Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Northern Illinois
Cardinals Drop Series Opener Friday To Northern Illinois
May 11, 2007 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Six Northern Illinois batters picked up multiple hits Friday at Ball Diamond, while only one Cardinal could accomplish that feat. The result was a 7-3 loss for the Ball State baseball team in the first game of this weekend's Mid-American Conference series.
Tyler Rogers recorded two hits for Ball State, and both were doubles to right center field. Five other Cardinals recorded one hit each in the loss.
The three-game series resumes Saturday at 1 p.m., and the series finale is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Ball State (16-32, 5-17 MAC) trailed Northern Illinois Friday by just one run through six innings at 3-2. But the Huskies (28-19, 14-8 MAC) piled up four runs over the final three innings, and the Cardinals could muster only one run during that stretch.
After Northern Illinois put two runs on the board in the top of the seventh inning to take a 5-2 lead, Ball State got one run back in the bottom of the seventh when Rogers doubled, advanced to third on a Wayne Bond ground out and scored on a wild pitch.
The Huskies, though, went on to put the game out of reach with two more runs in the eighth inning on a Daniel Jewett two-RBI single.
Northern Illinois' Trevor Feeney earned the win on the mound after allowing three runs in 6.1 innings. Ryan DeGeeter started for Ball State and earned the loss after allowing three runs - but only two earned runs - in six innings.
Early in the game, Northern Illinois jumped out to a 3-1 lead after scoring one run in each of the first three innings. Ball State's only run during that stretch came in the bottom of the first inning on a Wayne Bond solo home run. The round-tripper was the fifth of the season for the junior center fielder, who has now homered in two straight games and four of the past seven.
The Cardinals also scored a run in the fifth inning on a Jeremy Hazelbaker ground out that scored Rogers following his first double of the day.
