Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Indiana Tech
Baseball Soars Past Indiana Tech, 15-2
April 14, 2010 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Behind the bat of sophomore first baseman Ian Nielsen (La Porte, Ind./La Porte), the Ball State baseball team cruised to a 15-2 non-conference victory over Indiana Tech Wednesday afternoon at Ball Diamond. The Cardinals pounded out five home runs, two triples and two doubles in their 18-hit barrage.
Nielsen, a freshman All-America selection last year, notched a career-high three home runs and drove in seven RBI in the victory. He becomes the first Cardinal this season to hit three home runs in a game and the first since teammate T.J. Baumet (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) accomplished the feat last season against Western Michigan (4/25/09). His seven RBI is one shy of his career-high of eight RBI which he set last Saturday at Bowling Green.
Ball State (14-18) came out of the gate swinging against Indiana Tech right-hander Brandon Duplesses. Freshman Blake Beemer (Clayton, Ohio/Northmont) started things off as he notched his first career triple off of the center field wall. Junior Kolbrin Vitek (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) drove in the game's first run as he ripped a single to left field and senior Zach Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola) followed with a single to left field to put runners on the corners. Nielsen gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead as he ripped his fifth home run of the season over the center field wall to cap the inning.
Indiana Tech (17-19) tallied a run in the top of the second inning against right-hander Scott Brothers Jr. (Monticello, Ind./Gulf Coast CC). The Warriors took advantage of a BSU error and tallied two hits in the inning, including a run-scoring single by Chad Geier to narrow the Cardinals' lead to 4-1.
The Cardinals answered right back in the bottom half of the inning as Baumet singled and Beemer notched his second triple of game to make it a 5-1 contest. Beemer becomes the first Cardinal to have two triples in a game since former Jeremy Hazelbaker accomplished the task last season against Toledo (5/15/09).
Ball State extended its lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the third inning as Dygert launched his sixth home run of the season high over the left field wall.
The Cardinals continued to use the long ball in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 10-1 lead. Beemer led off the inning with a double and Dygert drew a walk to put two aboard. Nielsen tallied his second home run of the afternoon as he crushed a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall. Senior Ryan Chenoweth (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) gave BSU a nine-run lead as he hit an opposite field home run for his third of the season.
Indiana Tech scored its second run of the game in the sixth inning before the Cardinals scored two in the bottom half of the inning to extend their lead to 12-2. Ball State chipped in a single run in the seventh as Nielsen hit his third home run of the game to give him seven RBI. The Cardinals capped the scoring with two more in the eighth inning as Mitch Widau (Richmond, Ind./Richmond) and Dominic Catanzarite (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) recorded RBI hits.
Brothers Jr. (2-1) picked up the midweek victory as he went 4.0 innings and allowed one unearned run on six hits. Relievers Michael Sandman (Newark, Ohio/Utica), Cody Elliott (Florence Ky./Beechwood) and Aaron Hammons (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield Central) combined to tossed 5.0 innings of three-hit baseball. Duplesses (0-1) picked up the loss as he allowed four runs on five hits in one inning of work as Indiana Tech used eight different pitchers.
The Cardinals continue their five-game home stand this weekend as they return to Mid-American Conference play hosting MAC East Division foe Buffalo in a three-game series at Ball Diamond. The first game of the series will start Friday at 3 p.m.
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