Ball State University
30-28
No. 8 Toledo
17-40
Toledo Knocks Ball State Out of MAC Tournament
May 25, 2017 | Baseball
Thursday's game was an elimination game for both teams. With the win, No. 8 seed Toledo (17-40) stays alive and will face the loser of No. 1 Kent State and No. 5 Ohio Friday afternoon. Ball State concludes its 2017 season with a record of 30-28.
The Cardinals played from behind the entire game on a rainy afternoon. Toledo tallied a run in the first, another in the second and two more in the third to build an early 4-0 lead.
Senior Matt Eppers jump-started Ball State's offense with a three-run home run in the bottom of the third. The Cardinals tied the game in the fourth inning thanks to junior Seth Freed's RBI ground out.
The Cardinals had a chance to take control of the game in the sixth inning. Junior Jeff Riedel led off that frame with a triple. He scored to tie the game at 5-all on sophomore Trent Theisen's sacrifice fly ball. A Freed double and walks to sophomore Roman Baisa and senior Alex Maloney loaded the bases with two outs. However, Toledo reliever Nate Haugh worked out of the jam by striking out Eppers on a full count.
After a scoreless seventh, Boss gave the Rockets the lead for good with the two-run double into right field. Toledo broke open the floodgates with eight runs in the ninth inning.
Boss finished the game 3-for-3 with two doubles, five RBIs and two runs scored. Matt Hansen, Toledo's lead-off hitter, went 5-for-6 with an RBI and four runs scored.
This was the final game in a Ball State jersey for eight seniors – pitcher BJ Butler, pitcher David Current, Eppers, infielder Sean Kennedy, pitcher Evan Korson, Maloney, pitcher Kevin Marnon, and infielder Caleb Stayton. The senior class compiled an overall record of 134-97 (.580) and helped the Cardinals win the 2014 MAC regular season title and 2016 MAC West Division banner.
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: HAUGH, Nate (2-3)
L: Floyd, Nick (2-2)
Batting:
2B: HANSEN, Matt 1 ; BOSS, Brad 2 ; ADOLPH, Ross 1 ; RYAN, Michael 1
HR: KRUPAR, Jake 1
RBI: HANSEN, Matt 1 ; BOSS, Brad 5 ; ADOLPH, Ross 4 ; KRUPAR, Jake 2 ; RYAN, Michael 2
SH: CAMPBELL, Riley 2 ; BOSS, Brad 1 ; MONTOYA, AJ 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HANSEN, Matt 4 ; CAMPBELL, Riley 3 ; BOSS, Brad 2 ; ADOLPH, Ross 1 ; MONTOYA, AJ 1 ; KRUPAR, Jake 2 ; RYAN, Michael 1 ; BENNETT, Antonio 1
SB: HANSEN, Matt 1
CS: BOSS, Brad 1
HBP: BOLLINGER, Dalton 3 ; BENNETT, Antonio 1
Batting:
2B: Freed, Seth 2
3B: Riedel, Jeff 1
HR: Eppers, Matt 1
RBI: Eppers, Matt 3 ; Theisen, Trent 1 ; Freed, Seth 1
SH: Hulecki, Griffin 1
SF: Theisen, Trent 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Eppers, Matt 1 ; Riedel, Jeff 2 ; Freed, Seth 1 ; Baisa, Roman 1
SB: Eppers, Matt 1
CS: Riedel, Jeff 1
