Tuesday, April 25
Indianapolis, Ind.
7 pm
Ball State University
3
vs
4
Indiana
Junior OF Jeff Riedel
Photo by: David Wegiel Jr.
Baseball Forces Extras, Falls 4-3 to Indiana
April 25, 2017 | Baseball
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Jeff Riedel's RBI double forced extra innings for the Ball State baseball team Tuesday night against Indiana, but the Hoosiers emerged with a 4-3 win in the 10th at Victory Field. Nearly 6,000 fans attended the neutral site game.
Indiana (22-16-2) used a two-out rally to score the winning run against closer T.J. Baker, working his third full inning as the last of four Ball State pitchers on the night. Matt Gorski singled home the game-winning run for the Hoosiers to cap the second extra-inning contest between the teams this season.
Ball State's pitching staff held the Big Ten's most powerful offensive team in check throughout the night. The Cardinals led 2-1 through six innings, surrendering the only IU run on a balk by Colin Brockhouse, who threw the opening two innings of the midweek affair.
Ball State (21-20) grabbed the lead with two runs in the third inning. After Indiana starter Cal Krueger retired the first eight batters he faced, the Cardinals strung together three straight hits. Joe Gunn and Alex Maloney doubled back-to-back, and Matt Eppers followed with an RBI single.
Cardinal relievers Kevin Marnon and Evan Marquardt made that lead hold up until the seventh inning. Marnon threw a scoreless third, and Marquardt pitched the next three without allowing a base runner before surrendering a leadoff walk to start the seventh.
IU's Logan Sowers drew the free pass and later scored on a single from Jeremy Houston to tie it up. Riedel temporarily kept the game knotted by cutting down the potential go-ahead run at the plate from right field after an Alex Krupa single. But Tony Butler laced the next pitch to left field to score Houston and put the Hoosiers on top.
Ball State still trailed by a single run heading into the top of the ninth. Trent Theisen singled with one out and exited for pinch runner Alex Masotto. Riedel followed with a line drive down the right field line that rattled around the bullpen, allowing Masotto to circle the bases to tie the game.
Baker worked around a pair of base runners in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extras, but Indiana broke through in the 10th. Laren Eustace was hit by a pitch with two outs, stole second and then came home on Gorski's single through the right side of the infield to end Ball State's bid for a third win over a Big Ten opponent this season.
The Cardinals already defeated Big Ten leader Maryland and added a win over Purdue last week.
Ball State, which recently had a 10-game winning streak snapped, could rather easily have seen the streak reach as many as 13. The team's past three losses have all come in walk-off fashion.
The Cardinals will return to Mid-American Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at Northern Illinois starting Friday.
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
Indiana (22-16-2) used a two-out rally to score the winning run against closer T.J. Baker, working his third full inning as the last of four Ball State pitchers on the night. Matt Gorski singled home the game-winning run for the Hoosiers to cap the second extra-inning contest between the teams this season.
Ball State's pitching staff held the Big Ten's most powerful offensive team in check throughout the night. The Cardinals led 2-1 through six innings, surrendering the only IU run on a balk by Colin Brockhouse, who threw the opening two innings of the midweek affair.
Ball State (21-20) grabbed the lead with two runs in the third inning. After Indiana starter Cal Krueger retired the first eight batters he faced, the Cardinals strung together three straight hits. Joe Gunn and Alex Maloney doubled back-to-back, and Matt Eppers followed with an RBI single.
Cardinal relievers Kevin Marnon and Evan Marquardt made that lead hold up until the seventh inning. Marnon threw a scoreless third, and Marquardt pitched the next three without allowing a base runner before surrendering a leadoff walk to start the seventh.
IU's Logan Sowers drew the free pass and later scored on a single from Jeremy Houston to tie it up. Riedel temporarily kept the game knotted by cutting down the potential go-ahead run at the plate from right field after an Alex Krupa single. But Tony Butler laced the next pitch to left field to score Houston and put the Hoosiers on top.
Ball State still trailed by a single run heading into the top of the ninth. Trent Theisen singled with one out and exited for pinch runner Alex Masotto. Riedel followed with a line drive down the right field line that rattled around the bullpen, allowing Masotto to circle the bases to tie the game.
Baker worked around a pair of base runners in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extras, but Indiana broke through in the 10th. Laren Eustace was hit by a pitch with two outs, stole second and then came home on Gorski's single through the right side of the infield to end Ball State's bid for a third win over a Big Ten opponent this season.
The Cardinals already defeated Big Ten leader Maryland and added a win over Purdue last week.
Ball State, which recently had a 10-game winning streak snapped, could rather easily have seen the streak reach as many as 13. The team's past three losses have all come in walk-off fashion.
The Cardinals will return to Mid-American Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at Northern Illinois starting Friday.
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
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