Ball State University
Butler
Non-conference Series Next For Cardinals
April 01, 2021 | Baseball
| Ball State (12-9) vs. Butler (5-6) | |
| Dates | Friday-Saturday, April 2-3 |
| Times | Baseball Schedule  |  Friday at 3, Saturday DH at 11 am |
| Location | Friday at Butler  |  Saturday at BSU |
| Live Video | BallStateSports.com (Game 1) (Game 2) |
| Game Notes | Ball State   |   Butler |
| Live Stats | Live Stats (Butler)  |  Live Stats (Ball State) |
| Social Media | Twitter  |   Instagram |
Attendance This Weekend
At Butler, the first 150 fans are admitted. First come, first served. At Ball State, there is no general admission.Â
Non-Conference Weekend vs. Butler
With 11 teams playing baseball in the MAC, each week sees one team play a non-conference series. This is Ball State's turn, as the Cards take on Butler this weekend.Â
The Cardinals, who own a series win at Kentucky, are tied for first in the Mid-American Conference with a 6-2 record.Â
Strong starting pitching has been the constant, as starters John Baker, Chayce McDermott and Luke Jaksich each own an ERA less than 3.15. BSU's bats have woken as the season takes shape - the Cards have scored 7+ runs in four of the last five games.
Butler owns a 5-6 record (4-6 vs. D-I opponents) and enters the weekend after a series win over Valparaiso. This is the final non-conference series of the season for both teams.
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What To Know For This Weekend
-- Chayce McDermott struck out 13 with no walks last Saturday vs. Toledo and was selected National Pitcher of the Week by the National College Baseball Writers Association. He was also MAC Pitcher of the Week for the second time in his career. Ryan Peltier had his best weekend of the season at the plate, driving in 6 runs and being named MAC Player of the Week.
-- Adam Tellier, hitting a team-high .411, owns all 3 of Ball State's 4-hit games. The sophomore from Ada, Michigan, had 4 hits twice at Old Dominion and once against Western Michigan. Tellier leads Ball State in average, slugging, OBP, triples and runs (tied).
-- Noah Navarro delivered the impactful shot to close the series win over Toledo. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, Navarro smacked a walkoff solo homer to left field in an 8-7 win. Navarro leads the team with 24 hits on the year.
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Odds And Ends For This Series
CARDS-BUTLER: THE SERIES
The BSU-Butler series dates back to 1922, with Ball State owning a 69-48 all-time edge. The two teams have split six meetings dating back to 2014 and 14-5 against Butler under Rich Maloney.
IN ANOTHER LIFETIME
Rich Maloney and Butler's Dave Scrage go way back. When Schrage coached Notre Dame from 2007-10, the two coaches scheduled each other five times. Maloney's Michigan teams went 4-1 in those games.
WINNING LATE
Ball State has won the 9th inning more often than not so far this season. After Noah Navarro's walkoff homer, the Cards have outscored opponents 9-1 in the 9th inning, and a combined 17-7 in innings 8-9.
POWERFUL PELT
Ryan Peltier entered last weekend's series with a .222 season average and 5 RBIs. He lifted those total dramatically en route to MAC Player of the Week honors. Peltier went 7-for-15 with a homer and two doubles over the weekend.
BROTHER AT BUTLER
Butler will see Chayce McDermott on Saturday. The Ball State pitcher's older brother, Sean, played basketball at Butler from 2016-20. Currently, he has played 11 games with the Memphis Grizzlies and has scored 37 points.
