Ball State University Athletics
Ball State Winds Down Regular Season at NIU
May 18, 2016 | Baseball
Game 1 - Ball State at Northern Illinois
Thursday, May 19, 4 p.m. ET
Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)
Game 2 - Ball State at Northern Illinois
Friday, May 20, 1 p.m. ET
Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)
Game 3 - Ball State at Northern Illinois
Friday, May 21, 4:30 p.m. ET (approx.)
Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)
Fans can tune in for FREE on their computer by visiting the links above. Please note, fans can also listen to the broadcast on their mobile devices by purchasing the premium upgrade (on-time fee of $4.99) on the BallStSports app found in iTunes and Android stores.
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ball-state-sports/id580853822?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.neulion.android.collegesports.bsu.premium&hl=en
Projected Starting Pitchers
Game 1 - Kevin Marnon, LHP (4-5, 4.09 ERA, 46 Ks)
Game 2 - Brendan Burns, RHP (5-3, 3.60, 42 Ks)
Game 3 Nick Floyd, RHP (0-0, 6.00, 0 Ks)
Game Notes
Opening Pitch: Ball State wraps up the regular season with a rare non-conference series against a conference opponent, Northern Illinois. The Cardinals have already clinched the MAC West and No. 2 seed for the upcoming MAC Tournament.
Ball State is 5-5 in non-conference road games, which includes a win at #6 LSU on March 11. 1B Caleb Stayton leads the team with 11 RBIs in those games while 3B Sean Kennedy has a team-best three home runs.
Series History: Ball State has won seven of the last eight meetings against Northern Illinois and holds a 47-32-1 lead in the all-time series that dates back to 1971.
SS Alex Maloney hit .385 (5-of-13) in last year's series with three doubles and two runs scored. RHP BJ Butler struck out a career-best nine batters in the 7-4 win over the Huskies on May 15, 2015.
How the West Was Won: Ball State clinched its second MAC West Division title in the last three years thanks to an 8-7 win at Toledo on Sunday. The Cardinals won six of their eight series against league opponents. Ball State averaged 8.2 runs per game in conference action while ranking first in batting average (.309), OBP (.418) and slugging (.504).
Closing the Door: Ball State is 31-0 this season when tied or leading after seven innings.
RHP BJ Butler has been particularly effective as he has made 13 consecutive relief appearances without allowing a run. Butler has five wins and four saves in that stretch.
Two weekends ago against Eastern Michigan, Butler pitched two innings to earn the save in the 10-7 win on May 6 and then pitched the final five innings on May 8 to record the win in the 8-3 triumph.
Stayton Closing In On Record: 1B Caleb Stayton needs six more RBIs to tie Ball State's single-season record set by Brad Miller in 2006 (76). The junior has 18 multi-RBI games this spring and has recorded at least five RBIs three times. On Tuesday, Stayton hit his second grand slam of the season in the 7-4 win at Butler.
Call Chasing a Record As Well: RF Alex Call has a shot to reach Ball State's single-season record for doubles (25) set by Kolbrin Vitek in 2009. Call currently sits with 23 doubles, but has not tallied a double in six straight games.
