Saturday, April 12
Muncie, Ind.
1 PM
Ball State University
25-11, 12-2
8
vs
3
Northern Illinois
12-21, 3-11
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5
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8
9
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H
E
Northern Illinois
0
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1
0
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8
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Ball State
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4
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Photo by: Amber Pietz, Ball State Creative Services
Hartlaub and Homers Power Baseball to 8-3 Win over NIU
April 12, 2025 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State baseball team got another strong start from Jacob Hartlaub and home runs from Alex Richter and Dylan Grego on its way to an 8-3 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Shebek Stadium.
The Cardinals (25-11, 12-2 Mid-American Conference) did their damage in the first half of the contest to win their second straight against the Huskies (12-21, 3-11 MAC) and fifth conference win in a row
overall.
Grego scored after a Nick Husovsky single in the first inning to put the hosts ahead 1-0 before Richter drilled a two-run homer a projected 389 feet to right field in the third to extend the advantage to 3-0.
Northern pushed across a run in the top half of the fourth frame, but Ball State responded with an RBI single by Gavin Balius to plate Blake Bevis and regain a three-run edge. The Cardinals scored four times in the fifth inning including a solo blast by Grego that went a projected 410 feet down the right field and bounced in the direction of the football stadium's parking lot to gain an 8-1 advantage.
Jacob Hartlaub (5-2) went seven innings and struck out six while allowing two runs to earn the win, and Brendan Garza accumulated three strikeouts to close out the game in the eighth and ninth innings. Hartlaub has now gone at least seven innings in three consecutive starts after getting through eight in each of his past two appearances on the mound.
Grego went 3-for-5 with the home run and two runs scored, and Husovsky and Bevis each had a pair of hits on the day. Richter and Balius went for two RBI each.
"Our team got an excellent pitching performance from Jacob Hartlaub," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "A lot of guys contributed offensively. Great team effort!"
Ty Brachbill (1-5) suffered the loss as NIU's starting pitcher, as he gave up eight runs in 4.1 innings.
Ball State will look to sweep the Huskies in Sunday's series finale scheduled for 1 p.m.
The Cardinals (25-11, 12-2 Mid-American Conference) did their damage in the first half of the contest to win their second straight against the Huskies (12-21, 3-11 MAC) and fifth conference win in a row
overall.
Grego scored after a Nick Husovsky single in the first inning to put the hosts ahead 1-0 before Richter drilled a two-run homer a projected 389 feet to right field in the third to extend the advantage to 3-0.
Northern pushed across a run in the top half of the fourth frame, but Ball State responded with an RBI single by Gavin Balius to plate Blake Bevis and regain a three-run edge. The Cardinals scored four times in the fifth inning including a solo blast by Grego that went a projected 410 feet down the right field and bounced in the direction of the football stadium's parking lot to gain an 8-1 advantage.
Jacob Hartlaub (5-2) went seven innings and struck out six while allowing two runs to earn the win, and Brendan Garza accumulated three strikeouts to close out the game in the eighth and ninth innings. Hartlaub has now gone at least seven innings in three consecutive starts after getting through eight in each of his past two appearances on the mound.
Grego went 3-for-5 with the home run and two runs scored, and Husovsky and Bevis each had a pair of hits on the day. Richter and Balius went for two RBI each.
"Our team got an excellent pitching performance from Jacob Hartlaub," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "A lot of guys contributed offensively. Great team effort!"
Ty Brachbill (1-5) suffered the loss as NIU's starting pitcher, as he gave up eight runs in 4.1 innings.
Ball State will look to sweep the Huskies in Sunday's series finale scheduled for 1 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hartlaub, Jacob (5-2)
L: Ty Brachbill (1-5)
Batting:
2B: Logan Gregorio 1 ; Will Couchman 1 ; JP Gauthier 2
RBI: Andrew Smart 1
SF: Andrew Smart 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Will Couchman 1 ; JP Gauthier 1 ; Jalen House 1
HBP: Kaden Kosobucki 1
Batting:
2B: Grego, Dylan 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1
HR: Richter, Alex 1 ; Grego, Dylan 1
RBI: Richter, Alex 2 ; Grego, Dylan 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Davis, Ty 1 ; Balius, Gavin 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Richter, Alex 1 ; Grego, Dylan 2 ; Husovsky, Nick 1 ; Arnold, Garrett 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Davis, Ty 1 ; Balius, Gavin 1
HBP: Arnold, Garrett 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
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