Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
IPFW
Offense Explodes For Cardinals In Tuesday Win At IPFW
May 15, 2007 | Baseball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - With the wind blowing straight out Tuesday at IPFW's Mastodon Field, offense was the name of the game.
The Ball State baseball team out-slugged the Mastodons to earn a 21-10 win in a rain-shortened, eight-inning game. It was the Cardinals' final road game and final non-conference contest of the season.
Ball State's 21 runs were a season-best, and the team also cranked out season-highs with 24 hits and 20 RBI. Tyler Rogers led the Cardinals with a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate, and Jeremy Hazelbaker recorded a game-high four RBI.
Ball State (18-33) took an early lead with a Matt Stoeklen RBI double in the first inning and extended its advantage with five more runs in the second inning. Following a second-inning single from Zach Dygert and a double from Nate Fields, Alex Schmid brought Dygert home on a sacrifice fly. Rogers then lined a hard single up the middle to plate Fields from second. After a Wayne Bond single put runners on first and third, Hazelbaker blasted a three-run homer - his fifth of the season - to extend Ball State's lead to 6-0.
The early lead, though, was short-lived. IPFW (9-37) rallied back to take the lead with seven runs in the bottom of the second inning. The Mastodons collected seven hits in the inning, highlighted by a pair of three-run home runs from Nick Millspaugh and Jared Davis.
Ball State managed a run in the third inning on a Schmid RBI single to tie the game, and IPFW scored again in the fifth on a Nick Diem solo home run to take the lead back at 8-7.
The Cardinals responded with seven runs in the top of the sixth inning to take the lead for good. Hazelbaker plated the first run of the inning with an RBI triple. Eric Earnhart followed with a sacrifice fly, and Stoeklen blasted a solo home run. Later in the inning, Fields laced a two-run double, and Schmid and Rogers each added RBI singles to give Ball State a 14-8 advantage.
Stoeklen's home run was his eighth of the season, tying him for the team lead.
IPFW tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, and Ball State picked up two more in the top of the seventh on a Chenoweth two-run homer. The Cardinals added five runs in the top of the eighth, highlighted by a Joe Mack three-run blast, before the game was called because of rain.
Ball State returns to action Thursday at Ball Diamond with the first game of its season-ending series with Central Michigan. Thursday's first pitch is slated for 3 p.m.
