Baseball in Charleston for Four-Game Swig & Swine Classic Starting Friday; Follow Along with Links to Digital Radio Broadcasts and Video Streams

Friday, February 20

Charleston, S.C.

Noon

Ball State University

Merrimack

Photo by: Caden Vincent

Baseball in Charleston for Four-Game Swig & Swine Classic Starting Friday; Follow Along with Links to Digital Radio Broadcasts and Video Streams

February 19, 2026 | Baseball

Watch (HiCast Sports Network)Listen Friday Listen Saturday Listen Sunday Live Stats Game 1 Live Stats Game 2 Live Stats Game 3 Live Stats Game 4

The Ball State baseball team heads down to Charleston, S.C., to play four games in three days at the Swig & Swine College Classic at Shipyard Park.

The Cardinals play two against Merrimack (Noon on Friday and 10 a.m. on Sunday) sandwiched around contests against George Mason (Noon) and Seton Hall (4 p.m.) on Saturday.

Roen Elbert will be on the call for digital radio broadcasts for each game, while HiCast Sports Network provides a single camera video stream. A seven-day pass is available to purchase for $21.99, while a monthly pass with up to four streams can be purchased for $32.99. Links to broadcasts and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.

Ball State (3-1) beat St. John's on Friday and Saturday and Stetson on Saturday to begin its season-opening weekend in Deland, Fla., but fell to Minnesota in Sunday's finale.

Ball State went 36-22 (21-9 Mid-American Conference) last year for a third-place finish in the MAC. The Cardinals lost five All-MAC performers but return two-time First Team selection Keegan Johnson to headline the pitching rotation. Ball State's 2026 roster features 23 newcomers and 15 returners.

Head coach Rich Maloney entered his 21^st season at Ball State and 31^st overall as a head coach with 1,024 career wins.

Score updates for each game will be posted to the team account on X (@BallStateBB), and schedule updates will be communicated on the website and team social media platforms.

BALIUS BATS AND RUNS: Senior Gavin Balius led the Cardinals in hits (five) and stolen bases (three) during the opening weekend to help Ball State start the season 3-1.

The Flushing, Mich., native stole two bases and scored two runs including the game-winning tally in Friday's 4-3 win against St. John's. Balius followed that up with a two-run single among two hits and a steal in Saturday's 8-2 win over the Red Storm.

PRODUCTIVE PITCHING: The Ball State pitching staff got impressive performances from multiple Cardinals on Friday and Saturday in Florida, allowing the team to limit opposing offenses to only eight runs total through the first three games of the season.

Senior John Chambers struck out five in 5.0 shutout frames out of the bullpen to earn the win on Friday before Brendan Garza (five strikeouts in 5.0 innings of one-run ball) and Owen Quinn (three strikeouts in 2.2 scoreless innings) teamed up to help Ball State beat St. John's again on Saturday. Alex Burden (one run in 6.0 innings) and Jeremy Jones (one run in 3.0 frames) fired six punchouts each in Saturday night's 5-2 win at Stetson.

CARDINALS BACK IN CHARLESTON: Ball State is set to play at the Swig & Swine Classic at Shipyard Park for the fifth straight season. The Cardinals have posted a 10-5 record at the event in the last four seasons including 2-1 last year.

BATTLES WITH THE BIG EAST: A total of six games against teams from the Big East Conference are on this year's schedule including the two wins against St. John's last weekend and Saturday's matchup with Seton Hall. The games against the Red Storm were the first in program history, and the Cardinals have faced the Pirates only once prior, in a 7-1 win on March 6, 2004.

DEFENSIVE DYNAMOS: Ball State finished the 2025 season with the fourth-best fielding percentage in NCAA Division I at .983 (only 34 errors in 1,993 opportunities).

The Cardinals concluded the regular season with the top fielding percentage in the country (.984) but got passed up in the postseason. Ball State had two errors for a .986 fielding percentage in the four games to start the season.

K IS FOR KEEGAN: Junior Keegan Johnson is a two-time First Team All-MAC selection and most recently posted a 7-3 record and 75 strikeouts in 14 starts during his sophomore campaign.

The left-handed hurler received MAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year and Top MAC Draft Prospect accolades leading up to the season from the D1Baseball online publication along with being named a Top-200 starting pitcher nationally (No. 167).

NEW LOOK OFFENSE: Balius is the lone returning Ball State hitter with more than 100 at bats last season. Balius produced a .303/.343/.407 slash line in 178 at bats while tallying a team high 22 steals in 2025.

Senior Ben Giovannetti (90 at bats) and junior Max Kalk (46) are the next two Cardinals with the most times to plate last season. Senior Brett Griffiths (40 at bats) and sophomores DJ Scheumann (25), Brayden Huebner (23) and John Colligan (19) will look to get more experience swinging the bat in their second seasons at Ball State.