Ball State University Athletics
Cardinals Win Third Straight With 10-5 Victory over Western Michigan
April 29, 2006 | Baseball
BSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first as senior first baseman Brad Miller (Muncie, Ind./Central), redshirt-sophomore right fielder Justin Rogers (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) and senior third baseman C.J. Webb (Mascoutah, Ill./Mascoutah) each drove in a run with two outs on the scoreboard. Miller singled up the middle to score junior shortstop Eric Earnhart (Urbana, Ohio/Urbana), while Rogers drove Miller in with a double to left center and Webb knocked in Rogers with a single down the left field line.
The Broncos struck back with four two-out runs in the top of the second inning to take a one-run lead. After two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases, RC Dickerson drove in Kyle Maunus and Nathan Marquardt with a single through the right side. Zach Gentile cleared the bases of Brent Gerlach and Dickerson with a double to right field for WMU's final two scores of the inning.
Ball State was the next to score, as the Cardinals put two runs up in the bottom of the third. With Rogers on second base, senior second baseman Kyle Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola) and senior left fielder Chris Pestle (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) combined for back-to-back, first-pitch RBI doubles to give BSU a 5-4 advantage.
Western Michigan knotted the game at 5-5 with one run in the top of the fourth on a solo blast to left center by Maunus, but it would be the final score registered by the Broncos.
The Cardinals added one run to take the lead in the fifth on Webb's fourth homer of the season, this one a solo shot to left field. In the sixth inning, Rogers' nailed an RBI single up the middle to score senior center fielder Mike Sullivan (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) from second.
In the eighth inning, Miller posted his first triple of the year to drive in Earnhart and Sullivan. Senior Brian Meyer (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold), who replaced Rogers in right field, laid down a sac bunt to score Miller from third for the Cardinals' final run of the game.
Junior Richie Fralick (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) took the mound in the fourth inning and pitched through the seventh to earn the win. Fralick (3-0) posted three strikeouts, while giving up just three hits and one walk in 3.2 innings of work. Senior Kory Bucklew (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) closed out the final two innings – surrendering two hits – to earn his third save of the season.
Ball State, now alone in third place in the MAC West Division standings, is just two games behind first-place Central Michigan and ½ game behind Eastern Michigan. The Eagles host Northern Illinois tonight and then again Sunday afternoon.
The Cardinals and Broncos close out their series tomorrow at 1 p.m.
