Ball State University
29-12, 15-3
Bowling Green
25-13, 13-8
Another Ninth Inning Rally Leads Baseball to Series-Clinching 16-12 Win at Bowling Green
April 19, 2025 | Baseball
The Cardinals (29-12, 15-3 Mid-American Conference) entered the final frame tied 11-11 with the host Falcons (25-13, 13-8 MAC), and Grego slashed a pitch down the right field line with two outs to score Ty Davis, Brett Griffiths and Alex Richter and propel the visitors to the series win.
Nick Husovsky followed Grego's clutch knock with an RBI double, and Garrett Arnold added another insurance run on a run-scoring single to give Ball State a 16-11 lead. Owen Quinn (3-1) got the final eight outs of the game for the Cardinals' pitching staff to earn the win.
Gabe Jones entered the game in the fifth inning and struck out three in 2.1 innings of one-run ball to slow down the Bowling Green offense and get the ball to Quinn to finish the game.
Arnold got the scoring started by singling in the first inning to bring home Grego. Ben Giovannetti plated Husovsky on a groundout to give the Cardinals an early 2-0 edge.
Davis extended the advantage on a solo home run to right field in the second before Bowling Green scored four runs in the second and two in the third inning to gain a 6-3 lead.
Blake Bevis hit a solo shot and Richter a three-run blast for a four-run fourth inning to pull the Cardinals ahead 7-6. After the hosts scored four runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame, Ball State put two runs on the board in both the fifth and seventh inning, tying the score at 10-10 on a run-scoring single by Balius and going ahead 11-10 thanks to a Richter sac fly that brought in Houston King.
Bowling Green hit a solo home run in the seventh to tie the score and set up the five-run ninth inning by the visitors, who plated six runs in the final frame of Friday's 23-18 comeback victory.
Richter went 2-for-4 with five RBI and two runs scored. Arnold rapped out three knocks and two RBI, while Grego had the triple and a double along with the three runs batted in and two runs scored. Bevis and Davis also collected two hits on the day.
Grego finished the weekend compiling a double, a triple, four home runs and 13 RBI in three games.
"Our boys showed a lot of grit all weekend," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "Ninth inning rallies are hard to come by, but our guys believe in each other and battle until the end. So many different guys contributed to our success."
Ball State's next scheduled game is at 6 p.m. on Wednesday against Indiana at Victory Field in Indianapolis.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Quinn, Owen (3-1)
L: KRESS, Nate (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Grego, Dylan 1 ; Husovsky, Nick 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1
3B: Grego, Dylan 1
HR: Richter, Alex 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Davis, Ty 1
RBI: Richter, Alex 5 ; Grego, Dylan 3 ; Husovsky, Nick 1 ; Arnold, Garrett 2 ; Giovannetti, Ben 1 ; Bevis, Blake 1 ; Davis, Ty 1 ; King, Houston 1 ; Balius, Gavin 1
SF: Richter, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Richter, Alex 2 ; Grego, Dylan 2 ; Husovsky, Nick 2 ; Giovannetti, Ben 1 ; Bevis, Blake 2 ; Davis, Ty 3 ; Jacobs, Clay 1 ; King, Houston 1 ; Griffiths, Brett 1 ; Balius, Gavin 1
HBP: Balius, Gavin 1
Batting:
2B: WRIGHT, Garrett 1 ; HORKY, Zack 1 ; LAIRD, Alex 1
HR: TAKATS, TJ 1
RBI: TAKATS, TJ 1 ; WRIGHT, Garrett 1 ; BIRCHMEIER, Brady 1 ; HORKY, Zack 1 ; ANTILLON, Gunner 2 ; CURLIS, Brayden 1 ; MOTTICE, Carter 1 ; LAIRD, Alex 4
SF: LAIRD, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: TAKATS, TJ 1 ; WRIGHT, Garrett 1 ; BIRCHMEIER, Brady 1 ; GANUN, Gavin 2 ; HORKY, Zack 3 ; ANTILLON, Gunner 1 ; CURLIS, Brayden 2 ; MOTTICE, Carter 1
SB: LAIRD, Alex 1
CS: WRIGHT, Garrett 1
