Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Albany
Baseball Earns 10-6 Victory Over Albany Saturday Night
March 07, 2010 | Baseball
Ball State (3-6) rallied from an early five-run deficit as it scored the final nine runs of the game. The Cardinals got strong relief pitching from freshman left-hander Jon Cisna (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township) and freshman right-hander Michael Sandman (Newark, Ohio/Utica), who combined to 7.2 shutout innings while allowing just three hits.
Cisna (1-1) tallied his first collegiate victory as he worked 4.2 scoreless innings of relief and allowed just two hits while striking out two batters. Sandman tallied the Cardinals' second save of the season as he threw the final 3.0 innings of shutout baseball, limiting the Great Danes to just one hit while striking out four batters.
Albany (0-6) opened the scoring in the top of the first inning against senior right-hander Scott Brothers Jr. (Monticello, Ind./Gulf Coast CC). The Great Danes took advantage of an early BSU fielding error to score and unearned run to take a 1-0 lead.
Ball State quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first inning against Albany starter Christian Garcia. Sophomore center fielder Cody Elliott (Florence, Ky./Beechwood) led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Junior second baseman Kolbrin Vitek (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) drove in Elliot as he grounded out to third base to tie the game at 1-1.
Albany broke the game open in the top of the second inning as it scored five runs to chase Brothers from the game. The Great Danes tallied six hits in the inning, including a run-scoring double by Ralph Rizzo.
The Cardinals started to chip away at the five-run deficit in the bottom of the second inning as senior Kory Benbow (Muncie, Ind./Cowan) led off with s single through the left side. After a walk advanced Benbow to second, junior shortstop T. J. Baumet (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) ripped a run-scoring double down the right field line to narrow the gap to 6-2.
Ball State got the big inning it was looking for in the bottom of the fifth inning as it plated four runs to tie the game at six apiece. Senior Ryan Chenoweth (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) led off the inning with a single and Vitek reached on a fielding error to put two in scoring position without an out. Senior catcher Zach Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola) drove in Chenoweth with an infield single to score the Cardinals' first run of the inning.
After a double steal by Vitek and Dygert, Benbow came through again with the big hit as he hit a two-run double to center field to narrow the gap to 6-5. Albany almost got out of the inning without any more damage but Baumet ripped a two out run-scoring double to plate Benbow with the game-tying run.
The Cardinals took their first lead of the night in the bottom of the sixth inning as Elliott once again led off the inning with a double. He moved to third base on a wild pitch and came home to score the go ahead run as Vitek lifted a sacrifice fly into deep right field for the 7-6 lead.
Ball State found some insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh inning as sophomore first baseman Ian Nielsen (La Porte, Ind./La Porte) led off with a double. Benbow drove in his third run of the night as he doubled into left center field and came home to score as Baumet notched his third hit of the game with a RBI single to make it a 9-6 game. The Cardinals tacked on their 10th run in the eighth inning as Dygert tallied a run-scoring double.
Benbow finished the night with three hits, three RBI and three runs scored while Baumet also drove in three runs on three hits. Dygert and Vitek each notched two RBI in the victory as Ball State reached double figures in runs for the first time this season.
Christian lasted 4.1 innings for the Great Danes and was charged with six runs on seven hits. Terry McFadden (0-1) was charged with the loss in relief as he allowed four runs on seven hits in 3.0 innings.
The Cardinals continue play in the Caravelle Resort Invitational Sunday afternoon as they battle No. 8 Coastal Carolina at BB&T Field in Myrtle Beach at 2 p.m.
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