Friday, March 30
Muncie, Ind.
3 p.m.
Ball State University
14-11, 3-1
5
vs
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Central Michigan
7-18-1, 2-2
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Central Michigan
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Ball State
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Photo by: Tim Cowie/Tim Cowie Photography
Ricotta’s Home Run Lifts Ball State to 5-2 Win
March 30, 2018 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. – Junior first baseman John Ricotta broke a seventh inning tie with a towering two-run home run over the left field fence to propel the Ball State baseball team to a 5-2 victory against Central Michigan Friday afternoon at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
The series opener between Ball State (14-11, 3-1 MAC) and Central Michigan (7-18-1, 2-2) was dominated by pitching until the seventh inning. Ball State starting pitcher John Baker struck out six batters and held CMU to one run through six innings. Meanwhile, Pat Leatherman was just as good for the Chippewas, as Ball State only managed one hit and a run through the opening six innings.
In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore Noah Powell led off the frame with a full count walk against Leatherman. Two batters later, Ricotta hit a hanging breaking ball out of the park to put the Cardinals in front, 3-1. The home run was the second for Ricotta in the last three games.
Junior Griffin Hulecki gave Ball State some insurance runs with his first home run of the season, another two-run shot, in the eighth inning. The Cardinals have now hit a home run in five of their last six games and improved to 10-1 when hitting a home run.
Junior pitcher Nick Floyd improved to 3-0 by pitching a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Baker. Fellow junior T.J. Baker picked up his first save of 2018 thanks to working out of a bases loaded jam in the ninth inning.
Leatherman suffered the loss for Central Michigan. The righty struck out 12 batters in 6.1 innings of work and retired 10 straight Cardinals until the bottom of the seventh inning.
Ball State and Central Michigan will continue their series tomorrow, March 31. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
The series opener between Ball State (14-11, 3-1 MAC) and Central Michigan (7-18-1, 2-2) was dominated by pitching until the seventh inning. Ball State starting pitcher John Baker struck out six batters and held CMU to one run through six innings. Meanwhile, Pat Leatherman was just as good for the Chippewas, as Ball State only managed one hit and a run through the opening six innings.
In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore Noah Powell led off the frame with a full count walk against Leatherman. Two batters later, Ricotta hit a hanging breaking ball out of the park to put the Cardinals in front, 3-1. The home run was the second for Ricotta in the last three games.
Junior Griffin Hulecki gave Ball State some insurance runs with his first home run of the season, another two-run shot, in the eighth inning. The Cardinals have now hit a home run in five of their last six games and improved to 10-1 when hitting a home run.
Junior pitcher Nick Floyd improved to 3-0 by pitching a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Baker. Fellow junior T.J. Baker picked up his first save of 2018 thanks to working out of a bases loaded jam in the ninth inning.
Leatherman suffered the loss for Central Michigan. The righty struck out 12 batters in 6.1 innings of work and retired 10 straight Cardinals until the bottom of the seventh inning.
Ball State and Central Michigan will continue their series tomorrow, March 31. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
For the most up-to-date information on the Ball State baseball team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateBB and @CoachMaloney.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Floyd, Nick (3-0)
L: LEATHERMAN, Pat (1-3)
S: Baker, T.J. (1)
Batting:
RBI: HEEKE, Zach 1 ; COLE, David 1
Base Running:
RUNS: WARREN, Zavier 2
HBP: WARREN, Zavier 1 ; ROLLIN, Chase 1
PO: ROBINSON, Daniel 1
Batting:
HR: Hulecki, Griffin 1 ; Ricotta, John 1
RBI: Brockhouse, Colin 1 ; Hulecki, Griffin 2 ; Ricotta, John 2
SH: Sebby, Chase 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Freed, Seth 2 ; Hulecki, Griffin 1 ; Powell, Noah 1 ; Ricotta, John 1
SB: Hulecki, Griffin 1 ; Powell, Noah 1 ; Baker, William 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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