Ball State University
Kent State
3 Weekends To The Championship Finish Line
May 13, 2021 | Baseball
| Ball State (30-14, 21-7 MAC) vs. Kent State (22-21, 15-13 MAC) | |
| Dates | Friday-Sunday, May 14-16 |
| Times | Baseball Schedule |
| Location | Ball Diamond at First Merchants Complex - Muncie |
| Live Video | Links on BallStateSports.com (Watch) |
| Game Notes | Ball State   |  Kent State |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Social Media | Twitter  |   Instagram |
Possible Starting Matchups (subject to change)
Friday: John Baker (RHP) vs. Collin Romel (LHP)
Saturday Game 1: Chayce McDermott (RHP) vs. Luke Albright (RHP)
Saturday Game 2: Lukas Jaksich (LHP) vs. Richie Dell (RHP)
Sunday: TBA vs. TBA
With 12 games to play, the MAC auto bid for the NCAA Tournament is a two-horse race. Ball State (30-14) is one game behind Central Michigan and has eight of its last 12 games at home. The two league leaders split a series last weekend, highlighted by a thrilling 9th-inning comeback in the last game.
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The Cardinals and Kent State (22-21) are facing off for the first time since March 2019. The two teams played once that season (an extra-innings BSU win) and lost the series to snow.
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This weekend is a matchup of two of the MAC's top hitting teams. Kent State leads the MAC in team batting average and stolen bases and BSU is first in hits per game. Both Ball State and Kent State are in the top 4 in the league in everything except BSU being 6th in slugging percentage.
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On the mound, Ball State is top-3 in most pitching categories while Kent State is middle of the pack.
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After this weekend, Ball State travels to Ohio for the final road trip of the regular season.
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What To Know For This Weekend
-- Ball State boasts a 36-3 home record since the start of 2019. In 2019, Ball State sported the nation's best record at home at 23-1. BSU is 12-2 at home this season.
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-- Nick Powell went 8-for-18 (.444) last weekend with three doubles, including the game-tying, 2-run double on Sunday. Powell is batting .406 over the last 19 games and now leads the team with a .338 average.Â
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-- Ball State out-hit Central Michigan 45-23 over 4 games last weekend and was +6 in run differential. BSU held Central to a .209 average over the weekend and won the third game 13-3 in 7 innings - the worst home loss for Central since April 7, 2019 when Ball State won at Central 10-0.
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