Ball State University
12-9, 6-2
Toledo
4-17, 2-6
Navarro Walks off for Series Win over Toledo
March 28, 2021 | Baseball
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The cold, late March wind was howling that direction, taking anything lifted that way much farther than normal. Most of the big hits in the air had gone that way.
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Not Noah Navarro's.
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When the Ball State second baseman stepped to the plate with two outs and the score tied in the bottom of the ninth, he did it the hard way.
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Navarro smashed an 0-1 offering from Cal McAninch through the wind and over the left center field fence for his first home run of the season. It gave the Cardinals an 8-7 win for the day and a 3-1 victory in the series.
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It was the second walk-off win in as many weekends for Ball State (12-9, 6-2 MAC), as the Cardinals won a second straight series to open MAC play.
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Ryan Peltier continued a hot-hitting weekend, going 3-for-4 at the plate and driving in three runs. His two-RBI single helped stake Ball State to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, and his two-RBI double in the sixth tied the game at 5-all after Toledo (4-17, 2-6 MAC) had scored five unanswered.
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"Noah Navarro and Ryan Peltier had big weekends and really carried our offense," BSU head coach Rich Maloney said. "But the home run through the teeth of the wind by Noah Navarro was something special and something he'll always remember the rest of his life. It was a big win for our team."
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?? @CoachMaloney breaks down the squad's second walk-off win in as many weekends. pic.twitter.com/GXCyvk05O2— Ball State Baseball (@BallStateBB) March 28, 2021
Adam Tellier and Trenton Quartermaine followed Peltier's sixth-inning double with run-scoring singles to put the Cardinals back on top. But Toledo responded two innings later with two runs in the eighth to tie it up heading to the final frame.
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Ty Johnson came out of the bullpen to toss a scoreless top of the ninth to set the stage. In the bottom of the ninth, Nick Powell lifted a ball to right center that threatened to end it before being caught at the wall. Navarro's blast two pitches later was never in doubt.
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Tyler Ruetschle started on the mound for BSU and worked through the first four innings scoreless before Toledo got some offense going. The Cardinals also got some clutch pitching from Tyler Schweitzer who came on in relief with the bases loaded in the sixth to limit Toledo's damage after they had scored four runs to take the lead.
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Ball State will take a break from non-conference play this coming week with a three-game series against Butler. The teams will play a single game Friday at Butler and a Saturday doubleheader in Muncie.
Based on guidance surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, general public attendance is not permitted at First Merchants Ballpark Complex this season.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, Ty (1-1)
L: McANINCH, Cal (0-2)
Batting:
2B: HATFIELD, Trace 1 ; O'REILLY, Danny 1
HR: WINTERSTEIN, Nicky 1 ; SERVELLO, John 1
RBI: HATFIELD, Trace 1 ; SYKES, Mason 1 ; WINTERSTEIN, Nicky 2 ; SERVELLO, John 1 ; EITNIEAR, Thomas 1
SF: WINTERSTEIN, Nicky 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HATFIELD, Trace 1 ; MEYERS, Chris 1 ; WINTERSTEIN, Nicky 1 ; O'REILLY, Danny 1 ; STROTHER, Marcus 1 ; SERVELLO, John 2
HBP: MEYERS, Chris 1 ; SERVELLO, John 1
Batting:
2B: Navarro, Noah 1 ; Peltier, Ryan 2
HR: Navarro, Noah 1
RBI: Tellier, Adam 1 ; Quartermaine, Trenton 1 ; Navarro, Noah 1 ; Simpson, Aaron 1 ; Peltier, Ryan 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Tellier, Adam 1 ; Quartermaine, Trenton 1 ; Powell, Nick 1 ; Navarro, Noah 3 ; Simpson, Aaron 1 ; Peltier, Ryan 1
SB: Tellier, Adam 1
CS: Powell, Nick 1
