Ball State University Athletics
Tuesday, April 9
Bloomington, Ind.
6 PM
Ball State University
at
Indiana
Photo by: Bobby Ellis (Ball State Creative Services)
Baseball Set to Play at Indiana on Tuesday Night
April 08, 2024 | Baseball
*The game has been canceled due to expected inclement weather.
The Ball State baseball team is set to face its fourth opponent from the Big Ten Conference of the year when it plays at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night at Indiana.
Links to the B1G+ broadcast and live stats are above and on the schedule page.
The Cardinals (20-13) saw their eight-game winning streak snapped on Sunday afternoon at Miami (OH), but they have the most overall wins in the Mid-American Conference by four and have gone 2-1 against Big Ten foes this year.
The Hoosiers (18-15, 3-3 Big Ten) are coming off a series win at Maryland over the weekend after losing a three-game set at Illinois in late March in their Big Ten opener. Aside from the Illini, Indiana has faced common opponents Coastal Carolina (won 7-2 on Feb. 17), Miami (OH) (won 12-6 on Feb. 20), Purdue Fort Wayne (lost 9-6 on Feb. 27) and Butler (split a four-game series March 28-30).
Ball State dropped a pair of narrow decision against Indiana last year with a 9-8 setback in Muncie on April 25 after falling 16-13 on April 11 in Bloomington.
Ball State's offense leads the MAC in total hits (306) while ranking second in home runs (46) which ranks No. 40 nationally. The Cardinals' pitching staff leads the league and stands at No. 40 in NCAA Division I with 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings.
Senior infielder Michael Hallquist paces the conference in total bases (91, No. 28 nationally) and home runs (11, No. 47) while being second in doubles (10) and third in hits (46) and RBI (34). Junior left-handed pitcher Merritt Beeker leads the league in both strikeouts per nine innings pitched (14.54) and total strikeouts (63), ranking No. 10 and No. 17 in those categories in NCAA Division I, respectively.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Keegan Johnson was named the MAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after notching 10 strikeouts in 6.0 shutout innings to lead the Cardinals to a 2-0 win at Miami. This marked the third consecutive week a Ball State pitcher took home the honor (Johnson on March 25, Beeker on April 1).
SCOUTING INDIANA: The Hoosiers went 43-20 (16-8 Big Ten) last year in the fifth under the direction of head coach Jeff Mercer, losing to Kentucky in the championship game of the NCAA Regional.
Indiana leads the Big Ten in doubles (77), walks (183), runs (279) and sac flies (23), ranking No. 11, No. 25, No. 19 and No. 5 in those categories nationally. The in-state rival is No. 13 in Division I with 346 total hits.
Sophomore infielder Tyler Cerny paces the group in doubles (14) and RBI (38), rankings second in the conference in both categories and No. 9 nationally in doubles. Sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor leads Indiana in batting average (.359) and homers (seven).
Up Next
The Cardinals are scheduled to host a three-game set with Akron beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday.
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The Ball State baseball team is set to face its fourth opponent from the Big Ten Conference of the year when it plays at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night at Indiana.
Links to the B1G+ broadcast and live stats are above and on the schedule page.
The Cardinals (20-13) saw their eight-game winning streak snapped on Sunday afternoon at Miami (OH), but they have the most overall wins in the Mid-American Conference by four and have gone 2-1 against Big Ten foes this year.
The Hoosiers (18-15, 3-3 Big Ten) are coming off a series win at Maryland over the weekend after losing a three-game set at Illinois in late March in their Big Ten opener. Aside from the Illini, Indiana has faced common opponents Coastal Carolina (won 7-2 on Feb. 17), Miami (OH) (won 12-6 on Feb. 20), Purdue Fort Wayne (lost 9-6 on Feb. 27) and Butler (split a four-game series March 28-30).
Ball State dropped a pair of narrow decision against Indiana last year with a 9-8 setback in Muncie on April 25 after falling 16-13 on April 11 in Bloomington.
Ball State's offense leads the MAC in total hits (306) while ranking second in home runs (46) which ranks No. 40 nationally. The Cardinals' pitching staff leads the league and stands at No. 40 in NCAA Division I with 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings.
Senior infielder Michael Hallquist paces the conference in total bases (91, No. 28 nationally) and home runs (11, No. 47) while being second in doubles (10) and third in hits (46) and RBI (34). Junior left-handed pitcher Merritt Beeker leads the league in both strikeouts per nine innings pitched (14.54) and total strikeouts (63), ranking No. 10 and No. 17 in those categories in NCAA Division I, respectively.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Keegan Johnson was named the MAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after notching 10 strikeouts in 6.0 shutout innings to lead the Cardinals to a 2-0 win at Miami. This marked the third consecutive week a Ball State pitcher took home the honor (Johnson on March 25, Beeker on April 1).
SCOUTING INDIANA: The Hoosiers went 43-20 (16-8 Big Ten) last year in the fifth under the direction of head coach Jeff Mercer, losing to Kentucky in the championship game of the NCAA Regional.
Indiana leads the Big Ten in doubles (77), walks (183), runs (279) and sac flies (23), ranking No. 11, No. 25, No. 19 and No. 5 in those categories nationally. The in-state rival is No. 13 in Division I with 346 total hits.
Sophomore infielder Tyler Cerny paces the group in doubles (14) and RBI (38), rankings second in the conference in both categories and No. 9 nationally in doubles. Sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor leads Indiana in batting average (.359) and homers (seven).
Up Next
The Cardinals are scheduled to host a three-game set with Akron beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday.
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Players Mentioned
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Thursday, May 07
Baseball // Walk-off double to win the series vs. CMU
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This Week in Ball State Sports // Guests: World Series Champion Alex Call and AD Jeff Mitchell
Thursday, January 22
Sports Link: Michael Shebek's Power of Beneficence
Friday, November 07