Sunday, February 17
Tempe, Ariz./GCU Ballpark
12 p.m. (10 MT)
Ball State University
6
vs
7
CSU Bakersfield
Photo by: Tim Cowie/Tim Cowie Photography
Cards Rally In 8th, Edged Late By CSUB
February 17, 2019 | Baseball
Cardinals take lead into 9th before CSUB rallies late
PHOENIX, Ariz. - In the fourth game of the season's first weekend, Ball State scored twice in the 8th to lead Cal State Bakersfield before falling 7-6 Sunday afternoon. The game was played at Grand Canyon University, BSU's third neutral-site contest to open the year.
"We battled hard but had too many missed opportunities to get over the hump," head coach Rich Maloney said. "We have to make a few more plays, get another timely hit or two and seize the opportunity on the mound when we get it. Then, we will be where we want to be."
Ball State managed four hits on the day against CSUB, a team it had beaten 10-6 the day before. Noah Navarro scored two runs, giving BSU a lead in the 1st when he crossed home on a sac fly by Ross Messina. Navarro also walked and drove in a run.
Trailing 3-1 in the 2nd, the Cardinals tied the game on an RBI double by Aaron Simpson and a run-scoring single from Navarro. The Cardinals found themselves down 5-4 in the 8th but took advantage of two Bakersfield errors and a wild pitch to score twice to lead 6-5. CSUB found the winning hit from Alexander Gonzales, whose 2-run single provided the final 7-6 score.
CSUB's Will Picketts went 4-for-5 and Edgar Barclay earned the win after getting the final five outs.
Sunday's game saw six errors, five wild pitches, three hit batters and a CSUB balk.
Taking the weekend as a whole, Maloney cited Drey Jameson's pitching performance in Friday's opener as a bright spot. Jameson threw 6.0 innings without allowing a hit and struck out nine against Stanford, a team ranked as high as No. 5 in the national polls. "Drey was outstanding on the mound," Maloney said. "And Noah Navarro and Griffin Hulecki gave us a lift offensively."
Navarro hit .412 and scored five runs over the weekend, while Hulecki hit .375 and had three multi-hit games.Â
Ball State (1-3) will play three road games Feb. 22-24, traveling to Alabama. Fans can follow by listening online or checking the team's Twitter account @BallStateBB.
"We battled hard but had too many missed opportunities to get over the hump," head coach Rich Maloney said. "We have to make a few more plays, get another timely hit or two and seize the opportunity on the mound when we get it. Then, we will be where we want to be."
Ball State managed four hits on the day against CSUB, a team it had beaten 10-6 the day before. Noah Navarro scored two runs, giving BSU a lead in the 1st when he crossed home on a sac fly by Ross Messina. Navarro also walked and drove in a run.
Trailing 3-1 in the 2nd, the Cardinals tied the game on an RBI double by Aaron Simpson and a run-scoring single from Navarro. The Cardinals found themselves down 5-4 in the 8th but took advantage of two Bakersfield errors and a wild pitch to score twice to lead 6-5. CSUB found the winning hit from Alexander Gonzales, whose 2-run single provided the final 7-6 score.
CSUB's Will Picketts went 4-for-5 and Edgar Barclay earned the win after getting the final five outs.
Sunday's game saw six errors, five wild pitches, three hit batters and a CSUB balk.
Taking the weekend as a whole, Maloney cited Drey Jameson's pitching performance in Friday's opener as a bright spot. Jameson threw 6.0 innings without allowing a hit and struck out nine against Stanford, a team ranked as high as No. 5 in the national polls. "Drey was outstanding on the mound," Maloney said. "And Noah Navarro and Griffin Hulecki gave us a lift offensively."
Navarro hit .412 and scored five runs over the weekend, while Hulecki hit .375 and had three multi-hit games.Â
Ball State (1-3) will play three road games Feb. 22-24, traveling to Alabama. Fans can follow by listening online or checking the team's Twitter account @BallStateBB.
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