Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Northwestern
Baseball Suffers 5-4, 11-Inning Loss to Northwestern
March 07, 2015 | Baseball
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For a school record sixth straight game, Ball State played a one-run game but unfortunately the Cardinals came up on the short end of a 5-4, 11-inning loss to Northwestern in Port Charlotte, Fla.
With the loss, Ball State evened its overall record at 6-6, while the Wildcats improved to 2-9 on the year.
In a game they never led, the Cardinals fell behind 2-0 in the top of the third but answered immediately with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 2-2.? Northwestern answered back with two more runs in the top of the fourth, and Ball State would again tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh.? The Wildcats took their final lead of the game with one run in the top of the 11th to claim the victory.
B.J. Butler came on in relief in the eighth inning and pitched the final four frames, allowing only one run and striking out five, but suffered the loss and fell to 1-2 on the year.? Zach Plesac started on the mound for the Cardinals and threw seven innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out three.
Ball State's first two runs came on a pair of singles from Scott Tyler and Brandon Estep who scored with the help of a Ryan Spaulding ground out and an Elbert Devarie single to left.
Down 4-2 in the seventh, the Cardinals' Sean Kennedy opened the inning with a double to left center field and Alex Maloney moved him to third when he reached on an error.? Tyler singled to right to score Kennedy and Maloney would tie the game when he crossed the plate on a wild pitch.
With the game knotted at 4-4, Northwestern opened the 11th inning with a walk and a strikeout.? With one out, the Wildcats put runners on first and second with a bunt single and then score the game winning run on a single to center field.
Tyler led the Cardinals with a 2-for-5 performance from the plate, one run-batted-in and one run scored.? Spaulding and Devarie each added RBI for Ball State, while Kennedy's double was the team's only extra base hit on the day.
Ball State will face Dartmouth Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Port Charlotte, Fla., before completing play in Florida with a Sunday 10 a.m. game against Indiana.
