Ball State University
11-6
Purdue Fort Wayne
6-12
Baseball Blasts Purdue Fort Wayne 19-7
March 12, 2024 | Baseball
First Five Batters in the Lineup had Home Runs
The Cardinals (11-6) got a leadoff home run from Nick Gregory to even the score at 1-1 after Purdue Fort Wayne's Jacob Walker did the same in the top half of the first. Gregory hit a leadoff shot in back-to-back games after doing so in Sunday's win over Eastern Michigan.
Nine of Ball State's 10 runs in the second came with two outs. Back-to-back-to-back home runs by Michael Hallquist, Hunter Dobbins and Decker Scheffler highlighted the offensive outburst, with Hallquist's being a three-run blast.
Matthew Kamins hit a two-run double down the left field line, while Decker Scheffler walloped a two-run homer to right in the Cardinals' eight-run third inning.
Ball State's offense featured eight batters who scored multiple runs, while six Cardinals had multiple hits and RBI. Hallquist went 2-for-4 with the home run, four RBI and two runs scored, and Bevis hit 2-for-2 with a walk, two RBI and three runs.
Each of the first five players in the Ball State starting lineup hit a ball out of the park.
Keegan Johnson improved to 2-0 with three strikeouts in 2.0 innings of work while Owen Quinn (three strikeouts in 2.0 innings) and Will Jacobson (one strikeout in one frame) shut down the Purdue Fort Wayne offense in relief.
The Mastodons (6-12) threw six different pitchers, as starter Owen Willard (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing two runs in 1.1 innings.
"Our boys came out swinging offensively with a lot of guys contributing," head coach Rich Maloney said. "We also struck out 10 and walked only two, which was a very positive performance from our pitching staff."
Ball State is scheduled to host Bowling Green this weekend for a three-game set starting at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, Keegan (2-0)
L: Owen Willard (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Jacob Walker 1
HR: Jacob Walker 1 ; Jackson Micheels 1 ; Justin Osterhouse 1
RBI: Jacob Walker 1 ; Camden Karczewski 1 ; Jackson Micheels 3 ; Justin Osterhouse 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Jacob Walker 2 ; Camden Karczewski 1 ; Jackson Micheels 2 ; Justin Osterhouse 1 ; Colton Shirley 1
Batting:
2B: Hallquist, Michael 1 ; Kamins, Matthew 2 ; King, Houston 1
HR: Gregory, Nick 1 ; Scheffler, Decker 1 ; Hallquist, Michael 1 ; Dobbins, Hunter 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1
RBI: Gregory, Nick 2 ; Scheffler, Decker 2 ; Hallquist, Michael 4 ; Dobbins, Hunter 1 ; Bevis, Blake 2 ; Kamins, Matthew 3 ; Turturici, Casey 1 ; King, Houston 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Gregory, Nick 2 ; Scheffler, Decker 3 ; Hallquist, Michael 2 ; Dobbins, Hunter 2 ; Bevis, Blake 3 ; Grego, Dylan 2 ; Kamins, Matthew 3 ; King, Houston 2
