Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
4-3
Merrimack
1-3
Gillis and Keller Power Cardinals to 14-6 Win over Merrimack on Final Day of Swig & Swine Classic
February 22, 2026 | Baseball
Keller hit an RBI triple that scored Max Kalk in the second inning, but Merrimack (1-3) scored two runs each in the first and second frames for a 4-1 lead. Ball State (4-3) plated another run in the fourth when Gavin Balius drove in Kalk on a sacrifice fly. Kenskey Thomas followed with an RBI single that scored Keller, and Gillis blasted a 3-run home run to left field to give the Cardinals a 6-4 edge.
Ball State built on the five-run fourth inning with a four-spot in the sixth, as Brett Griffiths scored on a wild pitch before Keller blasted a three-run homer to right field to extend the advantage to 10-4. Gillis hit a solo shot in the seventh for his second home run of the day, and Keller matched him with a two-run blast in the eighth to put the Cardinals ahead 13-6. Ryan Muizelaar brought home Balius on a double later that inning for the day's final scoring.
Gillis went 4-for-6 on the day with the two home runs and four RBI, while Keller went 3-for-4 with two homers and six RBI. Griffiths and Kalk had three hits each, as Kalk crossed home plate four times. Thomas also notched a pair of hits on a day Ball State collected 19 hits as a team.
In three games at the Swig & Swine Classic, Gillis went 7-for-14 with three home runs and eight RBI. Balius rapped out five hits and stole eight bases in eight attempts.
Jeremy Jones (1-0) struck out six in 4.1 innings of two-run ball as the first man out of the bullpen for the Cardinals to earn the win, while Zander Bretza, Joe Lafkas and Luke Reed followed that up with one shutout frame each to slow down a Merrimack offense that scored twice in both of the first two innings on the day.
Zach Broderick (0-1) got only two outs and gave up five runs to suffer the loss for the Warriors, who had starter James Borsari get through 3.0 innings allowing one run.
"Each season has its share of struggles-that is the great game of baseball," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "We were in a little bit of a funk and our boys battled through it today. Part of the journey to become the best team we can be."
Next up for the Cardinals is a four-game series at Hawaii starting Thursday night.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jones, Jeremy ()
L: B. Zach ()
Batting:
2B: Muizelaar, Ryan 1 ; Kalk, Max 1
3B: Griffiths, Brett 1 ; Keller, Charlie 1
HR: Gillis, Jacob 2 ; Keller, Charlie 2
RBI: Balius, Gavin 1 ; Muizelaar, Ryan 1 ; Thomas, Kenskey 1 ; Gillis, Jacob 4 ; Keller, Charlie 6
SH: Colligan, John 1
SF: Balius, Gavin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Balius, Gavin 1 ; Huebner, Brayden 1 ; Thomas, Kenskey 1 ; Gillis, Jacob 2 ; Griffiths, Brett 1 ; Landsnes, Tommy 1 ; Kalk, Max 4 ; Keller, Charlie 3
SB: Balius, Gavin 2 ; Griffiths, Brett 1 ; Keller, Charlie 1 ; Colligan, John 2
CS: Huebner, Brayden 1
HBP: Kalk, Max 1
PO: Huebner, Brayden 1
Batting:
2B: D. Matt 1 ; G. Cristino 1
RBI: G. Cristino 2 ; A. Jack 1 ; S. Christian 1
Base Running:
RUNS: D. Matt 1 ; H. Jayden 2 ; F. Joey 2 ; G. Chris 1
SB: A. Jack 1 ; S. Christian 1 ; G. Chris 1
HBP: F. Joey 1
