Ball State University
Missouri (DH)
Baseball Splits Twinbill At Big 12 Power Missouri
March 08, 2009 | Baseball
Junior designated hitter/left fielder Kory Benbow (Muncie, Ind./Cowan) paced the Cardinals in the two games as he recorded six hits and drove in five runs. Benbow tallied two home runs in the two games while scoring three runs on the afternoon.
Game One ? Ball State 14, Missouri 4
The Cardinals took game one of the Saturday afternoon doubleheader against Missouri as their offense broke out for a season-high 23 hits as the Cardinals pounded out a 14-4 victory at Taylor Stadium. The 23 hits are the most for the Cardinals this season and the most since a 23-hit output last season at New Mexico State (March 1, 2008).
Six different Cardinals recorded multiple hits in the victory with Benbow leading the way with a game-high five hits. Benbow drove in three runs and hit his second home run of the season as he tied his career-high with five hits matching a five-hit performance last season against Bowling Green (April 12).
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker (Selma, Ind./Wapahani), the reigning Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, continued his strong play as he tallied four hits for the second time in the last three games and scored three runs. Junior catcher Zach Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola) drove in a season-high four runs, including his first home run of the season.
Junior right-hander Brad Piatt (Galveston, Ind./Lewis Cass) improved to 2-0 on the season as he limited the Tigers to just one run on five hits in five innings of work. Piatt struck out two and benefited from the Cardinals' offense that gave him a seven-run lead after just two innings.
Ball State started things quickly against Missouri starter Kelly Fick as Hazelbaker and junior second baseman Nate Fields (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) opened the game with back-to-back singles. Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) doubled down the left field line to score Hazelbaker but Fields was thrown out on the play trying to score. Dygert followed with a run-scoring single to plate Vitek and give BSU an early 2-0 lead.
The Cardinals broke the game open and chased Fick from the game in the second inning as they scored five runs in the frame. Freshman left fielder Cody Elliott (Florence, Ky./Beechwood) opened the inning with a single and moved into scoring position after a sacrifice bunt. After a walk to Hazelbaker, Fields singled in Elliott and Ball State moved to runners into scoring position as it executed a double steal. That move paid immediate dividends as Vitek singled and Dygert grounded out to score both runners.
Benbow followed with his second home run of the season to drive in Vitek and chase Fick from the game. Fick (1-3) picked up the loss as he was charged with seven runs in just 1.2 innings as the Cardinals pounded out nine hits against him.
Missouri scored its only run off of Piatt in the bottom of the third inning as Ryan Folgia led off with a triple and came home to score on a ground out. Ball State answered right back with three more runs in the top of the fourth inning as right fielder Ryan Chenoweth (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) doubled in a run while freshman shortstop Tim Issler (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) and Hazelbaker both picked up RBI singles.
Ball State added to its lead in the top of the fifth inning as Vitek led off with a double and quickly came home as Dygert blasted a home run to put BSU ahead 12-1. The Tigers tagged the Cardinals' bullpen for four runs in the sixth and seventh innings to narrow the deficit to seven at 12-5. The Cardinals added two more runs in the top of the eighth inning as Fields doubled in a run and Benbow drove in his third of the day with a single to cap the scoring.
Senior right-hander Tom Mueller (Westfield, Ind./Westfield) and senior left-hander Josh Vollmer (Westfield, Ind./Butler) combined for 2.1 innings of scoreless relief as the Cardinals kept the Missouri bats quiet in the final two innings.
Game Two ? Missouri 18, Ball State 4
The Cardinals dropped the second game of the twin bill as they fell 18-4 to Missouri. The Tigers scored 12 runs in the last three innings to break open a two-run game and earn the doubleheader split.
Missouri came out of the gate quickly against senior right-hander Adam Quinn (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) as it scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Ryan Sollis and Aaron Senne each picked up run-scoring singles in the inning before Quinn induced two fly balls to get out of the inning.
Ball State came right back in the top of the second inning to tie the game against Missouri starter Ian Berger. Dygert led off the inning and came home to score as Benbow continued his torrid afternoon as he crushed his second home run of the day to centerfield to knot the game at 2-2.
The Cardinals took their only lead of the game in the top of the third inning as Fields singled and moved to second on an error by the Missouri third baseman. Vitek drove in Fields as he doubled down the left field line to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.
Missouri bounced back in the bottom of the third for three runs as Trevor Coleman notched a two run home run while Steve Gray tripled and came home on a BSU error to give Missouri a 5-3 lead. The Tigers tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth inning against Quinn as Connor Mach drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to put the Tigers ahead by three.
Ball State narrowed the gap to 6-4 in the top of the fifth inning as it took advantage of two walks in the inning to load the bases. Dygert, who made his first career start at third base, drove in one run as he lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Hazelbaker but Berger picked up a strikeout to get out of the inning.
Missouri broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth inning as it scored five runs against BSU freshman reliever Cal Bowling (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown). The Tigers also added two runs in the seventh and five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to cap their scoring.
The Cardinals will wrap up the four-game series Sunday afternoon as they face the Tigers at 1 p.m. (CT). Vitek will get the nod on the mound for the Cardinals in the series finale.
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