Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Bowling Green
Baseball Sets School Record For Runs In 32-10 Victory At BGSU
April 10, 2010 | Baseball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Ball State baseball team turned in a record-setting performance Saturday afternoon as the Cardinals tallied a school record 32 runs in a 32-10 Mid-American Conference victory against two-time defending MAC regular season champion Bowling Green at Steller Field. The victory raises the Cardinals' MAC record to 7-1 on the season and marks their sixth straight league win.
The Cardinals set BSU single game records for runs (32), hits (29), RBI (29) and at-bats (58), while also scoring the most runs against Bowling Green in Falcons' history. Twelve different Cardinals recorded a hit Saturday, including eight different players notching multiple hits. The Cardinals notched six home runs and five doubles to finish the game with 52 total bases.
Sophomore Ian Nielsen (La Porte, Ind./La Porte) paced the offensive onslaught as he tallied a career-high eight RBI, while going 5-for-7 from the plate. Nielsen recorded two home runs, including a grand slam, while scoring four runs in the victory. Nielsen's eight RBI are the most for a Cardinal since Brad Miller drove in eight runs against Valparaiso April 4, 2006.
Junior Kolbrin Vitek (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) and senior Zach Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola) also got in the act as they each tallied three hits and drove in three runs in the victory. Dygert raised his batting average for the series to .875 (7-of-8), while Vitek notched his team-leading eighth home run. Freshman Stephen Claypool (Dearborn, Mich./Divine Child) added four hits and three RBI to give him seven hits in the first two games of the series.
Ball State (13-16, 7-1 MAC) opened the scoring in the top of the first inning after two outs against Falcon starter Michael Frank. Vitek and Dygert started things off as they both drew four-pitch walks. Nielsen drove in the game's first run with a single through the left side and senior Kory Benbow (Muncie, Ind./Cowan) doubled down the left field line to give the Cardinals an early 2-0 lead.
Bowling Green (8-17-1, 2-6 MAC) tried to answer in the bottom of the first inning against sophomore right-hander Cal Bowling (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown) as Logan Meisler led off the inning with an opposite field single. Bowling worked out of the inning as he got the ensuing batter to pop out to second base, Meisler was caught stealing and Mark Galvin was struck out to end the inning.
The Cardinals took the momentum into the top of the second inning as senior Ryan Chenoweth (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) drew a one out walk. After Chenoweth stole second base, freshman Blake Beemer (Clayton, Ohio/Northmont) ripped a two out single to center field to plate the Cardinals' third run of the day. Ball State extended its lead on the next pitch as Vitek crushed his team-leading eighth home run of the season high over the left field wall for a 5-0 BSU lead.
Ball State tacked on its sixth run in the top of the third inning courtesy of the long ball. Benbow crushed his second home run of the series as he hit an 0-2 pitch off the scoreboard in right center field for a 6-0 lead.
Bowling Green broke through in the bottom of the third inning as Bowling hit Patrick Martin to lead off the inning. The Falcons moved martin into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt and T.J. Blanton extended his hitting streak to 20 games as he doubled down the left field line to plate Martin and narrow the BSU lead to 6-1.
Ball State broke the game open in the top of the fourth inning as it sent 10 batters to the plate and scored seven runs to take a 13-1 lead. Chenoweth led off the inning with a single and Mitch Widau (Richmond, Ind./Richmond) drew a walk to put two aboard. Beemer drove in the inning's first run with a single to center field and after a fielder's choice Dygert dropped a run-scoring single down the right field line for the second run of the frame.
Nielsen followed with a single to load the bases and BGSU reliever Ross Gerdeman uncorked a wild pitch to plate Vitek. Claypool drove in the next two runs as he ripped a single up the middle. Sophomore Cody Elliott (Florence, Ky./Beechwood) capped the inning as he hit his third home run of the season over the left field wall for the 13-1 advantage.
After Bowling Green scored its second run in the fourth inning, the Cardinals' offensive onslaught continued in the fifth inning as they plated three more runs to take a 16-2 lead.
Widau and Beemer led off the inning with a hit by pitch and a walk for Vitek who doubled into right center field for his third RBI of the day. Dygert followed with a two-run single to center field to take the 14-run lead.
The Cardinals extended their lead to 24-4 with eight runs in the top of the sixth inning as they sent 12 batters to the plate and tallied eight hits. Ball State's two big hits in the inning were a grand slam from Nielsen and a three-run home run from Chenoweth, giving the Cardinals five home runs in the first six innings. Ball State hit its sixth home run of the contest in the seventh inning as Nielsen hit a two-run home run over the left field wall to give him seven RBI in the victory.
Ball State rounded out its scoring with six more runs it the top of the ninth inning to take a 32-4 lead. The Cardinals sent 11 players to the plate in the inning as they tallied five hits and took advantage of one BGSU error. BSU got RBI hits from sophomore Nathan Koontz (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf), Kirby Campbell (Muncie, Ind./Cowan), Claypool and Nielsen in the inning. Bowling Green matched the Cardinals in the ninth as it posted six runs, including a grand slam from Michael Fahle.
Bowling (2-3) earned his second straight victory as he worked 6.0 solid innings and allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out five batters. Senior Brad Piatt (Galveston, Ind./Lewis Cass) tossed 2.0 scoreless innings of relief while striking out two. Frank (1-2) was charged with the loss as he allowed six runs on five hits in 3.0 innings of work. Gerdeman worked 0.2 innings and allowed seven runs as 31 of the Cardinals' 32 hits were earned against five Bowling Green pitchers.
The Cardinals and Falcons will wrap up their three-game series Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Steller Field.
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