Ball State University
32-16, 0
Kent State
24-23, 0
A Whole Lot Of Nothing On Sunday
May 16, 2021 | Baseball
The Cardinals lost 19-8 to Kent State for a 2-2 weekend series tie. But MAC co-leader Central Michigan also lost at Western Michigan on Sunday, so it was a wash. BSU and CMU are tied for 1st place with eight games to play.Â
Ball State (32-16, 23-9 MAC) got home runs from Noah Navarro, Adam Christianson and Aaron Simpson and an RBI double from Adam Tellier while scoring eight runs for the third time over the weekend. BSU had previously won 8-2 and 8-7 over Kent State (24-23, 17-15 MAC).
NAVARRO HITS FAR-RO: Navarro was a force all weekend, hitting three home runs and reaching base 10 times in 16 plate appearances. He hit two home runs Saturday and then opened the scoring for Ball State on Sunday with a solo shot. In all, Navarro went 6-for-12 with four XBH and four walks. He had 16 of Ball State's 63 total bases for the series.
TIP YOUR CAP TO KENT: It's worth noting Kent State played its best game Sunday, rapping out 22 hits and posting five innings with multiple runs. Leading 2-0 early, Kent scored five times in the top of the 3rd and three times in the 4th to go up 10-1 and put the game away. Cam Touchette went 6-for-6 and Justin Miknis drove in six runs with two homers.Â
CARDS AT HOME: Ball State entered the weekend 36-3 at home since the beginning of 2019, and now that mark is 38-5. Ball State's last double-digit loss at home came in April 2018 to Miami.Â
BIG PICTURE: BSU and Central are both 23-9 in league play and both have one home series and one road series remaining. The Cards would also have the step-ladder tie-breaker advantage over Central should Western Michigan finish in 3rd place. Ball State went 3-1 vs. Western Michigan, and Central went 1-3. View the current MAC standings here.Â
NEXT WEEKEND: Ball State plays at Ohio (16-16 MAC), a team that just lost a series to Akron. Friday's game at OU is at 6 p.m. Central Michigan hosts Eastern Michigan next weekend.Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: ROEBUCK, BENNY (1-0)
L: O'Donnell, Trennor (1-2)
S: RIPPL, MAX (1)
Batting:
2B: MATHEWS, COLLIN 1 ; McNAMARA, MICHAEL 2
HR: MATHEWS, COLLIN 1 ; MIKNIS, JUSTIN 2
RBI: MATHEWS, COLLIN 2 ; TOUCHETTE, CAM 3 ; McNAMARA, MICHAEL 4 ; KIRBY, JUSTIN 1 ; MIKNIS, JUSTIN 6 ; THOMPSON, SAM 3
SF: MIKNIS, JUSTIN 1
Base Running:
RUNS: JACKSON, KYLE 1 ; ELSEN, NICK 1 ; MATHEWS, COLLIN 5 ; TOUCHETTE, CAM 3 ; McNAMARA, MICHAEL 3 ; KIRBY, JUSTIN 2 ; MIKNIS, JUSTIN 2 ; THOMPSON, SAM 1 ; MROZEK, JOSH 1
SB: JACKSON, KYLE 1 ; MROZEK, JOSH 1
HBP: MATHEWS, COLLIN 1
Batting:
2B: Tellier, Adam 1 ; Cole, Zach 1
3B: Simpson, Aaron 1
HR: Navarro, Noah 1 ; Christianson, Adam 1 ; Simpson, Aaron 1
RBI: Navarro, Noah 1 ; Wilson, Seth 1 ; Powell, Nick 1 ; Christianson, Adam 1 ; Simpson, Aaron 3 ; Tellier, Adam 1
SF: Powell, Nick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Navarro, Noah 2 ; Powell, Nick 1 ; Christianson, Adam 1 ; Sebby, Chase 1 ; Simpson, Aaron 2 ; Cole, Zach 1
SB: Powell, Nick 1
HBP: Powell, Nick 1 ; Sebby, Chase 1
