Ball State University
2-7
Tennessee
9-3
Baseball's Rally Falls Short At Tennessee, 9-7
March 08, 2012 | Baseball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Ball State baseball team had the game-tying run on second base and the go ahead run at first base in the top of the ninth inning, but the Cardinals' rally was thwarted as they dropped a hard-fought 9-7 decision to Southeastern Conference foe Tennessee Wednesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The loss drops the Cardinals to 2-7 on the year while Tennessee improves to 9-3.
Junior Blake Beemer (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) and sophomore Cody Campbell (Muncie, Ind./Cowan) each posted three hits in the loss for the Cardinals. Beemer reached base five times on the night with three singles and a pair of walks while Campbell posted a home run and two singles.
Ball State entered the ninth inning trailing 9-6 against Tennessee closer Nick Williams, but wasn't deterred against one of the top closers in the SEC. Dominick Catanzarite (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) led off the inning with a pinch hit double before Beemer and sophomore T.J. Weir (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) hit back-to-back singles to load the bases with nobody out.
Cody Campbell pulled the Cardinals within two as he ripped a run-scoring single up the middle to plate Catanzarite and keep the bases loaded. After a mound visit by Tennessee head coach Dave Serrano, Williams settled in and struck out two straight Cardinals to set up the final at-bat of the game.
Junior Kirby Campbell (Muncie, Ind./Cowan) battled against Williams before lining a ball into the hole between first and second base, but Tennessee second baseman Will Maddox made a diving stop before barely getting Campbell at first for the game's final out.
Ball State opened the scoring in the top of the first inning against Tennessee right-hander Carter Watson. Beemer and Weir posted back-to-back singles to ignite the offense. Cody Campbell gave the Cardinals the early 3-0 lead as he drilled the first pitch he saw high over the left field wall for his first career home run.
Tennessee started to chip away at the BSU lead in the bottom half of the first inning against left-hander Nestor Bautista (New York, N.Y./George Washington). The Volunteers put two aboard before Chris Fritts lined up triple down the right field line to make it a 3-2 contest.
Tennessee continued to post runs as it ran out to a 7-3 lead with a single run in the second and four runs in the fourth inning to chase Bautista from the game.
Ball State kept battling though as it responded with three runs in the top of the fourth inning to make it a 7-6 contest. Kirby Campbell led off the inning with a single and moved to second as Kevin Franchetti (Highland, Ind./Andrean) drew a walk. After a double steal, Campbell came home to score on a wild pitch while Franchetti scored the Cardinals' fifth run as freshman Elbert Devarie (Kissimmee, Fla./Gateway) tripled down the right field line. Ball State made it a one-run contest as Sean Godfrey (New Albany, Ind./New Albany) drove in Devarie with a ground ball to the left side of the infield.
Tennessee got a pair of much needed insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning against junior right-hander Miles Moeller (Phoenix, Ariz./Glendale CC). The Volunteers took a 9-6 lead as Drew Steckenrider hit a 2-0 pitch over the center field wall for a two-run home run to set the stage for the Cardinals' ninth inning rally attempt.
Bautista (0-3) picked up the loss as he allowed six runs on seven hits in just 2.1 innings of work. Robbie Kidd (2-0) was awarded the victory for the Volunteers as he went 2.2 innings a held the Cardinals scoreless on three hits. Williams picked up his third save of the season and the seventh of his career by working his way out of the jam in the ninth inning.
Ball State stays in the Volunteer State this weekend as it travels to Murfreesboro for a three-game series against Middle Tennessee. Senior right-hander Cal Bowling (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown) is set to take the hill for the Cardinals in the series opener Friday at 3 p.m. (CT).
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: KIDD (2-0)
L: Bautista, Nestor (0-3)
S: WILLIAMS (3)
Batting:
2B: Catanzarite, Dominick 1
3B: Devarie, Elbert 1
HR: Campbell, Cody 1
RBI: Godfrey, Sean 1 ; Weir, T.J. 1 ; Campbell, Cody 3 ; Devarie, Elbert 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Catanzarite, Dominick 1 ; Beemer, Blake 1 ; Weir, T.J. 1 ; Campbell, Cody 1 ; Campbell, Kirby 1 ; Franchetti, Kevin 1 ; Devarie, Elbert 1
SB: Beemer, Blake 1 ; Campbell, Kirby 1 ; Franchetti, Kevin 1
PO: Beemer, Blake 1
Batting:
2B: PIERCE 1 ; ALLEN 2 ; BENNETT 2
3B: FRITTS 1
HR: STECKENRIDER 1
RBI: OSBORNE 1 ; STECKENRIDER 2 ; FRITTS 1 ; ALLEN 1 ; BENNETT 1 ; MADDOX 1
SH: LUTHER 1 ; FRITTS 1 ; WORMSLEY 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LUTHER 1 ; PIERCE 2 ; STECKENRIDER 3 ; ALLEN 1 ; WORMSLEY 1 ; BENNETT 1
SB: LUTHER 1 ; BENNETT 1
CS: FRITTS 1 ; MADDOX 1
HBP: ALLEN 2 ; MADDOX 1
