Ball State University
14-11, 2-1
Miami (OH)
9-12, 1-2
Cardinals Take Rubber Game Against Miami, 9-6
March 27, 2016 | Baseball
OXFORD, Ohio – The Ball State baseball team jumped out to a 6-0 lead through five innings and held on for a 9-6 win over host Miami Sunday afternoon at Hayden Park. Four Cardinals tallied two RBIs in the rubber game.
Senior Ryan Spaulding got Ball State (14-11, 2-1 MAC) on the board in the top of the second inning with a sacrifice fly. An RBI groundout by junior Zach Plesac made the score, 2-0.
The Cardinals added two runs in the third inning without a hit. Three walks, a wild pitch and a hit batter helped Ball State extend the lead to 4-0.
Junior Jarett Rindfleisch made the score 6-0 in the top of the fifth thanks to a two-run home run to center field. The catcher leads the team with five home runs.
Sophomore pitcher Colin Brockhouse (3-2) cruised through the first five innings, but found trouble in the sixth. Miami's (9-12, 1-2) first four batters reached base, including a two-run triple from Steve Sada, forcing Ball State to make a pitching change. The RedHawks touched home four times in the sixth and once more in the seventh to slash the deficit to 6-5.
Junior Matt Eppers came through with a two-run triple of his own in the eighth to give the Cardinals some breathing room.
Eppers, Rindfleisch, Spaulding and Plesac all chipped in with two RBIs. Junior Alex Maloney doubled twice and scored two times as well.
This was the first time these two teams met for a three-game league series since 2013.
Ball State returns to non-conference action on Tuesday with a road game at Valparaiso. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brockhouse, Colin (3-2)
L: SPEARS, Zach (1-3)
S: Butler, BJ (5)
Batting:
2B: Maloney, Alex 2
3B: Eppers, Matt 1
HR: Rindfleisch, Jarett 1
RBI: Eppers, Matt 2 ; Rindfleisch, Jarett 2 ; Spaulding, Ryan 2 ; Plesac, Zach 2
SH: Baisa, Roman 1
SF: Spaulding, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Eppers, Matt 1 ; Stayton, Caleb 1 ; Rindfleisch, Jarett 2 ; Maloney, Alex 2 ; Plesac, Zach 1 ; Kennedy, Sean 1 ; Baisa, Roman 1
HBP: Call, Alex 1 ; Spaulding, Ryan 1
PO: Eppers, Matt 1
Batting:
2B: HALL, Dallas 1
3B: SADA, Steve 1
HR: HARRIS, Tyler 1 ; SEDIO, Chad 1
RBI: SADA, Steve 2 ; RUSSO, Gary 1 ; HARRIS, Tyler 1 ; SEDIO, Chad 1 ; SENGER, Hayden 1
SF: RUSSO, Gary 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SADA, Steve 1 ; HARRIS, Tyler 1 ; SEDIO, Chad 1 ; HALL, Dallas 1 ; SENGER, Hayden 1 ; ROMANO, Jake 1
CS: YACEK, Adam 1
HBP: ROMANO, Jake 1
