Ball State University Athletics
Friday, March 27
Muncie, Ind.
3 PM
Ball State University
vs
Ohio
Photo by: Caden Vincent
Baseball Back Home to Host Bobcats for Three Games Starting Friday
March 26, 2026 | Baseball
The Ball State baseball team returns home to host Ohio for three games starting Friday at Shebek Stadium.
Friday's start time is set for 3 p.m., and the opener will be followed by 1 p.m., first pitches on Saturday and Sunday. Each game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and WMUN 92.5 FM / 1340 AM and on the WMUN app. Links to the broadcasts and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
Ball State (12-11, 7-2 Mid-American Conference) beat Western Michigan on Saturday and Sunday last weekend to win the series but fell 13-3 at Southern Indiana in seven innings on Tuesday.
Ohio (5-19, 3-6 MAC) had the midweek off after taking 2 of 3 at Bowling Green last weekend. The Bobcats were swept at home by Western Michigan the week before in facing the lone common opponent to Ball State so far this year.
Andrew See is in his first season as the head coach at Ohio after previously playing for the Bobcats and working as the pitching coach. Ohio was picked to finish 11th in the 12-team MAC preseason poll.
The Bobcats have hit the second-most doubles (53) in the MAC while posting the third-most hits (218) and stolen bases (48).
Senior Dylan Shepherd paces Ohio in batting average (.328) and OPS (1.000) while posting four doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI. Junior Cameron Boyd is the team leader in hits (29), homers (five) and RBI (20).
After the Cardinals are done with the Bobcats, they will remain home to host Xavier on Tuesday afternoon.
COMEBACK CARDINALS: Ball State faced ninth inning deficits both Saturday and Sunday at Western Michigan but rallied back for wins to claim a road series triumph against the Broncos.
The Cardinals trailed 6-3 entering the final frame on Saturday before scoring five runs highlighted by a Jack Bakus go-ahead grand slam to lead the visitors to an 8-6 win. Western held a 4-3 edge going into the ninth of Sunday's rubber match, but Ball State tallied four runs on a sacrifice fly and a trio of RBI singles to pull out a 7-5 decision.
FINE IN THE NINTH: As showcased by the late offense in last weekend's series win in Kalamazoo, Ball State has been at its best in the ninth inning of games this year.
The Cardinals have scored 20 runs in that frame while allowing opponents to score only three times. The +17 run differential in the ninth is the best for Ball State in any inning, while the 20 total tallies are the second-most in a frame behind 24 runs in the seventh.
BAKUS BLAST: The pinch hit bases-clearing homer from Bakus on Saturday was his first home run at Ball State, while the quartet of runs batted in were also his initial RBI collected as a Cardinal.
Two other Ball State players have hit pinch hit grand slams this season as well, as Kenskey Thomas (March 8) and DJ Scheumann (March 14) blasted theirs earlier in the month.
GILLIS HITS THE GONG: Junior Jacob Gillis posted six hits last week including a double against the Broncos and a pair of two-run home runs in the late innings on March 18 against Butler and ranks near the top of the Mid-American Conference leaderboards in multiple offensive categories.
Gillis ranks fifth in the MAC in homers (seven), ninth in slugging percentage (.655) and 11th in batting average (.357) through 23 games in his first season with the Cardinals.
DAVIDSON PROVIDES A SPARK: Junior utilityman Brady Davidson saw his first playing time of the season over the weekend against the Broncos and went 4-for-6 with a pair of RBI singles.
Davidson had a pinch hit run-scoring single on Friday before going 3-for-5 with the go-ahead knock in Sunday's comeback victory.
QUINN FOR THE WIN: Senior Owen Quinn boasts Ball State's top ERA (1.88), a mark that ranks first in the league and No. 47 nationally.
The right-handed pitcher came out of the bullpen and tossed 5.0 innings of one-run ball with two strikeouts to earn the win in Saturday's 8-6 decision over Western Michigan. Quinn has struck out 16 in 24.0 frames this season.
GETTING THE GREAT LAKES STATE OVER WITH: Ball State played each of the three Mid-American Conference schools from Michigan in the first three series of conference play.
The Cardinals took 2 of 3 against Central Michigan from March 6-8 and last weekend at Western sandwiched around a series sweep of Eastern Michigan (March 13-15). Following the series with the Broncos, Ball State has 19 games remaining against teams from Ohio, seven from Indiana and three each from Illinois and Massachusetts.
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Friday's start time is set for 3 p.m., and the opener will be followed by 1 p.m., first pitches on Saturday and Sunday. Each game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and WMUN 92.5 FM / 1340 AM and on the WMUN app. Links to the broadcasts and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
Ball State (12-11, 7-2 Mid-American Conference) beat Western Michigan on Saturday and Sunday last weekend to win the series but fell 13-3 at Southern Indiana in seven innings on Tuesday.
Ohio (5-19, 3-6 MAC) had the midweek off after taking 2 of 3 at Bowling Green last weekend. The Bobcats were swept at home by Western Michigan the week before in facing the lone common opponent to Ball State so far this year.
Andrew See is in his first season as the head coach at Ohio after previously playing for the Bobcats and working as the pitching coach. Ohio was picked to finish 11th in the 12-team MAC preseason poll.
The Bobcats have hit the second-most doubles (53) in the MAC while posting the third-most hits (218) and stolen bases (48).
Senior Dylan Shepherd paces Ohio in batting average (.328) and OPS (1.000) while posting four doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI. Junior Cameron Boyd is the team leader in hits (29), homers (five) and RBI (20).
After the Cardinals are done with the Bobcats, they will remain home to host Xavier on Tuesday afternoon.
COMEBACK CARDINALS: Ball State faced ninth inning deficits both Saturday and Sunday at Western Michigan but rallied back for wins to claim a road series triumph against the Broncos.
The Cardinals trailed 6-3 entering the final frame on Saturday before scoring five runs highlighted by a Jack Bakus go-ahead grand slam to lead the visitors to an 8-6 win. Western held a 4-3 edge going into the ninth of Sunday's rubber match, but Ball State tallied four runs on a sacrifice fly and a trio of RBI singles to pull out a 7-5 decision.
FINE IN THE NINTH: As showcased by the late offense in last weekend's series win in Kalamazoo, Ball State has been at its best in the ninth inning of games this year.
The Cardinals have scored 20 runs in that frame while allowing opponents to score only three times. The +17 run differential in the ninth is the best for Ball State in any inning, while the 20 total tallies are the second-most in a frame behind 24 runs in the seventh.
BAKUS BLAST: The pinch hit bases-clearing homer from Bakus on Saturday was his first home run at Ball State, while the quartet of runs batted in were also his initial RBI collected as a Cardinal.
Two other Ball State players have hit pinch hit grand slams this season as well, as Kenskey Thomas (March 8) and DJ Scheumann (March 14) blasted theirs earlier in the month.
GILLIS HITS THE GONG: Junior Jacob Gillis posted six hits last week including a double against the Broncos and a pair of two-run home runs in the late innings on March 18 against Butler and ranks near the top of the Mid-American Conference leaderboards in multiple offensive categories.
Gillis ranks fifth in the MAC in homers (seven), ninth in slugging percentage (.655) and 11th in batting average (.357) through 23 games in his first season with the Cardinals.
DAVIDSON PROVIDES A SPARK: Junior utilityman Brady Davidson saw his first playing time of the season over the weekend against the Broncos and went 4-for-6 with a pair of RBI singles.
Davidson had a pinch hit run-scoring single on Friday before going 3-for-5 with the go-ahead knock in Sunday's comeback victory.
QUINN FOR THE WIN: Senior Owen Quinn boasts Ball State's top ERA (1.88), a mark that ranks first in the league and No. 47 nationally.
The right-handed pitcher came out of the bullpen and tossed 5.0 innings of one-run ball with two strikeouts to earn the win in Saturday's 8-6 decision over Western Michigan. Quinn has struck out 16 in 24.0 frames this season.
GETTING THE GREAT LAKES STATE OVER WITH: Ball State played each of the three Mid-American Conference schools from Michigan in the first three series of conference play.
The Cardinals took 2 of 3 against Central Michigan from March 6-8 and last weekend at Western sandwiched around a series sweep of Eastern Michigan (March 13-15). Following the series with the Broncos, Ball State has 19 games remaining against teams from Ohio, seven from Indiana and three each from Illinois and Massachusetts.
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