Ball State University
Bowling Green
Cardinal Bats Get Hot In 11-7 Win Over Bowling Green
March 18, 2007 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State baseball team exploded with season-highs for hits and runs Sunday afternoon at Ball Diamond as the Cardinals defeated Bowling Green 11-7 to close out the Ball State Invitational.
Ball State (8-10) pounded out 18 hits and scored in every inning but two as they earned their seventh win in the past 10 games. Shortstop Eric Earnhart recorded a season-high four hits, and right fielder Kory Benbow blasted two home runs - his second and third of the season.
Five other Cardinals had multiple hits in the game, including three for first baseman Matt Stoeklen and two each for second baseman Jeremy Hazelbaker, center fielder Wayne Bond, left fielder Justin Rogers and third baseman Matt Gard. Stoeklen extended his hitting streak to nine games, tying him for the best streak of the season with Gard, who hit safely in nine straight earlier this year.
On the mound, Ryan DeGeeter earned his third win in a row. The senior right-hander pitched 5.0 innings, allowing three runs - two earned - on four hits to improve his record to 3-2.
The Cardinals travel to Louisville for a 1 p.m. contest on Tuesday before returning home to begin a three-game series with Akron Friday at 1 p.m. in the Mid-American Conference opener.
Ball State got off to a hot start Sunday, scoring the first six runs of the game, including a four-run second inning. The Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs in the second before Rogers brought two runs home on a single to left field. Stoeklen followed with an RBI single to left, and Earnhart brought home the final run of the inning on a single through the right side.
Bowling Green did some damage in the middle innings, scoring one run in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth, but Benbow made sure Ball State continued to have a comfortable cushion. The freshman belted a two-run home run in the fourth inning and crushed another two-run shot in the sixth, giving Ball State a 10-5 lead heading into the seventh inning.
The Cardinals added one run in the seventh inning on another RBI single from Earnhart. Bowling Green then pushed three runs across in the eighth, but that was all the Falcons could manage. Kyle Heyne entered the game in the ninth for Ball State and sent the Falcons down in order to seal the win.
Benbow's four RBI led the Ball State offense, followed by Earnhart and Rogers with two each. Bowling Green right fielder Andrew Foster led the Falcons with three hits on the day, and center fielder Kurt Wells added two.
