Friday, May 3
DeKalb, Ill.
4 PM ET / 3 PM CT
Ball State University
at
Northern Illinois
Photo by: Keith Lucas / Sideline Media Productions
Cardinals Playing at Northern Illinois in Return to MAC Play
May 02, 2024 | Baseball
*Saturday's start time has been pushed up to 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT).
The Ball State baseball team returns to Mid-American Conference play with a roadtrip to Northern Illinois this weekend.
The Cardinals and Huskies are set to square off at 4 p.m. ET (3 CT) on Friday, 3 p.m. ET (2 CT) on Saturday and 2 p.m. ET (1 CT) on Sunday in DeKalb. Links to the video streams and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
Ball State (25-18-1, 12-9 MAC) couldn't pull out a win last weekend at No. 24 NC State in a break from conference play. The setbacks didn't effect where the Cardinals are positioned in the league standings, as they are in a tie for fourth with Kent State heading into the season's stretch run.
The Huskies (15-29, 9-12 MAC) have dropped two in a row with a 6-5 loss at Milwaukee on Wednesday following a 2-0 setback in Sunday's series finale at Central Michigan. Northern Illinois did take the first two games to clinch the set victory over the Chippewas.
NIU has faced common nonconference opponents Purdue (lost 11-1 on March 13), Cincinnati (took 1 of 4 games March 1-3), Illinois (got swept April 12-14) and Valparaiso (won 10-9 on April 23).
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS: The Huskies are in their first year under the direction of head coach Ryan Copeland, who had spent the most recent four years leading NCAA Division II member University of Illinois-Springfield.
Northern Illinois leads the MAC and ranks No. 25 nationally in fielding percentage (.979) as a team while ranking ninth in the league in scoring (5.8 runs per game) and tenth in ERA (8.54).
Senior Colin Summerhill paces the conference with 18 home runs, ranking No. 19 in NCAA Division I, and 49 RBI and ranks third in slugging percentage (.671) and sixth in total bases (106).
DANDY DOBBINS: Junior catcher Hunter Dobbins led the Ball State offense with three extra-base hits last weekend at nationally-ranked NC State to wrap up a strong April.
The Indianapolis native hit .333 in the season's third month with five doubles, six home runs, 17 RBI and 15 runs scored in just 15 games while taking home a MAC Player of the Week honor on April 15 and being named to the Buster Posey Award Watchlist on the 19th.
STARTING STRONG: The Cardinals have combined to outscore their opponents in the first (35-20), second (45-22), third (45-37) and fourth (48-34) innings by a total of 60 runs or 1.4 per game to allow the team to play from ahead often in the early stages of games.
Ball State is 14-2-1 on the year when scoring in the first inning and and 19-6-1 when it produces the contest's first tally.
WHEN HE'S HOT, HE'S HOT: Sophomore first baseman Blake Bevis is tied for the team lead with 12 multi-RBI games including a team-best 10 two-RBI performances while ranking second with 16 multi-hit contests (12 with two hits and four with three hits).
Bevis has notched three multi-RBI games and five multi-hit games since April 16, most recently putting together a productive performance on Friday at NC State (double, homer, two runs scored.)
SERIES HISTORY: Ball State leads NIU 67-37-1 in the all-time series after sweeping a three-game set last April 22-23 in Muncie.
The Cardinals have now won 13 straight against the Huskies and 18 of 19 meetings between the two Mid-American Conference foes. Ball State has dominated the series after Northern Illinois took the first 10 contests in the early 1970s.
TOWERING OVER THE TOP DOGS: Senior left-handed pitcher Will Jacobson struck out one and didn't allow a hit or run in 1.1 innings in a relief appearance on Saturday at NC State.
Jacobson has combined for 4.0 shutout innings while allowing only two hits in two games against schools appearing in the D1Baseball.com Top 25 rankings the week he faced them (Feb. 24 at Coastal Carolina).
HUSOVSKY HEATING UP: Junior Nick Husovsky has increased his batting average 83 points to .333 since March 23 thanks to six multi-hit performances in 16 starts during that span.
The infielder out of Ramona, Calif., paces the Ball State offense in MAC games with a .378 average while ranking ninth in the league.
MASTERING THE MAC: Junior left-handed pitcher Merritt Beeker boasts a 5-0 record and 3.46 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 39.0 innings pitched in seven starts against Mid-American Conference teams.
The Lexington, N.C., native leads the team in wins, innings, ERA, strikeouts and batting average against (.238) vs MAC opponents, while the strikeouts number leads the league by 12 over Miami's Peyton Olejnik's 50.
Up Next
Ball State begins a five-game homestand with a battle against Butler on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
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The Ball State baseball team returns to Mid-American Conference play with a roadtrip to Northern Illinois this weekend.
The Cardinals and Huskies are set to square off at 4 p.m. ET (3 CT) on Friday, 3 p.m. ET (2 CT) on Saturday and 2 p.m. ET (1 CT) on Sunday in DeKalb. Links to the video streams and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
Ball State (25-18-1, 12-9 MAC) couldn't pull out a win last weekend at No. 24 NC State in a break from conference play. The setbacks didn't effect where the Cardinals are positioned in the league standings, as they are in a tie for fourth with Kent State heading into the season's stretch run.
The Huskies (15-29, 9-12 MAC) have dropped two in a row with a 6-5 loss at Milwaukee on Wednesday following a 2-0 setback in Sunday's series finale at Central Michigan. Northern Illinois did take the first two games to clinch the set victory over the Chippewas.
NIU has faced common nonconference opponents Purdue (lost 11-1 on March 13), Cincinnati (took 1 of 4 games March 1-3), Illinois (got swept April 12-14) and Valparaiso (won 10-9 on April 23).
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS: The Huskies are in their first year under the direction of head coach Ryan Copeland, who had spent the most recent four years leading NCAA Division II member University of Illinois-Springfield.
Northern Illinois leads the MAC and ranks No. 25 nationally in fielding percentage (.979) as a team while ranking ninth in the league in scoring (5.8 runs per game) and tenth in ERA (8.54).
Senior Colin Summerhill paces the conference with 18 home runs, ranking No. 19 in NCAA Division I, and 49 RBI and ranks third in slugging percentage (.671) and sixth in total bases (106).
DANDY DOBBINS: Junior catcher Hunter Dobbins led the Ball State offense with three extra-base hits last weekend at nationally-ranked NC State to wrap up a strong April.
The Indianapolis native hit .333 in the season's third month with five doubles, six home runs, 17 RBI and 15 runs scored in just 15 games while taking home a MAC Player of the Week honor on April 15 and being named to the Buster Posey Award Watchlist on the 19th.
STARTING STRONG: The Cardinals have combined to outscore their opponents in the first (35-20), second (45-22), third (45-37) and fourth (48-34) innings by a total of 60 runs or 1.4 per game to allow the team to play from ahead often in the early stages of games.
Ball State is 14-2-1 on the year when scoring in the first inning and and 19-6-1 when it produces the contest's first tally.
WHEN HE'S HOT, HE'S HOT: Sophomore first baseman Blake Bevis is tied for the team lead with 12 multi-RBI games including a team-best 10 two-RBI performances while ranking second with 16 multi-hit contests (12 with two hits and four with three hits).
Bevis has notched three multi-RBI games and five multi-hit games since April 16, most recently putting together a productive performance on Friday at NC State (double, homer, two runs scored.)
SERIES HISTORY: Ball State leads NIU 67-37-1 in the all-time series after sweeping a three-game set last April 22-23 in Muncie.
The Cardinals have now won 13 straight against the Huskies and 18 of 19 meetings between the two Mid-American Conference foes. Ball State has dominated the series after Northern Illinois took the first 10 contests in the early 1970s.
TOWERING OVER THE TOP DOGS: Senior left-handed pitcher Will Jacobson struck out one and didn't allow a hit or run in 1.1 innings in a relief appearance on Saturday at NC State.
Jacobson has combined for 4.0 shutout innings while allowing only two hits in two games against schools appearing in the D1Baseball.com Top 25 rankings the week he faced them (Feb. 24 at Coastal Carolina).
HUSOVSKY HEATING UP: Junior Nick Husovsky has increased his batting average 83 points to .333 since March 23 thanks to six multi-hit performances in 16 starts during that span.
The infielder out of Ramona, Calif., paces the Ball State offense in MAC games with a .378 average while ranking ninth in the league.
MASTERING THE MAC: Junior left-handed pitcher Merritt Beeker boasts a 5-0 record and 3.46 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 39.0 innings pitched in seven starts against Mid-American Conference teams.
The Lexington, N.C., native leads the team in wins, innings, ERA, strikeouts and batting average against (.238) vs MAC opponents, while the strikeouts number leads the league by 12 over Miami's Peyton Olejnik's 50.
Up Next
Ball State begins a five-game homestand with a battle against Butler on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
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