Ball State University Athletics
Ball State Aims for MAC Tournament Title
May 25, 2016 | Baseball
Game 1 - Ball State vs. Western Michigan
Wednesday, May 25, 1 p.m.
ESPN3 | Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)
Game 2 - Ball State vs. Central Michigan
Thursday, May 26, 9:30 a.m.
ESPN3 | Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)
Game 3 (and beyond) - Will be updated following the conclusion of the previous game
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 - BJ Butler, RHP (6-0, 1.78 ERA, 46 Ks)
Game 2 - Matt Haro, LHP (6-2, 3.98 ERA, 33 Ks)
Game Notes
Opening Pitch: Ball State opens the 2016 MAC Tournament against No. 7 seed Western Michigan. The Cardinals swept the three-game series against the Broncos in early April by scores of 7-2, 21-1 and 13-3. 1B Caleb Stayton went 9-for-15 (.600) in the series with a home run, three doubles, a triple and 10 RBIs.
Also on Ball State's half of the bracket are No. 3 Miami and No. 6 Central Michigan. The Cardinals took two of three games from each of those teams this spring.
Expected to start on the mound in Wednesday's opener is RHP BJ Butler. The junior was used as a reliever for the majority of the season, but stepped in to start on May 20 at Toledo. He tossed 8.0 innings, struck out six and allowed two earned runs against the Rockets.
Butler was 5-0 with a 1.07 ERA and three saves in 13 league appearances this season.
Tournament History: Ball State's lone tournament title came 10 years ago when the Cardinals won four straight games over Western Michigan, Central Michigan and Kent State (twice).
Since head coach Rich Maloney took over the program in 2013, no team has won more MAC Tournament games than Ball State (7). The Cardinals are the only team in the league to win at least one tournament game each of the last three seasons.
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 May 20. 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), slugging (.504) and runs scored (198).
MAC Player of the Year: RF Alex Call enters the MAC Tournament leading the league in hits (86), runs (67), doubles (24), triples (6), total bases (161) and slugging (.685) while ranking among the top five MAC players in home runs (13), batting average (.366), stolen bases (17) and on-base percentage (.453).
The junior is the eighth Cardinal to win the prestigious award and second in the last three years (Sean Godfrey in 2014).
Four First Team All-MAC Players: RHP BJ Butler, RF Alex Call, C Jarett Rindfleisch and 1B Caleb Stayton were selected to the All-MAC first team. The last time Ball State had more than four players on the first team was 1998.
