Ball State University
11-5, 3-0
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Western Michigan
0-14, 0-3
Grego's Walkoff Shot Secures 10-9 Win and Series Sweep over WMU
March 09, 2025 | Baseball
The Cardinals (11-5, 3-0 Mid-American Conference) clinched the series sweep over the Broncos (0-14, 0-3 MAC) with the win, which was their fifth straight.
Grego stepped up to the plate after Western Michigan had tied the score in its half of the ninth on a three-run homer by Brendan Harrity. Grego drilled the second pitch he saw high in the air toward right center field, and the ball cleared the wall at a projected 431 feet. Ball State celebrated as Grego touched home plate to secure the victory.
Western got a run in the first frame and three in the third to open up a 4-0 lead before Houston King put the Cardinals on the board with a solo home run to right in the fourth inning. The visitors added a run in the fifth to give them a 5-1 edge.
Ball State responded with a five-run fifth inning that started with a two-run shot by Alex Richter. King later scored on a wild pitch before Nick Husovsky hit an RBI double and Garrett Arnold a run-scoring single to put Ball State ahead 6-5. The Cardinals added insurance tallies in the sixth on a King RBI single and two in the eighth inning on RBI knocks by Gavin Balius and John Colligan to increase the advantage to 9-6.
Husovsky went 3-for-3 on the day, while King, Grego and Balius each had a pair of hits.
Chambers (1-0) earned the win with two strikeouts in a scoreless frame. Ball State starting pitcher Connor Hutchinson allowed four runs in a pair of innings.
"Our boys battled all day long – you have to give Western Michigan a lot of credit in coming back against an outstanding reliever," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "John Chambers holding the fort down after Western's comeback was huge. Dylan Grego came through with the big hit. A lot of guys contributed to our victory."
Turner Doran (0-1) suffered the loss for the Broncos by giving up three runs in an inning of work. Western's starter Zach Vriesenga surrendered five runs in 4.2 frames.
Ball State will host Purdue Fort Wayne at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in its fourth of nine straight home games.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Chambers, John (1-0)
L: DORAN, Turner (0-1)
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Batting:
2B: MEE, Grady 1 ; MALLY, Tanner 1 ; MALONEY, Michael 1
HR: HARRITY, Brendan 1
RBI: MEE, Grady 1 ; HARRITY, Brendan 3 ; NEVAR, Dylan 3 ; THIELMAN, Avery 1
SH: HUMS, Cooper 1 ; MALONEY, Michael 1
SF: MEE, Grady 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MEE, Grady 2 ; HUMS, Cooper 1 ; MALLY, Tanner 3 ; MALONEY, Michael 1 ; HARRITY, Brendan 1 ; THIELMAN, Avery 1
SB: NEVAR, Dylan 1
CS: HUMS, Cooper 1
HBP: MALLY, Tanner 1
Batting:
2B: Husovsky, Nick 1 ; Arnold, Garrett 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1
HR: Richter, Alex 1 ; King, Houston 1 ; Grego, Dylan 1
RBI: Richter, Alex 2 ; King, Houston 2 ; Colligan, John 1 ; Grego, Dylan 1 ; Husovsky, Nick 1 ; Arnold, Garrett 1 ; Balius, Gavin 1
SH: Jacobs, Clay 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Richter, Alex 1 ; King, Houston 2 ; Grego, Dylan 2 ; Husovsky, Nick 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Balius, Gavin 3
SB: Balius, Gavin 1
CS: Colligan, John 1 ; Miller, Grant 1
HBP: Husovsky, Nick 1 ; Griffin, Korbin 1 ; Balius, Gavin 1
PO: Griffiths, Brett 1
