Baseball Defeats NIU to Earn Spot in MAC Tournament

Friday, May 15

Muncie, Ind.

3:00 PM

Ball State University

29-23, 13-13

Northern Illinois

22-32, 10-16

Northern Illinois

Ball State Cardinals

Baseball Suffers 11-7 Loss at Kent State

Baseball Defeats NIU to Earn Spot in MAC Tournament

May 16, 2015 | Baseball

Box Score

By: Ball State Athletics

Home runs from Ryan Spaulding and Caleb Stayton set the pace for the Ball State's baseball team's 7-4 win over Northern Illinois and clinched the Cardinals a spot in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament in Avon, Ohio

With the victory, the Cardinals improved to 29-23 overall and evened their league record at 13-13. Northern Illinois fell to 22-32 overall and 10-16 in league action. The two teams will complete the regular season with a 1 p.m. game Saturday at Ball Diamond in the First Merchants Ballpark Complex in Muncie, Ind.

Northern Illinois jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but Ball State responded with two runs in the bottom of the second to tie the game. Jarett Rindfleisch opened the inning with a single before Spaulding pounded a two-run homer to tie the game at 2-2.

The Huskies responded to the Cardinals scoring with two more in the top of the third to take a 4-2 lead, but Ball State managed three runs in the bottom half of the fourth to take its first lead of the game at 5-4. Stayton hit a three-run homer in the fourth to move the Cardinals ahead 5-4.

Spaulding's sacrifice fly in the fifth scored Alex Maloney, who led off the inning with a single, advanced to second on an Alex Call walk and moved to third after a Rindfleisch single to left center. One inning later, the Cardinals moved their lead to 6-4. With two outs in the sixth, Matt Eppers singled and Maloney's double scored Eppers to put Ball State ahead 7-4

B.J. Butler started on the mound for the Cardinals and evened his record at 5-5 after lasting 6.2 innings, allowing only two earned runs and striking out nine in the contest. Colin Brockhouse earned his first save of the year by finishing the final 2.1 frames, allowing no runs and striking out three of the seven batters he faced.

Rindfleisch was 4-for-4 in the game with two runs scored, while Stayton was 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run scored. Spaulding was 1-for-2 from the plate with three RBI and two runs scored, and Maloney was 2-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored.