Wednesday, March 20
Indianapolis, Ind.
4 PM
Ball State University
at
Butler
Photo by: Brayden Goins / Ball State Athletics
Midweek Slate for Baseball Features Road Games at Valpo and Butler
March 18, 2024 | Baseball
*Schedule Update: The Wednesday game at Butler will now start at 4 p.m.*
The Ball State baseball team is scheduled to play two in-state rivals for midweek games, traveling to Northwest Indiana to face Valparaiso at 4 p.m. ET (3 CT) on Tuesday and to Indianapolis on Wednesday to play Butler at 3 p.m.
The Valpo game will be streamed on ESPN+, while the tilt between the Cardinals and Bulldogs can be viewed on FloSports. Links to the video streams and live stats can be found above.
The Cardinals were swept over the weekend by Bowling Green but maintain the best overall record (11-9) in the Mid-American Conference through the season's first month of play.
Tuesday will serve as Valparaiso's home opener. The Beacons (7-11) most recently were swept at No. 21 Campbell.
Butler enters the week at 7-9 after going 1-2 against Bradley in Florida over the weekend. Wednesday will be the Bulldogs' second home game of 2024.
The Ball State baseball offense paces the MAC in total home runs (29) and doubles (40) while ranking second in the conference in batting average (.293) and slugging percentage (.495). The pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts per nine innings (10.3) and ranks second in ERA (6.60) and third in WHIP (1.85).
Senior third baseman Michael Hallquist sits atop the conference with eight home runs and 61 total bases. Junior catcher Hunter Dobbins paces the league in doubles (seven), while fellow junior Merritt Beeker's 15.75 strikeouts per nine is the best in the MAC and No. 9 in NCAA Division I.
SCOUTING VALPO: The Beacons went 20-27 (10-17 Missouri Valley Conference) last year in head coach Brian Schmack's 10th year leading the program.
Valpo is second in the Valley in steals (25) and walks (98) and third in total doubles (38). Graduate student Kyle Schmack leads the team in batting average (.348), home runs (six) and RBI (15).
SCOUTING BUTLER: The Bulldogs went 12-43 (5-16 Big East) in 2023 in head coach Blake Beemer's first year in charge in Indy. Beemer played on the Ball State baseball team from 2010 to 2013 and was an assistant coach on Rich Maloney's staff (2019-22) before taking the Butler job.
The Bulldog offense leads the Big East with 1.62 homers per game and seven total triples. Junior shortstop Carter Dorighi's .434 batting average and 2.06 hits per game rank No. 38 and No. 2 nationally, respectively, and pace the conference.
Up Next
Ball State travels to Toledo for its first road series in MAC play. The opener is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday.
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The Ball State baseball team is scheduled to play two in-state rivals for midweek games, traveling to Northwest Indiana to face Valparaiso at 4 p.m. ET (3 CT) on Tuesday and to Indianapolis on Wednesday to play Butler at 3 p.m.
The Valpo game will be streamed on ESPN+, while the tilt between the Cardinals and Bulldogs can be viewed on FloSports. Links to the video streams and live stats can be found above.
The Cardinals were swept over the weekend by Bowling Green but maintain the best overall record (11-9) in the Mid-American Conference through the season's first month of play.
Tuesday will serve as Valparaiso's home opener. The Beacons (7-11) most recently were swept at No. 21 Campbell.
Butler enters the week at 7-9 after going 1-2 against Bradley in Florida over the weekend. Wednesday will be the Bulldogs' second home game of 2024.
The Ball State baseball offense paces the MAC in total home runs (29) and doubles (40) while ranking second in the conference in batting average (.293) and slugging percentage (.495). The pitching staff leads the league in strikeouts per nine innings (10.3) and ranks second in ERA (6.60) and third in WHIP (1.85).
Senior third baseman Michael Hallquist sits atop the conference with eight home runs and 61 total bases. Junior catcher Hunter Dobbins paces the league in doubles (seven), while fellow junior Merritt Beeker's 15.75 strikeouts per nine is the best in the MAC and No. 9 in NCAA Division I.
SCOUTING VALPO: The Beacons went 20-27 (10-17 Missouri Valley Conference) last year in head coach Brian Schmack's 10th year leading the program.
Valpo is second in the Valley in steals (25) and walks (98) and third in total doubles (38). Graduate student Kyle Schmack leads the team in batting average (.348), home runs (six) and RBI (15).
SCOUTING BUTLER: The Bulldogs went 12-43 (5-16 Big East) in 2023 in head coach Blake Beemer's first year in charge in Indy. Beemer played on the Ball State baseball team from 2010 to 2013 and was an assistant coach on Rich Maloney's staff (2019-22) before taking the Butler job.
The Bulldog offense leads the Big East with 1.62 homers per game and seven total triples. Junior shortstop Carter Dorighi's .434 batting average and 2.06 hits per game rank No. 38 and No. 2 nationally, respectively, and pace the conference.
Up Next
Ball State travels to Toledo for its first road series in MAC play. The opener is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday.
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