Ball State University
Furman
Offense Leads Baseball To Doubleheader Sweep Saturday
February 21, 2009 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? The Ball State baseball team scored 23 runs in a doubleheader sweep of Furman Saturday afternoon as the Cardinals picked up their first two wins of the 2009 season at Latham Stadium. Ball State claimed its first win of the season with a 9-7 victory in 11 innings over Furman in game one before rolling to a 14-4 victory in seven innings over the Paladins in game two.
Senior second baseman Nate Fields (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) tallied six hits in the two-game sweep as scored four runs, drove in three and notched three doubles. Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen (La Porte, Ind./La Porte) also continued his stellar start to his career as he posted six hits in the two games and drove in four runs.
Game One (Ball State 9, Furman 7 ? 11 Innings)
The Cardinals picked up their first win of the 2009 season with a come-from-behind 9-7 victory over the Paladins in 11 innings. Ball State rallied from five runs down to tie the game in the seventh inning and scored two runs in the top of the 11th to claim the victory.
Redshirt freshman catcher Aaron Etchison (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) paved the way offensively as he notched his first two career home runs in the victory. Etchison drove in three runs in the victory as he is the first Cardinal this season to have two home runs in a game and the first since Zach Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola) hit two against Eastern Michigan last season (May 4, 2008).
Nielsen continued the strong start to his collegiate career as he posted a career-high four hits in the victory as he drove in three runs. Nielsen tallied three singles and a double to reach base four times for the second straight game.
Ball State opened the scoring in the top of the second inning as sophomore shortstop T.J. Baumet (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) reached base with an infield single with two outs. Etchison followed with his first career home run to right center field to give BSU the early lead against Furman starter Barry Benton.
The Paladins got the two runs right back in the bottom of the second inning against BSU starter Adam Quinn (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point). Matt Hemmingway led off the inning with a home run to left field and Campbell Lewis scored on an RBI single from Beamer Carr to tie the game.
Furman broke the game open in the bottom of the third inning and chased Quinn from the game as the Paladins took advantage of a BSU error to open the inning. Furman was able to plate four runs in the inning, all of which were unearned, on four hits as freshman left-hander Justin Warrington (Granville, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) came on in relief.
After the Paladins added their seventh run in the bottom of the fifth inning, Ball State evened the score in the top of the seventh inning with five runs on five hits. Etchison started things off with his second home run of the game, this time over the left field wall. After an out, center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) singled and Fields doubled to put two aboard.
Dygert drew a two-out walk to load the bases and junior left fielder Kory Benbow (Muncie, Ind./Cowan) came through with the clutch hit as he doubled to left field to drive in two runs and force Furman reliever Marc DeDecker from the game. Nielsen welcomed the new pitcher with a two-run single to right field to knot the game up at 7-7.
Furman looked ready to take the lead back in the bottom of the seventh inning as it had runners on second and third with two outs. Junior right hander Morgan Coombs (West Terre Haute, Ind./Lincoln Trail College) came on the ended the threat by recording a huge strikeout to keep the game tied.
The Paladins threatened again in the bottom of the ninth inning as they had the bases loaded with two outs for pinch hitter Andrew Cadger. Cadger came within an inch of ending the game with a walk-off hit as he blooped the ball down the left field line but sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) made a game-saving diving catch to rob Cadger of the hit and send the game into extra innings.
Ball State's defense kept them in the game once again in the bottom of the 10th inning as this time freshman right fielder Cody Elliott (Florence, Ky./Beechwood) made the game-saving play. Furman's Will Owens was on second base when Hemmingway ripped a single into right field. Elliott charged the ball and threw a laser to home plate to nail Owens and end the inning as he tried to score the game-winning run.
The Cardinals used the momentum from that play to take the lead back for good as Fields opened the inning with a single and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Vitek followed with an RBI single to left field to put BSU ahead. After a Vitek stole second, Nielsen doubled down the right field line to easily score Vitek to put BSU in front, 9-7.
Coombs (1-0) calmly retired the Paladins in order in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Cardinals' their first win of the season. Coombs worked 4.1 innings of scoreless relief as he limited Furman to just three hits to claim his first BSU victory. Furman reliever Bobby Lyne (0-1) picked up the loss as he was charged with two runs on three hits in one inning of work.
Game 2 - Ball State 14, Furman 4
The Cardinals completed the doubleheader sweep with a 14-4 victory in the seven-inning game against Furman. Ball State scored eight runs in the sixth inning to break the game open and turn in the highest scoring output of the season for BSU.
Junior right-hander Brad Piatt (Galveston, Ind./Lewis Cass) (1-0) turned in a strong starting performance for the Cardinals as he worked five innings and limited Furman to just one run on four hits. Piatt became the first Cardinals' starter this season to pick up the victory as he recorded his third career win for Ball State.
The Cardinals opened the scoring in the top of the third inning against Furman starter Jay Friedman as Hazelbaker ripped a two-out single. Fields followed with a RBI double down the left field line to put BSU ahead 1-0. Furman tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning as Brian Harrison tripled with one out and Hemmingway recorded a run scoring single to deadlock the game.
Ball State broke the game open with its largest offensive inning of the young season as the Cardinals put up eight runs on seven hits in the top of the sixth inning to take a 9-1 lead. Vitek broke the tie early in the inning as he notched a two-run home run over the left field wall to give BSU the lead for good. The Cardinals also picked up a RBI single from Baumet, a two-run single from Hazelbaker, a fielder's choice from freshman Tim Issler (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) and sacrifice flies from Benbow and Dygert.
After Furman scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull within five runs, the Cardinals responded as they scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 14-4 lead. Benbow picked up a RBI double to start the scoring while Hazelbaker and Nielsen each added run scoring singles as the Cardinals extended the lead to their largest of the season at nine runs.
Hazelbaker finished the second game with three hits as he drove in three runs and scored three runs. Fields continued to swing the bat well as he also tallied three hits in the victory while Dygert and Benbow each drove in a pair of runs. Friedman (0-1) picked up the loss as he was charged with seven runs, six earned, in five innings of work as the Cardinals tallied eight hits against the right-hander.
Ball State closes out the four-game weekend series Sunday afternoon as the Cardinals look for the series victory against Furman. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Latham Stadium.
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