Ball State University
10-6, 1-2
Eastern Michigan
5-10, 2-1
Cardinals Top Eagles with Strong Starting Pitching and Consistent Offense
March 10, 2024 | Baseball
The Cardinals (10-6, 1-2 Mid-American Conference) salvaged the series finale with the Eagles (5-10, 2-1 MAC) with 5.2 innings of one-run ball and 10 strikeouts from Beeker, who improved to 2-2 on the year with the decision. The lefty struck out multiple batters in three innings, including three in the fourth.
Nick Gregory hit a leadoff home run to right field, and Michael Hallquist followed with a solo shot of his own that gave Ball State a 2-0 edge after the first inning. The Cardinals tacked on a single run in the third on a Hunter Dobbins sac fly and two in the fourth on a Matthew Kamins RBI single and Decker Scheffler sac fly to extend the advantage to 5-0.
After the Eagles plated a run in the fifth, the Cardinals had five runners cross the plate in the sixth inning, highlighted by a Dylan Grego RBI double and run-scoring triple by Kamins, to put them ahead 10-1, and they would cruise from there.
Hallquist hit 4-for-5 on the day and scored twice, while Grego went 3-for-4 with three runs to pace the Ball State offense, which scored in double figures for the fourth time this year.
Eastern Michigan starter Nick Chittum (1-3) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings. Zach Kwasny came in to get the last out of the game and pick up his first collegiate save.
The Cardinals are scheduled to host Purdue Fort Wayne at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in their lone midweek game of the week.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Beeker, Merritt (2-2)
L: CHITTUM, Nick (1-3)
S: Kwasny, Zach (1)
Batting:
RBI: MCRAE, Blake 3 ; VANCE, Cooper 1 ; ARBOGAST, Aidan 1 ; JOHNSON, Lucas 1 ; SCHROEDLE, Kyle 2
SF: MCRAE, Blake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HUGO, Logan 1 ; MILITELLO, Jackson 1 ; VANCE, Cooper 1 ; ARBOGAST, Aidan 1 ; JOHNSON, Lucas 1 ; SINES, Evan 1 ; JONES, Drew 2
SB: HUGO, Logan 1
Batting:
2B: Scheffler, Decker 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Grego, Dylan 1
3B: Kamins, Matthew 1
HR: Gregory, Nick 1 ; Hallquist, Michael 1
RBI: Gregory, Nick 1 ; Scheffler, Decker 1 ; Hallquist, Michael 1 ; Dobbins, Hunter 1 ; Gonzalez, Matthew 1 ; Grego, Dylan 1 ; Kamins, Matthew 2
SH: Gregory, Nick 1
SF: Scheffler, Decker 1 ; Dobbins, Hunter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gregory, Nick 1 ; Scheffler, Decker 2 ; Hallquist, Michael 2 ; Bevis, Blake 2 ; Grego, Dylan 3 ; Kamins, Matthew 1
SB: Scheffler, Decker 2
