Ball State University Athletics
Ball State Earns Non-Conference Win Over Butler
April 26, 2006 | Baseball
Butler's Stephen Gill posted the first run of the game, scoring on an RBI groundout by Tony Barnes in the top of the first inning.
The Cardinals posted two runs in the bottom of the first as senior first baseman Brad Miller (Muncie, Ind./Central) singled to center field, scoring junior shortstop Eric Earnhart (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana) from second base. Senior center fielder Mike Sullivan (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) later reached home plate on a sac fly by redshirt-sophomore Justin Rogers (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) to center field.
The Bulldogs added two runs on solo blasts by Joel Matheny and Barnes in the second and third innings, respectively, to take a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Miller scored on a catcher's interference call during senior second baseman Kyle Dygert's (Angola, Ind./Angola) at bat. Senior left fielder Chris Pestle (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) drove in Dygert and senior third baseman C.J. Webb (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) when he nailed his seventh home run of the season over the left field fence.
With a double to center field, Pestle drove Dygert home from first and then scored on junior designated hitter Matt Gard's (Muncie, Ind./Central) single to left center for the final run of the game by either team.
Senior pitcher Jeff Michael (Elkhart, Ind./Concord) picked up the win in two innings of relief work. Michael (2-0) posted three strikeouts, while allowing just two hits against eight batters. Butler's Joe Ochs (0-2) suffered the loss, working three innings and giving up six earned runs.
Ball State now owns a 66-43 all-time series lead over Butler, including two straight wins.
The Cardinals host Western Michigan University (20-15) this weekend in a Mid-American Conference series. With 8-7 conference records, BSU and WMU are tied for third in the MAC West Division alongside Northern Illinois, behind first-place Central Michigan (10-5) and second-place Eastern Michigan (9-6).
