Thursday, May 18
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
3:05 pm
Ball State University
29-25, 13-9
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Central Michigan
28-25, 15-7
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Ball State
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Central Michigan
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Photo by: David Wegiel Jr.
Big Seventh Inning Lifts Ball State to 5-4 Win at CMU
May 18, 2017 | Baseball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Ball State baseball team only scored in one inning Thursday afternoon, but it was a big one as the Cardinals went on to record a 5-4 win at Central Michigan.
Central Michigan (28-25, 15-7 MAC) starting pitcher Pat Leatherman struck out nine batters and held the Cardinals to just one hit over the first six innings. The Chippewas were able to build a 3-0 lead thanks to an RBI groundout in the second inning and a Daniel Jipping two-run home run in the fourth.
However, Ball State (29-25, 13-9) caught fire in the seventh with six singles, three of which turned out to be RBI hits. Senior Caleb Stayton provided what proved to be the game-winning hit, a two-out, two-run single to score fellow seniors Alex Maloney and Matt Eppers. Stayton's single gave the Cardinals a 5-3 lead.
Central Michigan made one last charge in the bottom of the eighth inning. Two singles and a pair of walks allowed the Chippewas to plate a run and load the bases with two outs. Sophomore reliever T.J. Baker came out of the Ball State bullpen and ended the rally with a three-pitch strikeout. Baker then worked the ninth inning to pick up his sixth save of the season.
Sophomore pitcher Evan Marquardt tallied his first win since March 4 thanks to tossing 3.2 innings of middle relief, striking out six batters and allowing one run.
Junior Seth Freed led Ball State at the plate as the infielder with 2-for-3 with an RBI single and run scored. Sophomore Roman Baisa chipped in with an RBI single as well.
The Cardinals and Chippewas will play game two of their three-game set tomorrow, May 19 at 3:05 p.m. Thanks to today's win, Ball State is still alive for a share of the MAC West Division title. The Cardinals need to win the final two games to catch Central Michigan.
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, including schedule updates for this weekend's series, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
Central Michigan (28-25, 15-7 MAC) starting pitcher Pat Leatherman struck out nine batters and held the Cardinals to just one hit over the first six innings. The Chippewas were able to build a 3-0 lead thanks to an RBI groundout in the second inning and a Daniel Jipping two-run home run in the fourth.
However, Ball State (29-25, 13-9) caught fire in the seventh with six singles, three of which turned out to be RBI hits. Senior Caleb Stayton provided what proved to be the game-winning hit, a two-out, two-run single to score fellow seniors Alex Maloney and Matt Eppers. Stayton's single gave the Cardinals a 5-3 lead.
Central Michigan made one last charge in the bottom of the eighth inning. Two singles and a pair of walks allowed the Chippewas to plate a run and load the bases with two outs. Sophomore reliever T.J. Baker came out of the Ball State bullpen and ended the rally with a three-pitch strikeout. Baker then worked the ninth inning to pick up his sixth save of the season.
Sophomore pitcher Evan Marquardt tallied his first win since March 4 thanks to tossing 3.2 innings of middle relief, striking out six batters and allowing one run.
Junior Seth Freed led Ball State at the plate as the infielder with 2-for-3 with an RBI single and run scored. Sophomore Roman Baisa chipped in with an RBI single as well.
The Cardinals and Chippewas will play game two of their three-game set tomorrow, May 19 at 3:05 p.m. Thanks to today's win, Ball State is still alive for a share of the MAC West Division title. The Cardinals need to win the final two games to catch Central Michigan.
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, including schedule updates for this weekend's series, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Marquardt, Evan (3-4)
L: BRETTELL,MICHAEL (6-5)
S: Baker, T.J. (6)
Batting:
2B: Theisen, Trent 1
RBI: Eppers, Matt 1 ; Stayton, Caleb 2 ; Freed, Seth 1 ; Baisa, Roman 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Maloney, Alex 1 ; Eppers, Matt 1 ; Riedel, Jeff 1 ; Freed, Seth 1 ; Hulecki, Griffin 1
CS: Eppers, Matt 1
HBP: Freed, Seth 1
Batting:
2B: KRATT,EVAN 1
HR: JIPPING,DANIEL 1
RBI: JIPPING,DANIEL 2 ; GREENMAN,ROBERT 1 ; GILLES,ZACH 1
SH: GREENMAN,ROBERT 1
SF: GILLES,ZACH 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ROBINSON,DANIEL 1 ; JIPPING,DANIEL 2 ; KRATT,EVAN 1
HBP: JIPPING,DANIEL 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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