Ball State University
19-12, 5-2
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Western Michigan
8-18, 1-3
Zach Plesac's Pitching Gem Leads Ball State to 7-2 Win
April 09, 2016 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. – Starting pitcher Zach Plesac tied a career high with 11 strikeouts over eight innings as the Ball State baseball team downed visiting Western Michigan, 7-2, on a cold Saturday afternoon at Ball Diamond.
The Cardinals (19-12, 5-2 MAC) have now won four straight and seven of their last eight overall.
Plesac (3-1) struck out eight of the nine starters in the Western Michigan lineup at least once, including striking out the side in the fourth inning. The native of Crown Point, Indiana scattered six singles and only walked two batters. He also helped his own cause with an RBI triple, his first career three-bagger, in the seventh inning.
After Western Michigan (8-18, 1-3) manufactured a run in the top of the first, Ball State responded with a run in the bottom of the frame and two more in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Junior Alex Maloney chipped in with an RBI single in the first while fellow junior Alex Call added a two-out RBI double in the second inning.
The Broncos cut the deficit to 3-2 in the fifth inning, but the Cardinals broke open the game with three runs on just two hits in the seventh. Call got the big inning going with a double down the left field line. Junior Caleb Stayton pushed across a run with a sacrifice fly and Plesac capped the inning with a run-scoring triple to the right center gap.
The Cardinals scored five runs off Western Michigan starter Keegan Akin, who entered the game with a 1.43 ERA. Call extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a pair of doubles while Maloney added two singles and two RBIs.
Hunter Prince and Jesse Forestell each tallied two hits for Western Michigan.
Ball State and Western Michigan will wrap up the series tomorrow, April 10 with a doubleheader slated to begin at 10 a.m.
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Plesac, Zach (3-1)
L: AKIN, Keegan (3-3)
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Batting:
RBI: MILLER, Grant 1 ; SMITH, Connor 1
SH: MILLER, Grant 1
SF: SMITH, Connor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: VOGELMEIER, Nick 1 ; PASTORA, Steve 1
CS: FORESTELL, Jesse 1 ; SMITH, Connor 1
Batting:
2B: Call, Alex 2
3B: Plesac, Zach 1
RBI: Call, Alex 1 ; Maloney, Alex 2 ; Stayton, Caleb 1 ; Plesac, Zach 1 ; Kennedy, Sean 1
SH: Kennedy, Sean 1
SF: Maloney, Alex 1 ; Stayton, Caleb 1 ; Kennedy, Sean 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Call, Alex 2 ; Maloney, Alex 1 ; Rindfleisch, Jarett 1 ; Eppers, Matt 1 ; Brockhouse, Colin 1 ; Tyler, Scott 1
SB: Call, Alex 1 ; Eppers, Matt 1 ; Tyler, Scott 1
CS: Maloney, Alex 1 ; Brockhouse, Colin 1
PO: Brockhouse, Colin 1
