Ball State University
Dayton
Baseball Falls At Dayton, 14-5
March 27, 2012 | Baseball
DAYTON, Ohio - The Ball State baseball team suffered a 14-5 non-conference contest to regional foe Dayton Tuesday afternoon at Time Warner Stadium. The Cardinals will host Indiana State Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Ball Diamond in their 2012 home opener after playing 19 straight on the road.
Dayton (10-14) took the early lead against sophomore right-hander Jacob Brewer (South Bend, Ind./St. Joseph) in the second inning. Brewer hit Zach Stewart with a pitch and allowed a stolen base to put a runner in scoring position. Robby Sunderman poked a run-scoring single into left field to score Stewart with the game's first run before Brewer ended the threat with a routine ground ball.
The Flyers struck for their second two-out run in the bottom of the fourth inning as the bottom of the Dayton order once again did the damage against Brewer. Sunderman posted a two-out double down the left field line before Josh Jeffery ripped an RBI double into left field to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead.
Dayton chased Brewer from the game in the bottom of the fifth inning as Bobby Glover reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the inning. Blasik followed with a run-scoring double down the left field line for his third hit of the afternoon to make it a 3-0 game and end Brewer's afternoon. The Flyers extended their lead to 12-0 as they scored 10 runs in the fifth inning after sending 15 batters to the plate.
Ball State (4-15) finally struck against Dayton right-hander Kyle Coenen in the top of the seventh inning. Freshman Brandon Estep (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) and junior Dominick Catanzarite (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) led off with back-to-back singles. Coenen uncorked a wild pitch to plate Estep with the Cardinals' first run of the afternoon. After a walk, Billy Wellman (Portland, Ind./Jay County) singled through the left side to load the bases and end Coenen's afternoon.
Junior center fielder Wes Winkle (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown) welcomed reliever Bryce Lahrman with a two-run single that squeaked up the middle to make it a 12-3 contest. Junior Blake Beemer (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) followed with a run-scoring single into right field. The Cardinals scored their fifth of the inning on a passed ball that plated Winkle to make it 12-5. Dayton scored two more runs in the seventh inning to cap the scoring at 14-5.
Brewer (0-1) picked up the loss despite working into the fifth inning as he allowed four runs on six hits while striking out five batters. Coenen (1-1) earned the victory for the Flyers as he worked 6.0 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out four.
The Cardinals open the home portion of the 2012 schedule Wednesday afternoon as they host in state rival Indiana State. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Ball Diamond. Sophomore left-hander Nestor Bautista (New York, N.Y./George Washington) is set to take the hill for the Cardinals in the home-opener.
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