Ball State University
0-3
Utah
1-1
Utah Jumps On Top Early, Downs Baseball Cards, 11-5
February 21, 2016 | Baseball
SURPRISE, Ariz. – The Utah Utes scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and never trailed on the way to an 11-5 win over the Ball State University baseball team Saturday night. The game was part of the Surprise College Baseball Classic in Surprise, Arizona.
Nine players came to the plate for Utah (1-1) in the first inning and four produced RBIs to give the Utes a quick 4-0 lead.
Ball State (0-3) chipped away at the deficit with single runs in the second, third and fourth innings to close within 5-3. Junior Alex Maloney put the Cardinals on the scoreboard with a two-out RBI single in the second inning. Sean Kennedy added a sacrifice fly ball in the third and Maloney did the same in the fourth.
The Cardinals managed to put two runners on base in the sixth inning, but could not come up with a key hit.
Utah plated five more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull away.
Sophomore pitcher Mitch Gibson came on in relief early in the game and threw four quality innings to allow the Cardinals to hang around. Gibson struck out four, allowed two hits and one run while facing 16 batters.
On offense, Maloney finished with two RBIs. Juniors Matt Eppers and Caleb Stayton each produced two hits. Eppers tallied a double and triple, and also scored a run. Meanwhile, senior Scott Tyler walked twice and scored twice.
Ball State wraps up play in Arizona tomorrow against Utah Valley. Game time is set for 12 p.m. ET (10 a.m. MT).
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Carroll, Dalton (1-0)
L: Korson, Evan (0-1)
S: Drachler, Dylan (1)
Batting:
2B: Eppers, Matt 1
3B: Eppers, Matt 1
RBI: Maloney, Alex 2 ; Hulecki, Griffin 1 ; Kennedy, Sean 1
SF: Maloney, Alex 1 ; Hulecki, Griffin 1 ; Kennedy, Sean 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Spaulding, Ryan 1 ; Rindfleisch, Jarett 1 ; Tyler, Scott 2 ; Eppers, Matt 1
SB: Call, Alex 1
HBP: Rindfleisch, Jarett 1
Batting:
2B: Rose, Josh 1 ; Simmons, Hunter 1
RBI: Carroll, Dallas 1 ; Smith, Wyler 1 ; Scaggari, Cody 1 ; Simmons, Hunter 3 ; Moeller, Zack 1 ; Kelly, Ellis 1 ; Keirsey Jr., DaShawn 2
SF: Kelly, Ellis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Davis, Kody 2 ; Rose, Josh 2 ; Carroll, Dallas 2 ; Smith, Wyler 2 ; Scaggari, Cody 1 ; Simmons, Hunter 2
SB: Moeller, Zack 1 ; Keirsey Jr., DaShawn 1
CS: Rose, Josh 1 ; Carroll, Dallas 2
HBP: Carroll, Dallas 1 ; Smith, Wyler 2 ; Scaggari, Cody 1 ; Moeller, Zack 1
