Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Toledo
Seven-Run Eighth Lifts Baseball Over Toledo Saturday
May 17, 2008 | Baseball
TOLEDO, Ohio -- The Ball State baseball team was down to its final six outs Saturday at Toledo. The Cardinals trailed 6-3 through seven innings with their hopes of securing a Mid-American Conference Tournament berth in jeopardy.
Then the Cardinals came to bat in the eighth inning. By the time they were done, they had turned a three-run deficit into a 10-6 lead with seven runs on six hits and a Toledo error.
Ball State then tacked on one run in the top of the ninth and survived a small Toledo rally in the bottom of the inning to hold on for an 11-8 victory.
The win locked up a spot for Ball State in next week's MAC Tournament. The Cardinals have earned the No. 5 seed and will play fourth-seeded Northern Illinois Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the first round. Ball State finishes the regular season with a record of 27-23 (12-11 MAC), while Toledo wraps up their season with a mark of 18-31 (10-13 MAC).
Ball State started the eighth inning Saturday quietly enough. Third baseman Matt Stoeklen reached when the Toledo defense lost his pop-up in the sun. Pinch hitter Jeremy Hazelbaker then reached on a Toledo error to put runners on first and second base with no outs.
That's when the Ball State bats really got hot. A double from shortstop Dean Anna scored one run, and a wild pitch plated another to bring Ball State within one run at 6-5. After a pair of outs, catcher Zach Dygert stepped in and bounced a single through the left side of the infield to bring the tying run home.
The Cardinals, though, were just getting started. Designated hitter Alex Schmid singled and then, following another wild pitch, Joe Mack -- who had entered the game an inning earlier as a pinch hitter -- ripped a single through the right side to score two runs and put the Cardinals on top 8-6. First baseman Justin Rogers then wrapped up the scoring for the inning on a two-run blast to give Ball State a commanding 10-6 lead.
Seven different Cardinals tallied two hits in the game as Ball State pounded out 18 hits as a team. Four Cardinals recorded multiple RBI in the win.
Saturday's game was a reversal of roles for both teams after the first two games of the series. In Thursday's and Friday's games, Ball State built early leads, but Toledo came from behind to win. In Saturday's contest, it was Toledo that grabbed the early lead.
The Rockets put four runs on the board in the opening inning. After Toledo put runners on second and third with one out, designated hitter Aaron Dudley plated a run on an RBI ground out, and shortstop Jared Hoying brought another home on a line drive single. Center fielder Drew Hoisington then capped the scoring for the inning with a two-run homer to put Toledo on top 4-0.
Ball State cut into the Toledo lead with two runs in the third inning. Center fielder Wayne Bond Jr. led off the inning with a double, and right fielder Kory Benbow followed with a home run to cut the Toledo advantage to 4-2. Bond's double extended his school record hitting streak to 27 games.
As quickly as Ball State had trimmed the lead down to two runs, Toledo opened it back up to four in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run homer from Dudley.
The Cardinals went to their bullpen in the fifth inning, and reliever Tom Mueller delivered. The left-hander pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, to keep Ball State in the game through the middle innings. Mueller earned the win for the Cardinals, and closer Kyle Heyne pitched the final two innings.
The Cardinals scored their third run of the game on a seventh-inning solo home run from catcher Zach Dygert before their eighth-inning explosion.
