Ball State University
Toledo
Big Inning Propels Baseball To 15-6 Victory Over Toledo
May 14, 2009 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State baseball team moved into sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division Thursday afternoon as the Cardinals used a 10-run third inning on its way to a 15-6 victory over MAC rival Toledo at Ball Diamond. The win improves the Cardinals to 25-23 overall and 13-10 in MAC play while the Rockets fall to second place in the MAC West Division with a 21-28 overall mark and a 14-11 record in conference action.
Ball State broke out for 15 runs on 16 hits in the victory. The Cardinals tallied nine extra-base hits on the afternoon including five home runs and four doubles. Sophomore shortstop T.J. Baumet (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) highlighted the attack as he drove in five runs on the strength of three hits, including a pair of home runs.
Baumet drove in Dygert with the first run of the game as he dropped a single into left field. Collop was able to work out of the inning as he induced a foul pop fly and a ground ball to limit the damage to a solo run.
Toledo answered right back in the top of the third inning against senior right-hander Brenden Stines (Granger, Ind./Penn). The Rockets started things off with a one out single and a walk to put two aboard. Toledo got a ground ball to move both into scoring position before Aaron Dudley sent a seeing-eye single up the middle to put the Rockets ahead 2-1.
Ball State had a response of its own in the bottom half of the third inning as it sent 13 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs to take an 11-2 lead. Junior center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) led off the inning with his second walk of the afternoon. Hazelbaker moved to second on a ground ball and came home to score as sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) singled up the middle to tie the game.
Dygert gave the Cardinals back the lead as he ripped his second double of the game to plate Vitek with the go ahead run. Nielsen put two aboard as he was hit by a pitch and Baumet broke the game open as he crushed his 11th home run of the season over the right center field wall to put BSU in front 6-2. Baumet's home run moved him into a tie for the team lead with Vitek.
Junior designated hitter Ryan Chenoweth (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) kept things going as he hit a two out double down the right field line. Freshman right fielder Cody Elliott (Florence, Ky./Beechwood) put runners at the corners as he reached on an infield single. Hazelbaker came up to bat for the second time in the inning and ripped a three-run home run over the right field wall. The Cardinals kept the inning going as senior second basemen Nate Fields (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) reached on an infield single and came home to score as Vitek re-took the team lead in home runs as he hit his 12th of the season over the right field wall to cap the scoring and chase Collop from the game.
After Toledo scored a run in the top of the fourth inning, the Cardinals came right back out and plated two more runs against reliever Alex Radon. Benbow opened things with a one out single to left field. Chenoweth gave the Cardinals a 13-3 lead as he ripped his third home run of the season over the right field wall to give BSU four home runs in two innings.
The two teams traded solo runs in fifth inning with the Cardinals scoring their run off of a Hazelbaker double and a run-scoring single by Vitek to take a 14-4 lead. The teams once again traded runs in the sixth inning as Baumet moved back into a tie for the team lead in home runs as he hit is 12th of the season and second of the afternoon. The Rockets added one more run in the seventh inning to cap the scoring with Ball State ahead 15-6.
Vitek finished the afternoon with three hits and four RBI, while Dygert added three hits. Hazelbaker continued his strong play as he reached base four times while scoring three runs and driving in three runs. He moved his season total for runs scored to 71, which ties him with former Cardinal Larry Bigbie (1999) for the most runs in a single season.
Stines (4-4) picked up his second straight victory as he tossed 6.0 strong innings and allowed five runs, only three of which were earned, as he struck out four batters. Collop (3-7) was tagged with the loss as he allowed 11 runs on 10 hits in just 3.0 innings of work for the Rockets.
The Cardinals and Rockets will continue their series Friday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Ball Diamond with junior right-hander Brad Piatt (Galveston, Ind./Lewis Cass) set to take the hill for the Cardinals. The first team to win two games in the three-game series will claim the outright MAC West Division championship.
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