Saturday, April 13
Muncie, Ind.
11 AM
Ball State University
vs
Akron
Cardinals Now Playing Saturday Doubleheader to Open Series with Zips
April 11, 2024 | Baseball
*Friday's game has been postponed due to inclement weather. Ball State and Akron will now play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. with 40 minutes in between games.
The Ball State baseball team is scheduled to host Akron for a three-game series starting at 3 p.m. on Friday at Ball Diamond.
Subsequent contests are set for 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Links to video streams and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
The Cardinals (20-13, 7-8 Mid-American Conference) are winners of 8 of 9 going into the weekend against the Zips (6-25, 1-11 MAC). Ball State most recently took 2 of 3 at Miami (OH) last weekend before a scheduled midweek game at Indiana was canceled due to expected inclement weather.
Akron lost 12-7 at Dayton on Tuesday after salvaging the series finale against Western Carolina the previous Sunday. The Zips have been swept by common opponents Bowling Green, Miami (OH) and Toledo but went 1-1 against Illinois to begin the year before taking a 4-3 decision against a ranked Duke squad on March 2.
SCOUTING AKRON: The Zips went 21-34 (12-18 MAC) last year in their only season under the direction of Tim Donnelly. Bryan Faulds is in his first year as a head coach at the Division I level after spending the previous two seasons leading NCAA Division II St. Edward's in Austin, Texas.
The Zips lead the league and rank No. 14 nationally in getting hit by pitches (70) while ranking last in the conference in scoring (4.7 runs per game) and seventh in ERA (7.41).
Senior Max Bowman paces the Zips in batting average (.306), homers (three), RBI (23) and triples (four) which leads the MAC and ranks No. 10 nationally. Friday starting pitcher Jared Schaeffer is 0-5 with a 5.45 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 36.1 innings pitched entering this weekend.
CARDS ON A ROLL: Ball State's eight-game winning streak from March 24 to April 6 marked the program's sixth time since 2021 that it put together an unbeaten stretch of at least that many contests.
The 2023 Cardinals won nine in a row (March 11-28) after the 2022 group put together 11-game (April 23-May 8) and 10-game (March 14-April 2) heaters. Ball State notched a pair of eight-game winning streaks in 2021 (March 28-April 11 and April 18-May 1).
ONE-TWO PUNCH: The duo of Merritt Beeker and Keegan Johnson have solidified the top two spots in the weekend rotation for the Cardinals over the last few weeks.
Beeker has tossed three straight quality starts, striking out 28 in 21 innings, to earn his spot as the Friday starter after starting the year in the Sunday slot. The left-handed transfer leads the MAC and ranks Top 20 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (14.5) and total strikeouts (63).
Johnson is the reigning MAC Pitcher of the Week after striking out 10 in 6.0 scoreless innings at Miami (OH) on Saturday to improve his record to 4-0. The true freshman had a season-best 11 strikeouts in 7.0 innings of one-run ball at Toledo on March 24 for a Co-Pitcher of the Week honor.
SERIES HISTORY: The Cardinals lead the Zips 41-25 in the all-time series between the Mid-American Conference foes.
Ball State is 23-10 in the series under the direction of head coach Rich Maloney having been winners of 15 of the past 19 matchups.
LEAGUE LEADERS: The Ball State pitching staff's 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings paces the MAC and ranks No. 40 in NCAA Division I, while its 5.91 ERA and 1.81 strikeout-to-walk ratio both rank second in the league.
The Cardinals' bats rank second in the MAC in home runs (46) and slugging percentage (.472) and third with 306 hits and 56 doubles.
POWERFUL AND VERSATILE: Senior infielder Michael Hallquist paces the league and ranks in the Top 60 nationally in both total bases (91, No. 34) and home runs (11, No. 59) while staffing multiple positions.
The transfer from Minnesota-Crookston has 20 starts at third base before recently settling into shortstop, where he has made 12 starts. Hallquist has also been at five spots in the batting order but has been a mainstay at the No. 2 spot in the lineup over the last few weeks.
HUSOVSKY HEATING UP: Junior infielder Nick Husovsky has increased his batting average 184 points since March 15 with the help of six multi-hit games.
The transfer out of Ramona, Calif., has hit both of his home runs and all eight of his RBI on the year in the past month.
Up Next
Ball State is scheduled to play at Purdue in West Lafayette at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
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The Ball State baseball team is scheduled to host Akron for a three-game series starting at 3 p.m. on Friday at Ball Diamond.
Subsequent contests are set for 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Links to video streams and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
The Cardinals (20-13, 7-8 Mid-American Conference) are winners of 8 of 9 going into the weekend against the Zips (6-25, 1-11 MAC). Ball State most recently took 2 of 3 at Miami (OH) last weekend before a scheduled midweek game at Indiana was canceled due to expected inclement weather.
Akron lost 12-7 at Dayton on Tuesday after salvaging the series finale against Western Carolina the previous Sunday. The Zips have been swept by common opponents Bowling Green, Miami (OH) and Toledo but went 1-1 against Illinois to begin the year before taking a 4-3 decision against a ranked Duke squad on March 2.
SCOUTING AKRON: The Zips went 21-34 (12-18 MAC) last year in their only season under the direction of Tim Donnelly. Bryan Faulds is in his first year as a head coach at the Division I level after spending the previous two seasons leading NCAA Division II St. Edward's in Austin, Texas.
The Zips lead the league and rank No. 14 nationally in getting hit by pitches (70) while ranking last in the conference in scoring (4.7 runs per game) and seventh in ERA (7.41).
Senior Max Bowman paces the Zips in batting average (.306), homers (three), RBI (23) and triples (four) which leads the MAC and ranks No. 10 nationally. Friday starting pitcher Jared Schaeffer is 0-5 with a 5.45 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 36.1 innings pitched entering this weekend.
CARDS ON A ROLL: Ball State's eight-game winning streak from March 24 to April 6 marked the program's sixth time since 2021 that it put together an unbeaten stretch of at least that many contests.
The 2023 Cardinals won nine in a row (March 11-28) after the 2022 group put together 11-game (April 23-May 8) and 10-game (March 14-April 2) heaters. Ball State notched a pair of eight-game winning streaks in 2021 (March 28-April 11 and April 18-May 1).
ONE-TWO PUNCH: The duo of Merritt Beeker and Keegan Johnson have solidified the top two spots in the weekend rotation for the Cardinals over the last few weeks.
Beeker has tossed three straight quality starts, striking out 28 in 21 innings, to earn his spot as the Friday starter after starting the year in the Sunday slot. The left-handed transfer leads the MAC and ranks Top 20 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (14.5) and total strikeouts (63).
Johnson is the reigning MAC Pitcher of the Week after striking out 10 in 6.0 scoreless innings at Miami (OH) on Saturday to improve his record to 4-0. The true freshman had a season-best 11 strikeouts in 7.0 innings of one-run ball at Toledo on March 24 for a Co-Pitcher of the Week honor.
SERIES HISTORY: The Cardinals lead the Zips 41-25 in the all-time series between the Mid-American Conference foes.
Ball State is 23-10 in the series under the direction of head coach Rich Maloney having been winners of 15 of the past 19 matchups.
LEAGUE LEADERS: The Ball State pitching staff's 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings paces the MAC and ranks No. 40 in NCAA Division I, while its 5.91 ERA and 1.81 strikeout-to-walk ratio both rank second in the league.
The Cardinals' bats rank second in the MAC in home runs (46) and slugging percentage (.472) and third with 306 hits and 56 doubles.
POWERFUL AND VERSATILE: Senior infielder Michael Hallquist paces the league and ranks in the Top 60 nationally in both total bases (91, No. 34) and home runs (11, No. 59) while staffing multiple positions.
The transfer from Minnesota-Crookston has 20 starts at third base before recently settling into shortstop, where he has made 12 starts. Hallquist has also been at five spots in the batting order but has been a mainstay at the No. 2 spot in the lineup over the last few weeks.
HUSOVSKY HEATING UP: Junior infielder Nick Husovsky has increased his batting average 184 points since March 15 with the help of six multi-hit games.
The transfer out of Ramona, Calif., has hit both of his home runs and all eight of his RBI on the year in the past month.
Up Next
Ball State is scheduled to play at Purdue in West Lafayette at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
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