Baseball Drops Series Finale At Northern Illinois

DEKALB, Ill. - The Ball State baseball team dropped the rubber game of its Mid-American Conference series against Northern Illinois 18-8 Sunday afternoon at Ralph McKenzie Field. The Cardinals pulled within two runs in the top of the eighth inning before surrendering eight runs in the bottom half of the inning on its way to the loss.

The loss drops the Cardinals to 9-14 in MAC play and they trail Western Michigan by two games (11-12) for the final spot in the 2011 MAC Tournament heading into next weekend's regular season finale. Ball State will need to sweep its three-game series at home against Toledo while the Broncos will need to drop all three games at home against the Huskies for the Cardinals to qualify for the MAC Tournament.

Ball State (13-34) opened the scoring in the top of the first inning against NIU right-hander Tony Manville. Junior Cody Elliott (Florence, Ky./Beechwood) and classmate Mitch Widau (Richmond, Ind./Richmond) led off the game with back-to-back singles. Senior T.J. Baumet (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) drove in the Cardinals' first run with a single up the middle while freshman Kenny Mahala (Highland, Ind./Andrean) put the Cardinals in front 2-0 with a run-scoring single to cap the inning.

Northern Illinois (26-23, 14-10) answered back in the bottom of the first inning against freshman left-hander Devin Wilburn (Selma, Ind./Wapahani). Wilburn, who was making his first career MAC start, got the first two outs of the inning before allowing solo home run off the bat of Alex Jones to cut the BSU lead in half. The Huskies took their first lead in the bottom of the second inning courtesy of the long ball as Jake Hermsen hit two-run home run to take a 3-2 lead.

Ball State took the lead back in the top of the fourth inning as sophomore Kevin Franchetti (Highland, Ind./Andrean) led off with a double and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Elliott tied the game as he singled to center field and advanced into scoring position on a NIU fielding error. Widau put the Cardinals in front 4-3 as he followed with an RBI single to plate Elliott.

Northern Illinois took the lead back for good as it scored four runs in the fifth to chase Wilburn from the game before adding three runs in the sixth inning to take a 9-4 lead.

Ball State rallied in the top of the eighth inning as it narrowed the deficit to 9-7 against the NIU bullpen. The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out on three straight walks from Tom Zelasko. Elliott drove in the inning's first run as he lifted a sacrifice fly to right field before Tim Issler (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) pulled the Cardinals within two runs with a two-run single into right field.

Northern Illinois broke the game open in the bottom of the eighth inning as it sent 11 batters to the plate. The Huskies scored eight runs in the inning on seven hits, including a two-out three-run home run by Troy White to cap the inning. The Cardinals posted a run in the top of the ninth inning as Baumet continued his strong play with a leadoff double before coming home to score on two straight ground outs.

Wilburn (1-2) picked up the loss in just his second career start as he allowed seven runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings of work. Manville improved to 8-1 on the season as he allowed four runs on nine hits in 7.0 innings of work.

Ball State returns to action Thursday afternoon as it hosts Toledo in a three-game series to close out the 2011 regular season. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Ball Diamond.

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Team Stats

Cody Elliott

Mitch Widau

Blake Beemer

T.J. Baumet

Players Mentioned

T.J. Baumet

Cody Elliott

Kevin Franchetti

Tim Issler

Kenny Mahala

Mitch Widau

Devin Wilburn

Players Mentioned

T.J. Baumet

Cody Elliott

Kevin Franchetti

Tim Issler

Kenny Mahala

Mitch Widau

Devin Wilburn