Saturday, March 15
Muncie, Ind.
Noon
Ball State University
14-5, 5-0
8
vs
7
Toledo
5-12, 1-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Toledo
1
0
1
0
0
2
1
1
1
7
9
1
Ball State
1
0
3
1
0
1
0
0
2
8
11
0
Photo by: Madeline Howell/Ball State Athletics
Cardinals Claim Series Win over Toledo on Walkoff
March 16, 2025 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State baseball team trailed on three separate occasions in the middle game of a series with Toledo but came back with two runs in the ninth to beat the Rockets 8-7 on a Garrett Arnold walkoff on Sunday afternoon at Shebek Stadium.
The game was a continuation of Saturday's contest which had been suspended in the bottom of the eighth inning due to weather. Toledo (6-12, 2-4 Mid-American Conference) salvaged the series with a 6-3 win in the regularly scheduled Sunday game against the Cardinals (14-6, 5-1 MAC), which snapped an eight-game winning streak for the hosts.
"Great come-from-behind walk-off win in game one to win the series," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "Boys showed a ton of grit. Law of averages caught up with us in the nightcap after winning eight in a row, we fell a little short."
Game 2 of Series: Ball State 8, Toledo 7
Down 7-6 entering the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals rallied for a pair of runs and walked it off on a single by Arnold to clinch the series win.
Houston King singled with one out before Grant Miller pinch ran for him and scored the tying run on Dylan Grego's RBI double to left center field. Arnold stepped up to the plate with two down and launched a ball to center that nearly left the yard before celebrating with his teammates.
Both Caden Konczak of Toledo and Ball State's Alex Richter hit leadoff home runs early in the afternoon on Saturday. The hosts kept the power going with a three-run shot by Nick Husovsky in the third inning and a solo blast by Blake Bevis in the fourth to gain a 5-2 edge. Korbin Griffin continued the trend on a 2-1 pitch in the sixth frame that cleared the left field fence and made the score 6-4 in favor of the Cardinals.
Toledo plated single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to take a 7-6 lead before Ball State rallied in the bottom half of the ninth frame.
Grego went 3-for-5 in the game, while Arnold and Bevis each had two knocks.
Garrett Harker (1-0) struck out four while allowing two runs in 2.1 innings to be credited with the win. Ball State starter Jacob Hartlaub had five punchouts in 5.2 frames of four-run ball.
Toledo's Logan Jones (1-1) gave up the two runs in 1.1 innings to be hit with the loss.
Game 3 of Series: Toledo 6, Ball State 3
The Cardinals got five strikeouts in 6.0 shutout innings from starting pitcher Connor Hutchinson, but the visitors rallied late to avoid being swept.
Clay Jacobs brought home Korbin Griffin on an RBI fielder's choice in the fourth frame to get the scoring started. That was the only run scored in the first six innings, and the Rockets would score six unanswered with a pair of tallies in the seventh and four in the eighth to build a 6-1 advantage.
Ball State scored on a double play in the eighth and an Alex Richter home run in the ninth, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals fell for the first time in two weeks.
Toledo's Nathan Leininger (2-3) was credited with the win in 3.0 shutout innings out of the bullpen, while Ball State's Alex Burden suffered the loss after allowing two runs in a third of an inning.
Up Next
Ball State is set to host 3 p.m. games with Valparaiso on Tuesday and Butler on Wednesday to wrap up a nine-game homestand.
The game was a continuation of Saturday's contest which had been suspended in the bottom of the eighth inning due to weather. Toledo (6-12, 2-4 Mid-American Conference) salvaged the series with a 6-3 win in the regularly scheduled Sunday game against the Cardinals (14-6, 5-1 MAC), which snapped an eight-game winning streak for the hosts.
"Great come-from-behind walk-off win in game one to win the series," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "Boys showed a ton of grit. Law of averages caught up with us in the nightcap after winning eight in a row, we fell a little short."
Game 2 of Series: Ball State 8, Toledo 7
Down 7-6 entering the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals rallied for a pair of runs and walked it off on a single by Arnold to clinch the series win.
Houston King singled with one out before Grant Miller pinch ran for him and scored the tying run on Dylan Grego's RBI double to left center field. Arnold stepped up to the plate with two down and launched a ball to center that nearly left the yard before celebrating with his teammates.
Both Caden Konczak of Toledo and Ball State's Alex Richter hit leadoff home runs early in the afternoon on Saturday. The hosts kept the power going with a three-run shot by Nick Husovsky in the third inning and a solo blast by Blake Bevis in the fourth to gain a 5-2 edge. Korbin Griffin continued the trend on a 2-1 pitch in the sixth frame that cleared the left field fence and made the score 6-4 in favor of the Cardinals.
Toledo plated single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to take a 7-6 lead before Ball State rallied in the bottom half of the ninth frame.
Grego went 3-for-5 in the game, while Arnold and Bevis each had two knocks.
Garrett Harker (1-0) struck out four while allowing two runs in 2.1 innings to be credited with the win. Ball State starter Jacob Hartlaub had five punchouts in 5.2 frames of four-run ball.
Toledo's Logan Jones (1-1) gave up the two runs in 1.1 innings to be hit with the loss.
Game 3 of Series: Toledo 6, Ball State 3
The Cardinals got five strikeouts in 6.0 shutout innings from starting pitcher Connor Hutchinson, but the visitors rallied late to avoid being swept.
Clay Jacobs brought home Korbin Griffin on an RBI fielder's choice in the fourth frame to get the scoring started. That was the only run scored in the first six innings, and the Rockets would score six unanswered with a pair of tallies in the seventh and four in the eighth to build a 6-1 advantage.
Ball State scored on a double play in the eighth and an Alex Richter home run in the ninth, but it wasn't enough as the Cardinals fell for the first time in two weeks.
Toledo's Nathan Leininger (2-3) was credited with the win in 3.0 shutout innings out of the bullpen, while Ball State's Alex Burden suffered the loss after allowing two runs in a third of an inning.
Up Next
Ball State is set to host 3 p.m. games with Valparaiso on Tuesday and Butler on Wednesday to wrap up a nine-game homestand.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harker, Garrett (1-0)
L: JONES, Logan (1-1)
Batting:
2B: LETO, Luke 1
3B: SUDBROOK, Troy 1
HR: KONCZAK, Caden 1 ; SCHOLVIN, Charlie 1 ; WHITE, Brayden 1
RBI: KONCZAK, Caden 1 ; SCHOLVIN, Charlie 2 ; SUDBROOK, Troy 1 ; WHITE, Brayden 3
SF: WHITE, Brayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: KONCZAK, Caden 1 ; SCHOLVIN, Charlie 3 ; WALTON, Luke 1 ; WHITE, Brayden 1 ; LUCEK, Brandon 1
HBP: KONCZAK, Caden 1 ; SCHOLVIN, Charlie 1 ; SUDBROOK, Troy 1
Batting:
2B: Grego, Dylan 1
HR: Richter, Alex 1 ; Husovsky, Nick 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Griffin, Korbin 1
RBI: Richter, Alex 1 ; Grego, Dylan 1 ; Husovsky, Nick 3 ; Arnold, Garrett 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Griffin, Korbin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Richter, Alex 2 ; Miller, Grant 1 ; Grego, Dylan 2 ; Husovsky, Nick 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Griffin, Korbin 1
SB: Grego, Dylan 1
CS: Jacobs, Clay 1
HBP: Richter, Alex 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballOF/1B/P
/ Baseball
P
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF/1B
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
UTIL
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
UTIL
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballBaseball // 5 AM Workouts
Tuesday, August 26
Ball State Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell discusses the NCAA vs. House Settlement
Tuesday, July 01
Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell discusses NCAA vs. House Settlement & Bill Richards Thank You
Friday, June 27
Baseball // Day 1 MAC Tournament Recap: Win vs. EMU
Thursday, May 22