Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Northern Illinois (No. 4 seed)
Baseball Homers Four Times But Falls To Northern Illinois
May 21, 2008 | Baseball
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio -- The fifth-seeded Ball State baseball team built an early lead Wednesday but saw it slip away in a 13-7 loss to No. 4 seed Northern Illinois in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
In a match-up between the second- and third-place teams in the MAC West Division, Northern Illinois' third baseman Jordin Hood and designated hitter Justin Behm led all players with three hits each.
Ball State center fielder Wayne Bond Jr. and right fielder Kory Benbow led the Cardinals with a pair of hits each. With his two hits, Bond extended his school record hitting streak to 28 games. The senior has posted multiple hits in 14 of those 28 contests.
With the loss, Ball State drops into the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament. The Cardinals will play Thursday at 12:30 p.m. against No. 8 seed Central Michigan, which lost in Wednesday's final game to No. 1 seed Kent State.
Fans can follow the game and the entire tournament live through MAC Tournament Central at www.mac-sports.com. The site features live stats and live video for each game.
Ball State (27-24) and Northern Illinois (27-24) combined for six home runs in Wednesday's game, and four of those came from Ball State. The Cardinals scored all of their runs via the home run, and Ball State built a substantial lead early thanks to the long ball.
After going down in order in the first inning, Ball State found the scoreboard early in the second inning courtesy of catcher Zach Dygert. The sophomore second team All-MAC selection led off the top of the second with his 12th home run of the season to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
Ball State then extended its lead to six runs thanks to a pair of home runs and a five-spot in the third inning. After a one out single from shortstop Dean Anna, Bond went deep to the opposite field to put the Cardinals on top 3-0. The home run was the team-leading 14th of the season for Bond, a first team All-MAC selection.
Ball State then continued the inning with a double from first baseman Justin Rogers and an infield single from Benbow to put two runners on with two outs for third baseman Matt Stoeklen. Following in Bond's footsteps, Stoeklen lifted a pitch high over the right field fence for a three-run shot as the Cardinals opened up a 6-0 lead.
The lead, though, did not hold. Northern Illinois scored eight unanswered runs over the next two innings to grab the lead at 8-6.
The Huskies plated five runs in the fourth inning -- all unearned -- with the help of three Ball State errors. Northern Illinois left fielder Jeff Thomas highlighted the scoring by capping off the inning with a three-run home run.
Northern Illinois then picked up in the fifth inning where it had left off. The Huskies scored three runs in the fifth on a two-run homer from Behm and an RBI single from second baseman Joe Buonavolanto to take the lead. Northern Illinois would never lose that lead.
After a solo home run from Benbow in the top of the sixth inning brought Ball State within one run, Northern Illinois managed two more runs in the bottom of the inning to open its lead up to 10-7.
The Huskies then tacked on one run in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth. Northern Illinois scored in every frame after the third, while Ball State could only manage one run over the final six innings.
The Huskies' Trevor Feeney earned the win on the mound despite allowing seven earned runs in six innings. Ball State starter Tyler Pritchard was the hard-luck loser of the contest. Pritchard allowed eight runs -- but just three earned runs -- in 4.1 innings.
