Ball State University
13-9, 1-0
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Western Michigan
6-14, 0-1
Cardinals Open MAC Play with 8-5 Win over Western Michigan
March 22, 2019 | Baseball
Andre Orselli drives in four, Kyle Nicolas shuts down WMU bats in late innings
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Designated hitter Andre Orselli drove in four runs, including three on a fifth-inning triple that gave Ball State control on a blustery afternoon.
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After Western Michigan rallied to pull within two runs, Kyle Nicolas came out of the bullpen and worked a perfect final two and a third innings to preserve the win.
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This weekend's series was moved to Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex because of poor field conditions in Kalamazoo. Game two will be played Saturday at 1 p.m.
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"Our offense did a nice job today," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "I thought Drey (Jameson) was good while he was in there, and Kyle Nicolas was outstanding at the end. We only gave up one walk for the whole game. That's huge, especially on a day like today where if you hit the ball really high in the air to right, it might go out."
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Orselli's three-run triple came as part of a five-run fifth inning for Ball State. Ross Messina and John Ricotta, who both homered earlier in the game, drove in the other two runs. The Cardinals sent 10 batters to the plate and collected six hits in the inning. By the time the dust settled, a 2-1 lead had swelled to 7-1.
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Messina, Orselli and Ricotta, the heart of Ball State's order, combined to drive in all eight of the Cardinals' runs.
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Drey Jameson started on the mound for BSU. He struck out six and surrendered just one run before exiting in the top of the fifth.
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Western Michigan began to rally in the sixth against BSU reliever Nick Floyd, cutting into the deficit with two-run homers from Jimmy Roche and Ethan Hajdukovic over the next two frames to pull within two.
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Nicolas then came on with runners at the corners and two outs in the seventh and struck out Nate Grys to minimize the damage. He went on to tally three more strikeouts while sending the Broncos down in order in both the eighth and ninth.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Floyd, Nick (4-0)
L: MODRZYNSKI, Chris (2-1)
S: Nicolas, Kyle (5)
Batting:
2B: Orselli, Andre 1 ; Ricotta, John 1 ; Powell, Noah 1
3B: Orselli, Andre 1
HR: Messina, Ross 1 ; Ricotta, John 1
RBI: Messina, Ross 2 ; Orselli, Andre 4 ; Ricotta, John 2
SH: Navarro, Noah 1 ; Sebby, Chase 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Simpson, Aaron 2 ; Navarro, Noah 1 ; Messina, Ross 2 ; Orselli, Andre 1 ; Ricotta, John 1 ; Baker, William 1
CS: Baker, William 1
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Batting:
2B: ROCHE,Jimmy 1
HR: ROCHE,Jimmy 1 ; HAJDUKOVIC, Ethan 1
RBI: ROCHE,Jimmy 3 ; HAJDUKOVIC, Ethan 2
Base Running:
RUNS: STONE, Andrew 1 ; DUNN, Blake 1 ; ROCHE,Jimmy 1 ; DEVINE, Drew 1 ; HAJDUKOVIC, Ethan 1
CS: DUNN, Blake 1
