Ball State University
Charleston Southern
Bond Jr.'s Homer Lifts Baseball Over Charleston Southern, 9-8
March 12, 2008 | Baseball
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Wayne Bond Jr. blasted a tenth-inning home run Wednesday to lift the Ball State baseball team to a 9-8 victory over Charleston Southern.
The Cardinals -- who were 5-0 in extra-inning games in 2007 -- won their first extra-inning affair of 2008.
Bond stepped to the plate with two outs in the top of the tenth and sent a pitch high over the right center field fence to give Ball State its first lead since the top of the second inning. It was the third homer of the season for the Cardinals' center fielder.
The home run completed a comeback for the Cardinals, who trailed 8-5 through three innings. Ball State pitchers Tyler Pritchard, Eric Van Matre, Aaron Hammons and Kyle Heyne then combined to hold Charleston Southern scoreless over the final seven innings.
Meanwhile, Ball State chipped away offensively one run at a time. In the fifth inning, designated hitter Kolbrin Vitek singled, advanced to third base with two outs and scored on a wild pitch. In the sixth inning, left fielder Justin Rogers belted a two-out home run to bring the Cardinals within one. A Charleston Southern error in the eighth inning allowed the tying run to score, setting the stage for Bond's game-winner.
Bond never would have had that chance, however, without clutch pitching and defense from Ball State in the bottom of the ninth inning. Charleston Southern loaded the bases with one out and threatened to win the game in regulation. Heyne, though, induced a pop-up bunt for the second out. Third baseman T.J. Baumet then fielded a rocketed one-hopper and threw on to first base for the final out of the inning.
Heyne pitched the final three innings for Ball State and earned his second win of the season. Charleston Southern's Payton Tweddale took the loss.
Bond, Vitek and left fielder Kory Benbow led the Cardinals with two hits each. Charleston Southern third baseman Mark Perry led all players fin the game with four hits.
Each team scored a run in the first inning Wednesday, but Charleston Southern out-scored Ball State 6-3 in the second inning to build its lead. The teams then matched runs again in the third inning, giving the Buccaneers their 8-5 lead before the Ball State comeback.
With the win, the Cardinals earned a sweep of the two-game midweek series and improved their record to 4-3 in games decided by one run.
Ball State will now return to Coastal Carolina to conclude its spring break trip this weekend at the Centex Homes Invitational. The Cardinals open the tournament Friday at 4 p.m. against host Coastal Carolina. They will then play Michigan and Presbyterian College on Saturday before ending the weekend Sunday with another contest against Presbyterian College.
