Ball State University
24-17, 10-5
Bowling Green
16-24, 6-9
Ball State Comes Up Just Short in Comeback Bid, 8-7
April 24, 2016 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. – Visiting Bowling Green capitalized on a six-run first inning and held on to defeat the Ball State baseball team Sunday afternoon at Ball Diamond, 8-7.
It took half the game before the Ball State bats starting heating up and when they did, it appeared the Cardinals (24-17, 10-5 MAC) would be able to pull off a massive comeback. Ball State trailed 8-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning when the Cardinals started to make some noise.
Junior Caleb Stayton put the Cardinals on the board with a sharp RBI single to right field. The next batter, junior Jarett Rindfleisch, launched a ball over the left field wall for a three-run home run to slash Bowling Green's (16-24, 6-9) lead in half.
The next inning, Stayton came through again to ignite the home fans. With a runner on and two outs, the lefty belted a home run deep to right center field to make the score, 8-7.
However, Bowling Green's bullpen wiggled out of a couple of jams down the stretch to preserve the win. In the eighth inning, the Cardinals grounded out with two runners on and two outs. Ball State then loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth with one out only to see pitcher Tony Landi induce a ground ball double play to second base to end the game.
Ball State was 4-0 in league series this year until the Falcons took two of three games this weekend. Bowling Green has now won five of its last seven games.
Stayton led Ball State at the plate by going 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Senior Ryan Spaulding added three hits, including a double.
For Bowling Green, Riley Minorik tallied three hits and three RBIs, including a key two-out, two-run single in the top of the first inning.
Ball State is right back in action with another home game this Tuesday, April 26. The Cardinals host Northern Kentucky in a non-conference game beginning at 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: DAUGHERTY, Devin (4-1)
L: Burns, Brendan (5-2)
S: LANDI, Tony (8)
Batting:
RBI: MINORIK, Riley 3 ; BASALYGA, Greg 1 ; BROWN, Kory 1 ; GREINER, Tyler 2 ; DAUGHERTY, Cam 1
SH: SMITH, Matt 1
SF: BASALYGA, Greg 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MINORIK, Riley 1 ; GLANZMAN, Nick 1 ; SMITH, Matt 1 ; WILLIAMS, RJ 1 ; BROWN, Kory 2 ; GREINER, Tyler 2
SB: MINORIK, Riley 1 ; BROWN, Kory 1 ; GREINER, Tyler 1
HBP: WILLIAMS, RJ 1
Batting:
2B: Spaulding, Ryan 1
HR: Stayton, Caleb 1 ; Rindfleisch, Jarett 1
RBI: Call, Alex 1 ; Stayton, Caleb 3 ; Rindfleisch, Jarett 3
SH: Baisa, Roman 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Call, Alex 1 ; Maloney, Alex 1 ; Stayton, Caleb 2 ; Rindfleisch, Jarett 1 ; Kennedy, Sean 1 ; Baisa, Roman 1
HBP: Rindfleisch, Jarett 1 ; Kennedy, Sean 1 ; Baisa, Roman 1
