Ball State University
Bowling Green
Baseball Drops 18-16 Decision Saturday To Bowling Green
April 12, 2008 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State baseball team matched Bowling Green hit for hit in an offensive contest Saturday at Ball Diamond, but the Cardinals came up on the short end of an 18-16 decision.
Much of the game was played in a drizzle with the wind blowing out like it was a day earlier in the series opener. After the teams combined for 12 home runs in Friday's game, they pounded out nine more in Saturday's contest. Ball State out-homered Bowling Green 5-4, but four of the Cardinals' home runs were solo shots.
Left fielder Kory Benbow led Ball State with a perfect 5-for-5 effort at the plate. Benbow belted two doubles and a home run, finishing the game a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Right fielder Justin Rogers collected four hits in the game, while outfielder Ryan Chenoweth recorded a team-high three RBI courtesy of a three-run homer in the seventh inning.
Ball State (18-11, 6-2 MAC) made things interesting by mounting a furious ninth-inning comeback. The Cardinals trailed 18-11 entering the bottom of the ninth but rallied for five runs and brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate before Bowling Green pitcher Kevin Leady secured the final out for the Falcons.
Ball State sent ten batters to the plate in that final inning and racked up five hits. The Cardinals scored runs on a balk and a pair of RBI singles from Rogers and center fielder Wayne Bond Jr. Pinch hitter Alex Schmid then laced a two RBI double to bring the Cardinals within two runs.
Leady pitched the final two outs for Bowling Green to pick up the save. Falcons starting pitcher Kevin Light earned the win, while Brenden Stines took the loss for Ball State.
The Cardinals led 3-2 after the first inning, but Bowling Green (15-12, 6-2 MAC) took control with nine runs in the top of the second. All four Falcon home runs came in that inning, including a three-run shot from first baseman Brian Hangbers and a two-run blast from left fielder Mark Galvin.
Ball State clawed back with three runs in the bottom of the second, but Bowling Green posted four more runs in the third inning to grab a 15-6 lead.
The Cardinals chipped away with a run in the fourth, a run in the sixth and three runs in the seventh on Chenoweth's homer. Bowling Green scored a run of its own in the seventh and led 16-11 heading into the eighth.
The Falcons then scored two eighth-inning runs, which proved to be decisive. Bowling Green scored on a sacrifice fly from Hangbers and an RBI double from second baseman Logan Meisler to extend its lead to 18-11 and provide some insurance before Ball State's five-run ninth.
Hangbers, Meisler and center fielder Andrew Foster led Bowling Green with four hits each, while Galvin posted a team-high four RBI.
The Cardinals and the Falcons will meet again Sunday in the third and final game of this weekend's series. The first pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Ball Diamond.
