Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Central Michigan
Senior DeGeeter Pitches Cardinals To Victory In Final Start
May 17, 2007 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State pitcher Ryan DeGeeter made his final collegiate start a good one.
The senior right-hander out-dueled one of the Mid-American Conference's top pitchers Thursday in Central Michigan's Josh Collmenter as the Ball State baseball team earned a 2-1 win at Ball Diamond.
By defeating the MAC-leading Chippewas (34-18, 20-5 MAC) in the opening game of its season-ending series, Ball State (19-33, 7-18 MAC) earned its third consecutive win and its second straight victory in conference play.
The Cardinals and Chippewas return to the field for the second game of the series at 1 p.m. Friday, and Saturday's game is also slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
In Thursday's contest, Ball State allowed the game's leadoff batter to score but shut Central Michigan down the rest of the way. DeGeeter pitched out of a bases-loaded jam to limit the Chippewas to that one run.
Central Michigan's Cody Allen led of the game with a single, advanced to second base on a single from Billy Anderson and moved to third on a Tyler Stovall walk. DeGeeter then retired the next three batters on a strikeout, a sacrifice fly that scored Allen from third, and a groundout.
Ball State knotted the score 1-1 in the second inning on a Zach Dygert RBI single that scored Matt Stoeklen. The Cardinals then took the lead in the fourth inning when Ryan Chenoweth turned on a Collmenter pitch and sent it deep over the right field wall for a solo home run, his seventh of the year.
Solid pitching the rest of the way held both teams scoreless over the final five innings.
DeGeeter earned the win, pitching seven innings and allowing one run while striking out five batters. After the first inning, DeGeeter sent the Chippewas down in order three times over the next six frames. Central Michigan nearly scored in the fourth inning, but left fielder Nate Fields cut down a Chippewa base runner at the plate. DeGeeter then loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth inning but struck out the next batter to end that threat.
Collmenter threw the complete game for Central Michigan, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out seven in a losing effort.
Josh Vollmer pitched the eighth inning for Ball State before giving way to closer Kyle Heyne in the ninth. Heyne finished out the game to preserve the one-run victory. In doing so, he picked up his 10th save of the season, and the 24th of his career, tying him for first place with Ron Schrock (1983-85) on Ball State's all-time list.
