Ball State University
Central Michigan (DH)
Baseball Splits Doubleheader Against Central Michigan
April 18, 2009 | Baseball
Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) paced the Cardinals' attack in the two games as he reached base seven times, including five times in BSU's victory in game two. Hazelbaker tallied two doubles, one home run and three stolen bases in the twin bill. Sophomore designated hitter Kolbrin Vitek (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) added six hits in the two games with four coming in game two. Vitek drove in four runs on the afternoon and posted a 1.444 slugging percentage, on the strength of four doubles and one home run.
Game One ? Central Michigan 12, Ball State 8
Central Michigan broke open a tie game with two runs in the fourth and a big four-run seventh inning as the Chippewas downed Ball State by a 12-8 margin in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. The Cardinals were led by junior catcher Zach Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola) who drove in three runs in the loss as he reached base three times.
Freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen (La Porte, Ind./La Porte) also drove in three runs as he tallied his fifth home run of the season. Nine different Cardinals tallied hits in the loss as Ball State suffered its fifth straight loss.
Central Michigan struck for two runs in the top of the first inning off of Vitek as it took advantage of one Ball State error and two passed balls to plate the first run of the day. Nate Theunissen drove in the Chippewas' second run of the inning with a single before getting thrown out trying to stretch the hit to a double.
Ball State answered right back in the bottom of the first inning against CMU starter Dan Taylor. Hazelbaker led off with a single and stole second to get into scoring position. Vitek helped his own cause as he ripped his team-leading seventh home run of the season over the center field wall on a 1-0 pitch to knot the game at 2-2.
The Chippewas plated three more runs in the top of the third inning against Vitek as Theunissen had an RBI double and Dale Cornstubble added a two-run home run to left field. Ball State once again responded as it scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at five apiece.
Hazelbaker led off the inning by reaching on an error and stole second to move into scoring position. Senior second baseman Nate Fields (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) followed with a single to left field that CMU misplayed. The error allowed Hazelbaker to score and Fields to move to second base. Nielsen followed with his fifth home run of the season high over the left field wall to tie the game at 5-5.
Central Michigan took the lead back for good with two runs in the top of the fourth inning against Vitek and broke the game open in the top of the seventh inning with four runs off of the Cardinals' bullpen. The Chippewas tallied the four runs in the seventh inning as Robbie Harman hit a grand slam after CMU loaded the bases with nobody out.
The Cardinals made a push in the bottom of the seventh inning as Hazelbaker singled and Fields walked to put two aboard. Vitek doubled to right field to plate one run, Nielsen grounded out for the second run and junior right fielder Ryan Chenoweth (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) doubled as a pinch hitter for the third run of the inning.
Vitek (2-2) picked up the loss as he worked five innings and was charged with six earned runs on nine hits. Taylor (3-4) received the victory after going six innings and allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out seven batters.
Game Two ? Ball State 12, Central Michigan 4
The Cardinals put together one of their best all-around performances in game two of the doubleheader as Ball State powered its way to a 12-4 victory over Central Michigan. The Cardinals pounded out 16 hits in the victory, including six doubles and two home runs to highlight the offense.
Senior right-hander Brenden Stines (Granger, Ind./Penn) tossed seven innings of two-hit baseball to lead the pitching effort. Stines limited the Chippewas to just one run in seven innings to improve to 2-3 on the season. He did not allow a CMU hit after the second inning and the Cardinal defense was strong behind him as it turned a pair of double plays compliment his performance.
Ball State struck first against CMU left-hander Trent Howard in the bottom of the first inning as Fields walked and Dygert singled to put two aboard. After a Nielsen walk loaded the bases, sophomore shortstop T.J. Baumet (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) doubled down the right field line to plate two runs for the Cardinals.
Central Michigan answered right back in the top of the second inning as Stines hit the leadoff batter with a pitch and Rhett Goodmiller doubled to right center field to narrow the BSU lead to 2-1. Stines worked out of the inning though as he retired three straight to limit the damage to just one run.
Ball State added single runs in the second and third innings to take a 4-1 lead. In the second, Hazelbaker ripped his fifth home run of the season over the right field wall. Nielsen drove in a run in the third inning with a sacrifice fly after Vitek led off the inning with a double.
The Cardinals broke the game open against the Central Michigan bullpen in the bottom of the fifth inning as they plated three more runs. Vitek once against led off the inning with a double and came home to score as Dygert singled up the middle. Nielsen followed with his second home run of the afternoon as he ripped a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall for his sixth long ball of the season.
Ball State added three more runs on in the sixth inning as Hazelbaker walked and Fields singled to put runners at the corners. The Cardinals plated a run as they executed a double steal as Hazelbaker beat the throw from second base. Vitek followed with a single to put runners on the corners again and Ball State turned in another double steal with Fields sliding home ahead of the throw this time. Dygert singled in Vitek for the third run of the inning to give the Cardinals a 10-1 lead.
Ball State capped its scoring in the seventh inning as Hazelbaker walked and came home to score on Vitek's third straight double. Dygert singled in Vitek to put the Cardinals in front by a 12-1 margin. Central Michigan added three runs in the eighth inning after the Cardinals had a comfortable lead.
Howard (2-2) was charged with the loss as he allowed four runs in three innings of work as the Cardinals tallied five hits off of him. CMU relievers Rick Dodridge and Chris Kupillas allowed eight runs in four innings of relief as the Cardinals recorded 11 hits in the middle of the game.
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