Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Wins Game Two At NIU In Eight Innings; Game Three Rained Out
May 14, 2006 | Baseball
Ball State picked up Sunday where it left off Saturday in the suspended second game of its weekend series with Northern Illinois.
Ball State had built a 3-0 lead Saturday before play was suspended after five innings because of darkness. When the game resumed Sunday, the Cardinals quickly added to that lead and extended their lead to 5-0 before the game was called in the eighth inning because of wet field conditions.
Game three of the series was completely rained out.
Mike Ayala was the catalyst for the Ball State offense Sunday. He had both RBI for the Cardinals as they extended their advantage.
Ayala started by adding a run to Ball State's lead in the top of the sixth. Kyle Dygert led off the inning with a triple and Ayala drove him home with a sacrifice fly to right center field to push the Cardinals' lead to 4-0.
In the eighth inning, Ayala brought Dygert around again. Dygert led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a Brian Meyer sac bunt. Ayala then laced a single to center field to score Dygert and give the Cardinals a 5-0 lead.
Ball State reliever Kory Bucklew threw a scoreless sixth and seventh inning in relief of Tyler Pritchard, who had thrown five shutout innings Saturday before the game was suspended.
Rain came in the middle of the eighth inning, and the game was delayed for 30 minutes. After removing the tarp and working on the field for 30 more minutes, the decision was made to call the game, giving Ball State the victory.
The game had been scheduled as game two of a Saturday doubleheader after game one of the series was rained out on Friday. The Cardinals won game one 10-3 and took the game two lead shortly before the game was suspended.
Matt Singleton broke a 0-0 tie in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI groundout that scored pinch runner Nate Fields. Mike Sullivan followed with a sacrifice fly to score Eric Earnhart from third base. Later in the inning, after reaching on a double and advancing to third, Brad Miller scored the third run on a wild pitch.
Pritchard allowed just three hits in shutting out Northern Illinois through five innings before the darkness came. He earned the win to improve to 6-2 on the season.
