Friday, March 14
Muncie, Ind.
3 PM
Ball State University
vs
Toledo
Photo by: Brayden Goins / Ball State Athletics
Baseball Looks to Ride Momentum into Series with Toledo
March 13, 2025 | Baseball
*Saturday's start time has been moved up to Noon to try to avoid projected inclement weather.
The Ball State baseball team will look to carry momentum from a six-game winning streak into a home series with Toledo starting on Friday.
The Cardinals (12-5, 3-0 Mid-American Conference) and Rockets (5-10, 1-2 MAC) are set to square off at 3 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at Shebek Stadium. The games will be streamed on ESPN+, and links to the video broadcast and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
Ball State beat Purdue Fort Wayne 13-10 on Tuesday afternoon after sweeping Western Michigan last weekend. Friday's game will be the fifth of nine home games in a row on the calendar for the Cardinals.
Toledo fell 6-4 at Michigan on Tuesday after settling for one win in a three-game set at Miami (OH) over the weekend. The Rockets finished 27-32 (16-14 MAC) last season in head coach Rob Reinstetle's fifth running the program. Toledo was picked sixth in this year's preseason coaches poll.
The Rockets have posted some of the best pitching results in the conference so far this season, ranking second in WHIP (1.61) and hits allowed per nine innings (9.94) and third in ERA (5.83). Toledo's fielding percentage (.983) ranks No. 14 in NCAA Division I.
Right-handed pitcher Logan Jones is third in the league in ERA (1.80) while striking out 17 in 15 innings out of the bullpen. Sophomore Cole Cahill leads the team with 15 hits and a .259 batting average, while redshirt junior Tre Mariano has the most home runs (four) for the Rockets.
Ball State will wrap up the homestand by hosting 3 p.m. games with Valparaiso on Tuesday and Butler on Wednesday next week.
1,000 CAREER WINS: Head coach Rich Maloney hit the 1,000-win milestone with Tuesday afternoon's 13-10 triumph over Purdue Fort Wayne.
Maloney is the 10th active skipper to reach the milestone among NCAA Division I coaches. The group consists of Paul Mainieri (South Carolina, 1,519 wins), Danny Hall (Georgia Tech, 1,425), Elliott Avent (NC State, 1,272), Dave Van Horn (Arkansas, 1,270), Rich Hill (Hawaii, 1,185), Steve Owens (Rutgers, 1,053), Rick Heller (Iowa, 1,049), Tim Corbin (Vanderbilt, 1,041), and Mike
Bianco (Ole Miss, 1,020). Of the nine ahead of Maloney, only Hall, Mainieri, Avent, Van Horn and Bianco have more wins at the Division I level.
Another milestone primed to be reached in the coming games for Maloney is 500 conference wins. The skipper is currently at 499, with 359 of those being in the MAC and 140 in the Big Ten.
GREGO HITS THE GONG: Junior shortstop Dylan Grego hit a walkoff solo home run in the ninth inning of Ball State's 10-9 win over Western Michigan on Sunday.
Grego led off the inning with a moonshot on the second pitch he saw that went a projected 431 feet. The junior also had the most recent walkoff knock for the Cardinals when he hit a game-winning single in the ninth inning on Feb. 17, 2024 to seal a 2-1 win over Merrimack in Charleston, S.C.
K'S FOR KEEGAN: Sophomore Keegan Johnson was named the Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Week after striking out eight and allowing a run on four hits in 7.1 innings of work in Ball State's 3-1 win over Western Michigan on Friday.
The left-handed pitcher didn't allow a run until the eighth on his way to his third career weekly honor from the MAC office.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS: The 2025 Cardinals were picked to finish first in the recently released Mid-American Conference preseason poll. Ball State got six first place votes for the regular season and five to win the MAC Tournament.
The Ball State baseball program boasts the best winning percentage both overall (.636) and in conference play (.647) among MAC teams since 2019 entering the 2025 campaign.
PROFICIENT PITCHING: The Ball State pitching staff paces the league in ERA (5.03), WHIP (1.46) and fewest hits allowed per nine innings (8.38).
Johnson (3-0, 2.92 ERA, 25 strikeouts in 25.2 innings) and Jacob Hartlaub (3-1, 1.61 ERA, 27 strikeouts in 22.1 innings) have been leading the starting staff while Owen Quinn (2.51 ERA, two saves, 17 strikeouts in 14.1 innings) and Garrett Harker (3.86 ERA, five saves, 17 strikeouts in 14.0 innings) are holding down the back end of the bullpen.
RICHTER HOME RUNS: Senior Alex Richter has hit a home run in three straight games to move into a tie for second on the team with three total homers this year.
The third baseman launched a leadoff shot on Saturday against Western Michigan before drilling a two-run homer on Sunday. Richter kept the streak going with another solo shot in Tuesday's win over Purdue Fort Wayne.
CLEAN FIELDING: The Cardinals enters the weekend leading the MAC and ranking seventh in NCAA Division I in fielding percentage with a .985 average.
Ball State has committed nine errors in 608 opportunities this year through the first 17 games. The Cardinals were at the top of the national leaderboard in fielding percentage entering last weekend's series against Western Michigan. Ball State also paces the Mid-American Conference in double plays turned (16), which is No. 15 nationally.
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The Ball State baseball team will look to carry momentum from a six-game winning streak into a home series with Toledo starting on Friday.
The Cardinals (12-5, 3-0 Mid-American Conference) and Rockets (5-10, 1-2 MAC) are set to square off at 3 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at Shebek Stadium. The games will be streamed on ESPN+, and links to the video broadcast and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
Ball State beat Purdue Fort Wayne 13-10 on Tuesday afternoon after sweeping Western Michigan last weekend. Friday's game will be the fifth of nine home games in a row on the calendar for the Cardinals.
Toledo fell 6-4 at Michigan on Tuesday after settling for one win in a three-game set at Miami (OH) over the weekend. The Rockets finished 27-32 (16-14 MAC) last season in head coach Rob Reinstetle's fifth running the program. Toledo was picked sixth in this year's preseason coaches poll.
The Rockets have posted some of the best pitching results in the conference so far this season, ranking second in WHIP (1.61) and hits allowed per nine innings (9.94) and third in ERA (5.83). Toledo's fielding percentage (.983) ranks No. 14 in NCAA Division I.
Right-handed pitcher Logan Jones is third in the league in ERA (1.80) while striking out 17 in 15 innings out of the bullpen. Sophomore Cole Cahill leads the team with 15 hits and a .259 batting average, while redshirt junior Tre Mariano has the most home runs (four) for the Rockets.
Ball State will wrap up the homestand by hosting 3 p.m. games with Valparaiso on Tuesday and Butler on Wednesday next week.
1,000 CAREER WINS: Head coach Rich Maloney hit the 1,000-win milestone with Tuesday afternoon's 13-10 triumph over Purdue Fort Wayne.
Maloney is the 10th active skipper to reach the milestone among NCAA Division I coaches. The group consists of Paul Mainieri (South Carolina, 1,519 wins), Danny Hall (Georgia Tech, 1,425), Elliott Avent (NC State, 1,272), Dave Van Horn (Arkansas, 1,270), Rich Hill (Hawaii, 1,185), Steve Owens (Rutgers, 1,053), Rick Heller (Iowa, 1,049), Tim Corbin (Vanderbilt, 1,041), and Mike
Bianco (Ole Miss, 1,020). Of the nine ahead of Maloney, only Hall, Mainieri, Avent, Van Horn and Bianco have more wins at the Division I level.
Another milestone primed to be reached in the coming games for Maloney is 500 conference wins. The skipper is currently at 499, with 359 of those being in the MAC and 140 in the Big Ten.
GREGO HITS THE GONG: Junior shortstop Dylan Grego hit a walkoff solo home run in the ninth inning of Ball State's 10-9 win over Western Michigan on Sunday.
Grego led off the inning with a moonshot on the second pitch he saw that went a projected 431 feet. The junior also had the most recent walkoff knock for the Cardinals when he hit a game-winning single in the ninth inning on Feb. 17, 2024 to seal a 2-1 win over Merrimack in Charleston, S.C.
K'S FOR KEEGAN: Sophomore Keegan Johnson was named the Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Week after striking out eight and allowing a run on four hits in 7.1 innings of work in Ball State's 3-1 win over Western Michigan on Friday.
The left-handed pitcher didn't allow a run until the eighth on his way to his third career weekly honor from the MAC office.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS: The 2025 Cardinals were picked to finish first in the recently released Mid-American Conference preseason poll. Ball State got six first place votes for the regular season and five to win the MAC Tournament.
The Ball State baseball program boasts the best winning percentage both overall (.636) and in conference play (.647) among MAC teams since 2019 entering the 2025 campaign.
PROFICIENT PITCHING: The Ball State pitching staff paces the league in ERA (5.03), WHIP (1.46) and fewest hits allowed per nine innings (8.38).
Johnson (3-0, 2.92 ERA, 25 strikeouts in 25.2 innings) and Jacob Hartlaub (3-1, 1.61 ERA, 27 strikeouts in 22.1 innings) have been leading the starting staff while Owen Quinn (2.51 ERA, two saves, 17 strikeouts in 14.1 innings) and Garrett Harker (3.86 ERA, five saves, 17 strikeouts in 14.0 innings) are holding down the back end of the bullpen.
RICHTER HOME RUNS: Senior Alex Richter has hit a home run in three straight games to move into a tie for second on the team with three total homers this year.
The third baseman launched a leadoff shot on Saturday against Western Michigan before drilling a two-run homer on Sunday. Richter kept the streak going with another solo shot in Tuesday's win over Purdue Fort Wayne.
CLEAN FIELDING: The Cardinals enters the weekend leading the MAC and ranking seventh in NCAA Division I in fielding percentage with a .985 average.
Ball State has committed nine errors in 608 opportunities this year through the first 17 games. The Cardinals were at the top of the national leaderboard in fielding percentage entering last weekend's series against Western Michigan. Ball State also paces the Mid-American Conference in double plays turned (16), which is No. 15 nationally.
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