Sunday, April 28
Muncie, Ind.
1 p.m.
Ball State University
28-15, 0
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1
Bowling Green
13-26, 0
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5
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9
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H
E
Bowling Green
0
0
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4
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Ball State
0
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2
0
X
2
4
0
Clutch Freshmen Help Cardinals To Sweep Bowling Green
April 28, 2019 | Baseball
Cardinals holding a share of first place as of April 28
MUNCIE - For any team to pursue on any level of baseball to pursue a championship, it takes every man on the roster. With BSU's regular Sunday starter on the shelf, sophomore fireballer Kyle Nicolas stepped up and threw his best game. With their starting middle infielders out with injuries, the Cardinals saw a pair of freshmen step up and collect the game-winning hits.
The next man up mantra is working for Ball State, which beat Bowling Green 2-1 on Sunday to clinch a series sweep. Ball State is now alone atop the MAC standings, in a virtual tie but with an edge in winning percentage against Central Michigan. CMU, however, holds the tie-breaker vs. Ball State.
Nicolas, a projected weekend starter heading into the season who emerged as the team's closer, struck out a career-high 11 and pitched into the 8th inning in what turned out to be an exciting duel with Bowling Green's Chase Antle. The two pitchers traded zeroes and racked up strikeouts when BSU broke free in the bottom of the 7th. Ryan Peltier, a freshman starting at 3rd base, smacked a double that scored pinch runner Langston Ginder for the go-ahead run. The next batter, freshman Justin Conant hitting in the No. 9 spot, then pushed a base hit to score Peltier for a 2-0 BSU lead.
A trio of relievers got the final 6 outs in relief of Nicolas, who earned his 2nd win of the season. Nick Floyd picked up his 4th save.
Antle had a no-hitter through 4.1 innings before Chase Sebby broke it up with a double to left. Antle took the tough-luck loss after pitching his best game of the season for the Falcons (13-26, 6-12). He fanned 10 over 6 innings and allowing just a pair of hits.
Nicolas allowed just 3 hits and walked 3 in his scoreless outing that lasted 118 pitches.
Goose Was Loose
Nolan Gazouski made his first appearance since Feb. 17, striking out a batter with runners on to end the 8th. He came on and made a clutch pitch after Lukas Jaksich struck out a pair of hitters to start the 8th.
Sparkling Pitching Numbers
On Tuesday, Ball State faced the nation's top home run hitting team in Indiana. After facing that challenge, Cardinals pitchers fashioned a 1.67 ERA during this weekend's series. Ball State struck out 39 Bowling Green batters in 27 innings while allowing just 15 hits and 5 runs. Bowling Green batted .161 during their weekend in Muncie.
Strike 3
Ball State, which entered the weekend 3rd in the nation in strikeouts per 9 innings, has struck out 12 or more in 6 of the last 8 games. Last season, the Cardinals recorded a school-record 560 strikeouts. With 10 regular season games left, the Cards already have 477 strikeouts.
The entire weekend was competitive, with Ball State winning each game 4-2, 3-2 and 2-1, respectively. The Cardinals are now 12-4 in conference play with 3 weekends left. BSU goes to Northern Illinois next weekend and has a pair of home series to close the schedule. Miami and Central Michigan, the other contenders, play each other in the final weekend of the season.
"I'm certainly happy for our guys," head coach Rich Maloney said. "We have a long way to go, but we have put ourselves in a nice position."
Fans can follow the Cards on Twitter and Instagram at @BallStateBB.
The next man up mantra is working for Ball State, which beat Bowling Green 2-1 on Sunday to clinch a series sweep. Ball State is now alone atop the MAC standings, in a virtual tie but with an edge in winning percentage against Central Michigan. CMU, however, holds the tie-breaker vs. Ball State.
Nicolas, a projected weekend starter heading into the season who emerged as the team's closer, struck out a career-high 11 and pitched into the 8th inning in what turned out to be an exciting duel with Bowling Green's Chase Antle. The two pitchers traded zeroes and racked up strikeouts when BSU broke free in the bottom of the 7th. Ryan Peltier, a freshman starting at 3rd base, smacked a double that scored pinch runner Langston Ginder for the go-ahead run. The next batter, freshman Justin Conant hitting in the No. 9 spot, then pushed a base hit to score Peltier for a 2-0 BSU lead.
A trio of relievers got the final 6 outs in relief of Nicolas, who earned his 2nd win of the season. Nick Floyd picked up his 4th save.
Antle had a no-hitter through 4.1 innings before Chase Sebby broke it up with a double to left. Antle took the tough-luck loss after pitching his best game of the season for the Falcons (13-26, 6-12). He fanned 10 over 6 innings and allowing just a pair of hits.
Nicolas allowed just 3 hits and walked 3 in his scoreless outing that lasted 118 pitches.
Goose Was Loose
Nolan Gazouski made his first appearance since Feb. 17, striking out a batter with runners on to end the 8th. He came on and made a clutch pitch after Lukas Jaksich struck out a pair of hitters to start the 8th.
Sparkling Pitching Numbers
On Tuesday, Ball State faced the nation's top home run hitting team in Indiana. After facing that challenge, Cardinals pitchers fashioned a 1.67 ERA during this weekend's series. Ball State struck out 39 Bowling Green batters in 27 innings while allowing just 15 hits and 5 runs. Bowling Green batted .161 during their weekend in Muncie.
Strike 3
Ball State, which entered the weekend 3rd in the nation in strikeouts per 9 innings, has struck out 12 or more in 6 of the last 8 games. Last season, the Cardinals recorded a school-record 560 strikeouts. With 10 regular season games left, the Cards already have 477 strikeouts.
The entire weekend was competitive, with Ball State winning each game 4-2, 3-2 and 2-1, respectively. The Cardinals are now 12-4 in conference play with 3 weekends left. BSU goes to Northern Illinois next weekend and has a pair of home series to close the schedule. Miami and Central Michigan, the other contenders, play each other in the final weekend of the season.
"I'm certainly happy for our guys," head coach Rich Maloney said. "We have a long way to go, but we have put ourselves in a nice position."
Fans can follow the Cards on Twitter and Instagram at @BallStateBB.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nicolas, Kyle (2-2)
L: ANTLE, Chase (1-4)
S: Floyd, Nick (4)
Batting:
2B: LAMBERT, Neil 1
RBI: MINORIK, Riley 1
SF: MINORIK, Riley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LAMBERT, Neil 1
SB: WILLIAMS, R.J. 1
Batting:
2B: Sebby, Chase 1 ; Peltier, Ryan 1
RBI: Peltier, Ryan 1 ; Conant, Justin 1
SH: Murphy, Mack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ginder, Langston 1 ; Peltier, Ryan 1
SB: Messina, Ross 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
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H
1
RBI
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AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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