory for the Cardinals this year, after going 0-5 in their first five attempts.
SERIES GAME THREE
The rain started falling just as game three of the series got underway and it took until the bottom of the fourth inning for the first run to score.
Eastern Michigan's Derek Lehrman doubled down the left field line to drive in Steve Bradshaw to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead after four.
Ball State first baseman Brad Miller nailed a solo home run in the fifth to knot the game at 1-1, this time over the right field wall. Miller, who has 44 career long balls and four this weekend, is five homers away from tying Matt Wood for the BSU career mark (49).
The Eagles regained their lead in the sixth as Lehrman drove in his second run of the game with a single to shallow center, scoring Jeff Davis. Jeff Hehr doubled to deep left center field to add two more EMU runs, as Lehrman and Josh Ivan crossed the plate to push the score to 4-1.
Senior third baseman C.J. Webb (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) singled through the left side in the seventh to score Miller, then Webb and redshirt-sophomore right fielder Justin Rogers (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) each advanced two bases on a throwing error. Dygert drove a sac fly to center field, scoring Webb from third and tying the game at 4-4.
Redshirt-sophomore Kyle Heyne (Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater) pitched the final three innings in the losing effort, dropping his record to 3-5 on the season. EMU's Steve Bradshaw singled to left center field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning to score Isaiah Gainforth from third for the game-winning run.
The Cardinals host the Butler Bulldogs Wednesday for a 3 p.m. game at Ball Diamond, before hosting the Western Michigan Broncos for a weekend conference series.
