Friday, March 21
Cincinnati, Ohio
3 PM
Ball State University
16-7
5
at
6
Xavier
9-13
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8
9
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Ball State
2
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10
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Xavier
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Photo by: Caden Vincent
Baseball Falls Late in Series Opener at Xavier
March 21, 2025 | Baseball
CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Ball State baseball team got early home runs from Nick Husovsky and Clay Jacobs to build a 5-1 lead but fell 6-5 to Xavier on Friday afternoon at Hayden Field.
The Cardinals (16-7) held a 5-3 edge entering the ninth inning before the Musketeers (9-13) rallied for three runs in the frame as Clay Burdette hit a game-winning RBI single up the middle to give the hosts the series-opening decision.
Husovsky drilled a two-run homer to left field in the first frame that scored Alex Richter for a 2-0 Ball State lead. After the hosts plated a run in the third, Ball State put up a three-run fourth inning on a two-run blast by Clay Jacobs and an RBI double from Dylan Grego to go ahead 5-1.
Xavier, who entered the game with the No. 3 RPI ranking nationally, scored the game's final five tallies to win its home opener.
Grego went 3-for-4 on the day with a walk as Ball State's only player with multiple hits.
"We had our opportunities offensively, defensively and on the mound but didn't finish in any of those areas," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "Back at it tomorrow."
Ball State starting pitcher Keegan Johnson struck out four in five innings of two-run ball, while Garrett Harker (1-1) allowed three runs in two innings of work to suffer the loss. Xavier's Jack Detienne (1-1) worked a scoreless ninth to be credited with the win.
The Cardinals and Musketeers are set to play a doubleheader starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday to wrap up the series.
The Cardinals (16-7) held a 5-3 edge entering the ninth inning before the Musketeers (9-13) rallied for three runs in the frame as Clay Burdette hit a game-winning RBI single up the middle to give the hosts the series-opening decision.
Husovsky drilled a two-run homer to left field in the first frame that scored Alex Richter for a 2-0 Ball State lead. After the hosts plated a run in the third, Ball State put up a three-run fourth inning on a two-run blast by Clay Jacobs and an RBI double from Dylan Grego to go ahead 5-1.
Xavier, who entered the game with the No. 3 RPI ranking nationally, scored the game's final five tallies to win its home opener.
Grego went 3-for-4 on the day with a walk as Ball State's only player with multiple hits.
"We had our opportunities offensively, defensively and on the mound but didn't finish in any of those areas," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "Back at it tomorrow."
Ball State starting pitcher Keegan Johnson struck out four in five innings of two-run ball, while Garrett Harker (1-1) allowed three runs in two innings of work to suffer the loss. Xavier's Jack Detienne (1-1) worked a scoreless ninth to be credited with the win.
The Cardinals and Musketeers are set to play a doubleheader starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday to wrap up the series.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: DeTIENNE, Jack (1-1)
L: Harker, Garrett (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Grego, Dylan 1 ; Griffin, Korbin 1
HR: Husovsky, Nick 1 ; Jacobs, Clay 1
RBI: Grego, Dylan 1 ; Husovsky, Nick 2 ; Jacobs, Clay 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Richter, Alex 1 ; King, Houston 1 ; Husovsky, Nick 1 ; Davis, Ty 1 ; Jacobs, Clay 1
HBP: Davis, Ty 1
Batting:
2B: WACHSMANN, Isaac 1 ; BURDETTE, Clay 1 ; JELIC, Jason 1 ; ANDERSON, Aedan 1
RBI: MISCH, Connor 1 ; WACHSMANN, Isaac 1 ; BURDETTE, Clay 1 ; TUCKER, Nolan 1 ; ANDERSON, Aedan 1
SF: TUCKER, Nolan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LAMBDIN, Jake 1 ; HENDRICKSON, Carter 1 ; CANTERBERRY, Donavan 1 ; BURDETTE, Clay 1 ; JELIC, Jason 1 ; ANDERSON, Aedan 1
SB: ANDERSON, Aedan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
2b/1b
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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