Cardinals Join in Birdie-Fest on Day 2 at Trinity Forest Invitational

Leaderboard | Rd. 3 Pairings (BSU tee times starting Tuesday at 8 a.m. CT/9 ET)

DALLAS -- On a day when the leaders went crazy low at the Trinity Forest Invitational, Ball State's score of 277 (-7) was the fifth-lowest in program history but just the fourth-best of the day. When it seemed tough at times just to keep pace, the Cardinals positioned themselves for a run at a strong finish.

Joey Ranieri carded a career-best round of 67 (-4), one of four Ball State scores of even-par or better on the day at Trinity Forest Golf Club. He made birdies on the first two holes and finished with five of them to go along with just one bogey.

The 20th-ranked Cardinals also counted a 69 from Keegan Bronnenberg, a 70 from Yianni Kostouros and a 71 from CJ Jones in their lowest round since the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate two years ago. Kostouros led the team with six birdies on the day.

The Cardinals went so low that their non-counting score was a 72 from Jack Cunningham. It was the second sub-280 mark already this fall for a BSU team that opened with a 279 at the Golfweek Conference Challenge.

At 4 under for the tournament, Ball State finished the day still in seventh place but moved to within two shots of fourth in the 17-team field. The Cardinals are seven behind third-place Houston.

It will take a remarkable round for anyone to catch third-ranked Arizona State and host SMU who share the lead at 21 under. They were both 16 under for the day, while Houston's 11 under round was the only other one better than BSU.

Ranieri, coming off a runner-up finish at the Golfweek, is tied for 12th at 3 under with one round left. Bronnenberg and Jones, both 1 under, are tied for 21st. Arizona State's Alex Del Ray, who opened with rounds of 67 and 64, holds the individual lead at 11 under.

The third and final round will be played Tuesday with the Cardinals teeing off at 8 a.m. CT (9 ET) alongside Little Rock and Sam Houston State.

Top Teams
T1. SMU, 547 (-21)
T1. Arizona State, 547 (-21)
3. Houston, 557 (-11)
4. UC Davis, 562 (-6)
T5. Little Rock, 563 (-5)
T5. Rice, 563 (-5)
7. Ball State, 564 (-4)

Ball State Scores
T12. Joey Ranieri, 139 (-3): 72-67
T21. Keegan Bronnenberg, 141 (-1): 72-69
T21. CJ Jones, 141 (-1): 70-71
T34. Yianni Kostouros, 143 (+1): 73-70
T78. Jack Cunningham, 150 (+8): 78-72

Cardinals Join in Birdie-Fest on Day 2 at Trinity Forest Invitational

Players Mentioned

Keegan Bronnenberg

Jack Cunningham

CJ Jones

Yianni Kostouros

Joey Ranieri

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