Ball State University Athletics
Baseball Drops Game One At Central Michigan
May 18, 2006 | Baseball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The Ball State baseball team rallied for five ninth-inning runs Thursday but came up short in the first game of a three-game series at Central Michigan.
The Chippewas did the majority of their damage in their first and last at bats on their way to a 9-6 victory that halted Ball State's winning streak at 11 games.
Second baseman Noah Lankford led Central Michigan with a perfect 3-for-3 effort at the plate and four RBI. On the mound, Josh Collmenter allowed eight hits but only one Ball State run in eight innings on his way to earning the win.
When Collmenter left the game after the eighth, the Cardinal bats came alive. Kyle Dygert led off the ninth inning with a double for Ball State. After Chris Pestle was hit by a pitch, Mike Ayala drove Dygert home with an RBI single that advanced Pestle to third base. Pestle scored on a Matt Singleton infield single.
With runners on the corners and one out, Mike Sullivan blasted a three run homer to left center field to cut the deficit to 9-6.
After Brad Miller walked, Justin Rogers singled up the middle and C.J. Webb flied out to center, Dygert came to the plate again as the potential tying run. Dygert hit the ball hard and deep, but Central Michigan center fielder Cody Allen chased it down to end the game.
"I'm proud of how our guys stayed in there and kept competing," Ball State coach Greg Beals said. "We got back in the game and gave ourselves a chance to win."
But the lead Central Michigan had built proved too large for Ball State to overcome.
The Chippewas had wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Central Michigan loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning before Lankford tripled off the left field wall to score three runs. Lankford then came home on a wild pitch to give Central Michigan a 4-0 lead.
The Chippewas added another run in the second inning on a squeeze play. James Teas broke from third base with the pitch, and J.T. Jones laid down a perfect bunt to make the score 5-0.
Cardinals' starting pitcher Ben Snyder held Central Michigan scoreless through the next three innings, but Lankford struck again with a home run in the sixth inning to push the Chippewas' advantage to 6-0.
Through the first six innings, the Cardinals got base hits and put runners in scoring position, but they could not bring any runners home.
"We lacked a little bit of timely hitting today," Beals said. "We did okay with the bats. We just didn't get the hits when we needed them."
Ball State got on the board with a run in the seventh inning on a Eric Earnhart sacrifice fly, but Central Michigan added the three insurance runs it would need in the eighth inning to take a 9-1 lead into the ninth.
Rogers continued his hot hitting for Ball State, going 4-for-5 at the plate. He is 24 for his last 41 for a btting average of .585 during that stretch. His season average of .358 leads the team.
The loss drops Ball State to 32-19 (15-8 MAC) while Central Michigan improves to 33-20 (16-8 MAC). The two teams will play game two of the series Friday at 3 p.m. and the final game of the series Saturday at 1 p.m.
