Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Downs Indiana 5-3; Cardinals Win 11th Straight
May 16, 2006 | Baseball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Ball State baseball team extended its winning streak to 11 games with a 5-3 decision Tuesday afternoon at Big 10 opponent Indiana.
The victory, which improves the Cardinals to 32-18 overall, was also BSU's third straight against the Hoosiers. IU fell to 22-30 on the season.
With the game tied at three through six innings, Ball State scored its go-ahead run in the seventh and added an insurance run in the eighth to secure the win.
The Cardinals' game-winning run in the seventh inning was set up by Justin Rogers' two-out single. C.J. Webb reached on an error to advance Rogers to second, before a Kyle Dygert single to left center scored Rogers to give BSU a 4-3 lead.
In the eighth inning, Eric Earnhart smacked a solo home run en route to the 5-3 final score.
Rogers went 3-for-5 on the day and upped his team-best batting average to .345. In the sixth inning with BSU trailing 2-1, Rogers led off the inning with a double and then scored on a Dygert sacrifice fly to tie the score at 2-2.
During Ball State's recent 11-game winning streak, Rogers has been leading the Cardinal attack at the plate. He is 20-for-36 from the plate during the stretch.
"Justin is a good hitter and it's showing," said BSU head coach Greg Beals. "About a month ago we moved him into the five-hole behind Brad Miller and he's done an excellent job protecting him."
Ball State took the early lead with a run in the second inning on an RBI single by Webb. IU answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead, which it held until Rogers' game-tying run in the sixth.
Later in the sixth, the Cardinals took a 3-2 lead on an Earnhart single that scored Jon Byerly, who had been hit by a pitch and advanced to second base on a Brian Meyer walk.
IU evened the score in the bottom of the sixth on a Chris Hervey RBI single before the Cardinals took the lead for good in the seventh.
Ball State used seven pitchers by design on the afternoon and combined to allow just three IU runs. Jeff Michael earned the win, while Kyle Heyne threw the ninth inning for the save.
"We scripted out the innings before the game so our pitchers could get some work," Beals said. "Today was an opportunity so everyone could get polished up and ready to go for the weekend."
Ball State returns to the road for its final Mid-American Conference series of the season with a three-game slate this weekend at Central Michigan.
The Cardinals are in first place in the MAC West Division with a 15-7 record, while the Chippewas are 31-20 overall and a game back at 15-8 in league play.
