Ball State University
18-12
Xavier
10-19
Cardinals Hold Off Xavier in Baseball, 5-4
April 06, 2016 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State baseball team jumped out to a 5-2 lead through three innings over visiting Xavier and held on for a 5-4 non-conference win Tuesday afternoon at Ball Diamond. The Cardinals have now won six of their last seven games and improved to 7-2 at home this spring.
Junior Zach Plesac gave Ball State (18-12) a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a two-run double to the left center gap. Fellow junior Caleb Stayton added to his team-leading RBI total with a sharp run-producing single to right field in the second inning. A leadoff double in the third from junior Matt Eppers eventually led to the Cardinals' final run, which pushed the score to 5-2.
Xavier (10-19) cut the deficit to 5-4 in the fifth inning, but the Ball State bullpen held the Musketeers to one hit over the final four frames. Redshirt freshman Evan Marquardt tallied his first collegiate win as the righty threw 3.1 innings of relief, struck out three batters and gave up two runs. Senior lefty Matt Haro and junior righty BJ Butler handled the final three innings on the mound.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 18-0 when leading after seven innings.
Once again, the top of the Ball State batting order was very effective. Right fielder Alex Call, shortstop Alex Maloney and first baseman Caleb Stayton combined for seven hits and four runs scored. Call extended his hitting streak to a team season-high 14 games.
Ball State concludes its seven-game home swing this weekend with a league series against Western Michigan. Game one is scheduled for Friday afternoon, April 8 at 3 p.m.
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Marquardt, Evan (1-0)
L: JACKNEWITZ, Greg (0-6)
S: Butler, BJ (7)
Batting:
HR: RIZZIE, Daniel 1
RBI: RIZZIE, Daniel 3 ; GELLENBECK, Joe 1
SH: LARUE, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: RIZZIE, Daniel 1 ; BANNON, Rylan 2 ; FALLON, Matt 1
Batting:
2B: Call, Alex 1 ; Stayton, Caleb 1 ; Plesac, Zach 1 ; Eppers, Matt 1
RBI: Stayton, Caleb 1 ; Plesac, Zach 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Call, Alex 2 ; Maloney, Alex 1 ; Stayton, Caleb 1 ; Eppers, Matt 1
SB: Maloney, Alex 1
CS: Eppers, Matt 1
