Ball State University
3-0
Kennesaw State
0-3
Baseball Drops Series Finale At Kennesaw State
February 21, 2011 | Baseball
KENNESAW, Ga. - The Ball State baseball team closed out the season-opening weekend with a 10-7 loss at Kennesaw State Sunday afternoon in the series finale. The loss drops the Cardinals to 0-3 on the season while the Owls improve to 3-0 on the year.
For the third time this weekend, Kennesaw State opened the scoring first as it plated two runs in the bottom of the first inning against freshman right-hander T.J. Weir (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo). Weir got the first two outs of the inning quickly before the Owls posted three straight hits, including a two-run single from Peyton Hart.
The Cardinals came right back out in the top of the second inning against left-hander Zak Griffith. Sophomore third baseman Stephen Claypool (Dearborn, Mich./Divine Child) led off the inning with a double over the left fielder's head.
Right fielder Dominic Catanzarite (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) quickly drove him in with a single to center field. Ball State tied the game with two more singles, including an RBI-single from sophomore Kirby Campbell (Muncie, Ind./Cowan).
Kennesaw State responded with seven unanswered runs over the ensuing four innings to take a 9-2 lead. The Owls scored one in the second, one in the third, two in the fourth and three runs in the fifth inning against Weir and freshman left-hander Nestor Bautista (New York, N.Y./George Washington).
Ball State did not back down despite the deficit as it came out and scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning. Catanzarite led off the inning with a single and Campbell put two aboard after a fielder's choice. Senior shortstop T. J. Baumet (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) doubled in Catanzarite for the Cardinals' third run while junior Cody Elliott (Florence, Ky./Beechwood) added a two-run single to make it a 9-5 margin.
After the Owls scored one in the bottom of the sixth, the Cardinals narrowed the deficit to 10-7 with a pair of runs in the eighth inning. Campbell and Baumet led off the inning with back-to-back singles and both moved into scoring position with a KSU error. Claypool drove in two more runs as he notched his second double of the afternoon but the Cardinals would not get any closer before dropping their third straight.
Five different Cardinals posted multiple-hit games in the loss with Claypool leading the way with three hits and two RBI. Weir (0-1) was charged with the loss in his first career start as he allowed six runs, only four earned, in 3.1 innings of work while striking out two batters.
The Cardinals return to action next weekend with a three-game series at Cape Girardeau, Mo., against Southeast Missouri State.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: DUNCAN (1-0)
L: Weir, T.J. (0-1)
S: AUSTIN (1)
Batting:
2B: Baumet, T.J. 1 ; Claypool, Stephen 2 ; Campbell, Cody 1
RBI: Baumet, T.J. 1 ; Elliott, Cody 2 ; Claypool, Stephen 2 ; Catanzarite, Dominick 1 ; Campbell, Kirby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Baumet, T.J. 2 ; Claypool, Stephen 1 ; Catanzarite, Dominick 2 ; Campbell, Kirby 2
HBP: Beemer, Blake 1 ; Franchetti, Kevin 1
Batting:
2B: CHRISCADEN 1
RBI: McGOWEN 3 ; CHRISCADEN 1 ; HART 3 ; ANDERSON 1
SF: McGOWEN 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DOBBS 1 ; FREEMAN 1 ; CHRISCADEN 2 ; FOWLKES 1 ; HART 1 ; McCLURKEN 1 ; ANDERSON 3
CS: DOBBS 1
