Ball State University
Akron
DeGeeter Pitches Cards To Win, Split Of Sunday Doubleheader
March 25, 2007 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. - After losing the first game of Sunday's doubleheader with Akron 13-5, the Ball State baseball team rebounded with a 6-4 win in the second game.
Ryan DeGeeter earned his fourth straight win on the mound in game two, pitching 8.1 strong innings, and the Cardinals scored all the runs they would need in a big third inning.
By virtue of its win in Sunday's second game, Ball State (10-12, 2-1 MAC) won the first Mid-American Conference series of the season, taking two out of three games from the Zips (10-6, 1-2 MAC) over the weekend.
"I told our guys between games that we needed to put game one behind us and focus on game two," Ball State coach Greg Beals said. "Our goal going into these weekend series is to win two out of three games, and our guys did a good job of bouncing back and getting that done."
The Cardinals now prepare for two midweek games at Ball Diamond. Ball State will host Indianapolis Tuesday and Purdue Wednesday. Both of those games are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
After falling behind 2-0 through two innings in Sunday's second game, DeGeeter settled in. From the third inning through the eighth inning, the senior right-hander allowed only three baserunners, and none advanced past first base. DeGeeter retired the side in order in four of those six innings.
The Ball State bats gave DeGeeter the lead with a five-run third inning. After designated hitter Nate Fields and catcher Zach Dygert reached to start the inning, the Cardinals executed a double steal to put two runners in scoring position. Center fielder Wayne Bond followed with a double down the left field line to score both runners and tie the game 2-2.
Bond later advanced to third and scored on an error, and right fielder Kory Benbow finished the scoring for the inning with a two-run home run to straight away center field, giving Ball State a 5-2 lead. The homer was the second of the weekend for Benbow and his team-leading fifth blast of the season.
Seven Ball State players picked up a hit in game two, and eight Cardinals recorded at least one hit on the day.
"We're very balanced as far as the strength of our lineup," Beals said. "We're balanced all the way through, and I think that's really tough for other teams to deal with."
Ball State added another run in the sixth inning on an RBI single from second baseman Jeremy Hazelbaker, and that was more than enough for DeGeeter.
After the early innings, DeGeeter didn't find any trouble until the ninth, when he gave up a two-run home run to Akron's Doug McNulty, which cut Ball State's lead to 6-4. But Adam Quinn came out of the Cardinal bullpen to pick up an out, and closer Kyle Heyne entered to get the game's final out and pick up his sixth save of the season.
Heyne is now four saves shy of tying the school's all-time record for career saves.
Ball State was able to rebound well from a 13-5 loss in Sunday's opening game. The Cardinals held and early lead in game one but were unable to keep up with the Zips at the plate.
Ball State took a 4-1 lead through two innings, but Akron quickly responded with three runs in the top of the third to even the score. After the Cardinals briefly regained the advantage with a run in the bottom of the third, Akron took the lead for good with a two-run fourth.
The Zips would tack on seven more runs, scoring in every inning but two, to earn the win. Phil Bednar led Akron with a 4-for-6 effort at the plate in the Zips' win, and Scott Gunn had a team-high four RBI. Hazelbaker and Benbow had two hits each in the Ball State loss. Steven Zemanek II went the distance for Akron to earn the win on the mound, allowing five runs on seven hits.
Prior to Sunday's games, Ball State honored its 2006 MAC Tournament Championship team with a ring ceremony. Twenty players from the championship team were on hand to receive their rings commemorating the first MAC Tournament title in school history. Ball State President Dr. Jo Ann Gora and Athletics Director Tom Collins were on the field to hand out the rings with coach Greg Beals.
