Tough Tests Await Ball State in New Orleans

Game #5 – Ball State at New Orleans
Friday, Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m. ET
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)

Game #6 –Ball State vs. Iowa
Saturday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m. ET
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)

Game #7 –Ball State vs. Virginia Tech
Sunday, Feb. 25, 10 a.m. ET
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateBB)

Projected Starting Pitchers (2018 stats)
Friday – John Baker, RHP (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 10 Ks)
Saturday – Kyle Nicolas, RHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 9 Ks)
Sunday – TBA

Around the Horn
Opening Pitch: The Ball State baseball team will make its second trip to Louisiana in the last three years this weekend when the Cardinals head to New Orleans.

Two years ago, Ball State took on No. 7 LSU in a three-game series in Baton Rouge. The Cardinals snapped LSU's six-game winning streak in the opener of the series, 7-1. Senior OF Colin Brockhouse, junior C/OF Griffin Hulecki and junior RHP TJ Harmon all competed in that series.

Series History: Ball State will be facing two of the three opponents this weekend for the very first time – New Orleans and Virginia Tech.

The Cardinals are 0-4 all-time against current members of the Southland Conference (New Orleans). The last meeting against a Southland Conference opponent came in 1995 when Ball State was swept in a three-game set at Lamar.

Ball State and Iowa have only met on one other occasion and that happened in 2014. The Hawkeyes pulled away from Ball State in a neutral site game in Port Charlotte, Florida on Feb. 22, 2014, 16-6.

The Cardinals played a pair of ACC teams last year, defeating Boston College, 4-1, and falling to No. 6 Louisville, 10-4.

This and That: Some random stats for the week …
• Ball State put up two home runs and three doubles in its season opener, but only managed one extra base hit the last three games of the Shipyard Classic.

• Ball State pitchers tallied 18 strikeouts in the opener against UMass Lowell, one shy of the school single game mark. The program record of 19 strikeouts has been reached twice, most recently on March 10, 2005 at North Carolina A&T.

• The Cardinals were 2-22 when trailing after seven innings a year ago. Last weekend, Ball State rallied from a 5-4 deficit after seven innings to defeat UMass Lowell in the opener, 8-5.

Players Mentioned

John Baker

Colin Brockhouse

TJ Harmon

Griffin Hulecki

Kyle Nicolas

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