Ball State University
Kentucky
Cardinals Face Test At Kentucky
March 04, 2021 | Baseball
| Ball State (4-3) at Kentucky (6-0) | |
| Dates | Friday-Sunday, March 5-7 |
| Times | Baseball Schedule |
| Location | Kentucky Proud Park - Lexington, Ky. |
| Live Video | SEC Network Plus (FREE) (Watch) |
| Radio | UK Sports Network (Listen) |
| Tickets | UK Ticketmaster |
| Game Notes | Ball State  |  Kentucky |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Social Media | Twitter  |   Instagram |
The Ball State baseball team continues its 100th varsity season this weekend with a three-game set at Kentucky. The Cardinals are coming off a series win vs. Bradley after splitting four games with Arizona. Kentucky enters the weekend 6-0 on the year.
Ball State has rode dominant pitching early in the season, led by starters John Baker and Chayce McDermott. Those two have combined for a 1.28 ERA with 29 strikeouts over 21 innings. A group of other pitchers, including Feb. 23 MAC Pitcher of the Week Tyler Ruetschle have also contributed to a good start.
Ross Messina, an all-conference player in 2019, leads BSU in hits (9), RBIs (5), runs (3) and doubles (2).Â
Kentucky won Tuesday and Wednesday to improve to 6-0 on the year. After losing its first weekend series, Kentucky opened the season with a 5-1 over Ball State rival Miami.Â
Following this weekend, Ball State is scheduled to head to Old Dominion March 12-14.
What To Know For This Weekend
-- John Baker entered the season as one of the most accomplished pitchers in the Midwest and he's adding to that legacy. Baker worked 4.2 innings in relief in the season opener at Arizona. In his Friday start last week, he struck out 12 and pitched into the 9th inning.Â
-- Ball State pitching has 73 strikeouts in 61 innings, a rate of 10.77 per 9 innings. The Cardinals led the nation in Ks per 9 innings in 2019 (11.12).
-- ln each win this season, BSU has found the big inning. In the Feb. 19 8-7 season-opening win, BSU scored four times in the 8th inning. The next day, a 4-run 6th inning led to another win. In a 5-0 win over Bradley, the Cards got four in the 2nd inning.Â
