Friday, April 28
DeKalb, Ill.
12:30 pm
Ball State University
at
Northern Illinois
Ball State Finishes Road Swing at NIU
April 28, 2017 | Baseball
Game #42 – Ball State at Northern Illinois (updated)
Friday, April 28, 12:30 p.m. (ET)
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)
Game #43 – Ball State at Northern Illinois (updated)
Friday, April 28, approx. 4 p.m. (ET)
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)
Game #44 – Ball State at Northern Illinois
Sunday, April 30, 1 p.m. (ET)
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)
Projected Starting Pitchers
Friday – Kevin Marnon, LHP (5-4, 4.67 ERA, 48 Ks)
Saturday – John Baker, RHP (5-1, 2.53 ERA, 44 Ks)
Sunday – Brendan Burns, RHP (1-2, 3.95 ERA, 29 Ks)
Around the Horn
Opening Pitch: These two teams are battling for seeding in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Cardinals started the league season at 0-6, but have since rebounded and currently sit fourth in the standings at 8-7.
Northern Illinois is right behind Ball State at 6-6 in MAC play. The Huskies began league action with a sweep of Toledo. Since then, NIU has gone 3-6 against MAC opponents.
Ball State is batting a league-best .316 in conference games. Meanwhile, Northern Illinois' 3.55 team ERA is third best in league games.
Series History: Northern Illinois took two of three games from Ball State last year for the first time since 2011. Between 2012 and 2015, the Cardinals took 10 of 12 games from NIU.
The two teams will meet at NIU for the second straight year. Ball State leads the all-time series by a count of 48-34-1.
Burns Returning to Rotation: Junior RHP Brendan Burns is set to make his first league start of the season this weekend. Burns has made two midweek starts – March 28 versus Butler and April 18 at Purdue.
On April 23 at Buffalo, Burns tossed 6.1 innings in relief and struck out seven batters, one shy of his career best.
Burns made six MAC starts in 2016 and went 2-2 with a 4.39 ERA in 26.2 innings pitched.
Back-to-Back For Kennedy: Senior INF Sean Kennedy has been named MAC West Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks. He hit .714 (10-of-14) in the series against Bowling Green on April 14-15. In game two of that series, he went 5-for-5 with three home runs, a triple, a double and nine RBIs. Kennedy set a program record with 17 total bases.
On April 18, Kennedy propelled Ball State to a 5-3 win over Purdue with a lead-off home run in the top of the 12th inning.
Double Trouble for the Opposition: The Cardinals lead the MAC in doubles (81) and have hit at least one double in 12 consecutive games. Ball State tallied a season-high seven doubles in the win over Valparaiso on April 11.
Four players have at least 10 doubles led by INF Seth Freed with 12 two-baggers.
Friday, April 28, 12:30 p.m. (ET)
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)
Game #43 – Ball State at Northern Illinois (updated)
Friday, April 28, approx. 4 p.m. (ET)
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)
Game #44 – Ball State at Northern Illinois
Sunday, April 30, 1 p.m. (ET)
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)
Projected Starting Pitchers
Friday – Kevin Marnon, LHP (5-4, 4.67 ERA, 48 Ks)
Saturday – John Baker, RHP (5-1, 2.53 ERA, 44 Ks)
Sunday – Brendan Burns, RHP (1-2, 3.95 ERA, 29 Ks)
Around the Horn
Opening Pitch: These two teams are battling for seeding in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Cardinals started the league season at 0-6, but have since rebounded and currently sit fourth in the standings at 8-7.
Northern Illinois is right behind Ball State at 6-6 in MAC play. The Huskies began league action with a sweep of Toledo. Since then, NIU has gone 3-6 against MAC opponents.
Ball State is batting a league-best .316 in conference games. Meanwhile, Northern Illinois' 3.55 team ERA is third best in league games.
Series History: Northern Illinois took two of three games from Ball State last year for the first time since 2011. Between 2012 and 2015, the Cardinals took 10 of 12 games from NIU.
The two teams will meet at NIU for the second straight year. Ball State leads the all-time series by a count of 48-34-1.
Burns Returning to Rotation: Junior RHP Brendan Burns is set to make his first league start of the season this weekend. Burns has made two midweek starts – March 28 versus Butler and April 18 at Purdue.
On April 23 at Buffalo, Burns tossed 6.1 innings in relief and struck out seven batters, one shy of his career best.
Burns made six MAC starts in 2016 and went 2-2 with a 4.39 ERA in 26.2 innings pitched.
Back-to-Back For Kennedy: Senior INF Sean Kennedy has been named MAC West Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks. He hit .714 (10-of-14) in the series against Bowling Green on April 14-15. In game two of that series, he went 5-for-5 with three home runs, a triple, a double and nine RBIs. Kennedy set a program record with 17 total bases.
On April 18, Kennedy propelled Ball State to a 5-3 win over Purdue with a lead-off home run in the top of the 12th inning.
Double Trouble for the Opposition: The Cardinals lead the MAC in doubles (81) and have hit at least one double in 12 consecutive games. Ball State tallied a season-high seven doubles in the win over Valparaiso on April 11.
Four players have at least 10 doubles led by INF Seth Freed with 12 two-baggers.
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
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INF
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INF
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LHP
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