Friday, May 10
Muncie, Ind.
3 PM
Ball State University
29-19-1, 15-10
6
vs
1
Central Michigan
15-34, 6-19
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Central Michigan
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
1
Ball State
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
2
X
6
9
2
Photo by: Nick Lawler/Ball State Athletics
Cardinals Clinch MAC Tournament Berth with Series-Opening Win over CMU
May 10, 2024 | Baseball
Beeker Eclipses 100-Strikeout Mark in Dominant Outing
MUNCIE, Ind. – Merritt Beeker dominated the Central Michigan bats and Michael Hallquist powered the Ball State offense in its 6-1 series-opening win over the Chippewas on Friday afternoon at Ball Diamond.
The Cardinals (29-19-1, 15-10 Mid-American Conference) officially clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament with the triumph over the Chippewas (15-34, 6-19) combined with Northern Illinois' setback at Western Michigan.
Beeker locked in after allowing a single unearned run in the first inning, striking out 13 and allowing only three hits and a walk in 7.0 innings of work to increase his season strikeout total to 105 and improve to 7-3 on the year with a 4.66 ERA.
After the visitors scored their lone tally of the contest in the top of the first, Ball State responded with one run each in the first on a Decker Scheffler single, in the second on a Clay Jacobs RBI groundout and in the third on a Hallquist RBI double to claim a 3-1 lead.
The Cardinals extended the advantage with a Hallquist solo homer to right field in the sixth and a pair of runs in the eighth highlighted by a Blake Bevis RBI single. Sam Klein came on in relief of Beeker and notched three strikeouts in two scoreless innings for his fifth save of the year.
"Great pitching effort from Merritt Beeker and Sam Klein," head coach Rich Maloney said. "A lot of guys made contributions today."
Hallquist went 2-for-3 on the day with the home run, double, two RBI and two runs scored. The homer was his 18th of the year to claim the team lead.
Central Michigan's Ben Vitas (2-6) fired a completed game but allowed the six runs on nine hits and three walks to be hit with the loss. The Chippewas' offense was limited to four hits in the game.
Ball State and CMU are scheduled to play the middle game of the set at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday. A Senior Day ceremony will be held pregame, and there will be giveaways throughout the game for First Merchants Ballpark Day.
The Cardinals (29-19-1, 15-10 Mid-American Conference) officially clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament with the triumph over the Chippewas (15-34, 6-19) combined with Northern Illinois' setback at Western Michigan.
Beeker locked in after allowing a single unearned run in the first inning, striking out 13 and allowing only three hits and a walk in 7.0 innings of work to increase his season strikeout total to 105 and improve to 7-3 on the year with a 4.66 ERA.
After the visitors scored their lone tally of the contest in the top of the first, Ball State responded with one run each in the first on a Decker Scheffler single, in the second on a Clay Jacobs RBI groundout and in the third on a Hallquist RBI double to claim a 3-1 lead.
The Cardinals extended the advantage with a Hallquist solo homer to right field in the sixth and a pair of runs in the eighth highlighted by a Blake Bevis RBI single. Sam Klein came on in relief of Beeker and notched three strikeouts in two scoreless innings for his fifth save of the year.
"Great pitching effort from Merritt Beeker and Sam Klein," head coach Rich Maloney said. "A lot of guys made contributions today."
Hallquist went 2-for-3 on the day with the home run, double, two RBI and two runs scored. The homer was his 18th of the year to claim the team lead.
Central Michigan's Ben Vitas (2-6) fired a completed game but allowed the six runs on nine hits and three walks to be hit with the loss. The Chippewas' offense was limited to four hits in the game.
Ball State and CMU are scheduled to play the middle game of the set at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday. A Senior Day ceremony will be held pregame, and there will be giveaways throughout the game for First Merchants Ballpark Day.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Beeker, Merritt (7-3)
L: Ben Vitas (2-6)
S: Klein, Sam (4)
Batting:
2B: Danny Wuestenfeld 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nick Dardas 1
SB: Marquis Jackson 1
CS: Drew Loikits 1
HBP: Danny Wuestenfeld 1 ; Marquis Jackson 1
Batting:
2B: Gregory, Nick 1 ; Hallquist, Michael 1 ; King, Houston 1
HR: Hallquist, Michael 1
RBI: Hallquist, Michael 2 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Jacobs, Clay 1
SH: Jacobs, Clay 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gregory, Nick 2 ; Dobbins, Hunter 1 ; Hallquist, Michael 2 ; Grego, Dylan 1
CS: Scheffler, Decker 1
HBP: Hallquist, Michael 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
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