Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
15-12
Xavier
10-20
Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short for Baseball in 13-12 Setback to Xavier
March 31, 2026 | Baseball
The Cardinals (15-12) had the bases loaded in the final frame with no outs but couldn't push across a run against Xavier (10-20), who played a game in Muncie for the first time since 2016.
Ball State trailed 12-5 after the top of the sixth inning but plated five runs in the bottom half of the frame and once each in the seventh and eighth to cut the deficit to 13-12. Ryan Muizelaar's solo home run in the eighth inning proved to be the day's final offense, as the Cardinals had a popout, strikeout and fielder's choice to end the game.
The visitors scored one run each in the first and third to build a 2-0 edge, but Ball State got on the board on a solo homer by Brayden Huebner in the bottom of the third. After Xavier added two tallies in the fourth, the Cardinals responded with a three-run blast from Kenskey Thomas in the same frame for a 4-4 score.
Xavier put up four runs each in the fifth and sixth innings, while Ball State scored once in the fifth on a Jacob Gillis sacrifice fly, and five different Cardinals (Preston Murphy, Jack Bakus, Huebner, Brett Griffiths and Gillis) contributed run-producing hits in the sixth to get the hosts back in the game.
Huebner paced the Ball State offense with a 4-for-6 performance and three runs scored. Griffiths, Thomas, Brady Davidson and Gavin Balius chipped in two knocks each.
Xavier's Michael Murphy tossed 2.0 frames of four run ball and was credited with the win. Joey Arend got the final three outs to earn his first save of the year. Alex Burden (1-2) allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning to be hit with the loss.
Next up for the Cardinals is a three-game series at Miami (Ohio) set to begin at 3 p.m. on Thursday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Murphy, Michael (1-0)
L: Burden, Alex (1-2)
S: Arend, Joey (1)
Batting:
HR: Hammond, Luke 1 ; Burdette, Clay 2 ; Mensik, Landon 1 ; Stonehouse, Josh 2
RBI: Hammond, Luke 1 ; Burdette, Clay 3 ; Mensik, Landon 2 ; Thomas, Tanner 1 ; Stonehouse, Josh 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Crisp, JD 1 ; Hammond, Luke 1 ; Burdette, Clay 3 ; Mensik, Landon 1 ; Jelic, Jason 2 ; Stonehouse, Josh 2 ; Christenson, Carter 1 ; Valdes, Jorge 2
SB: Burdette, Clay 1 ; Thomas, Tanner 1
HBP: Stonehouse, Josh 1
PO: Stonehouse, Josh 1
Batting:
2B: Griffiths, Brett 1 ; Murphy, Preston 1
3B: Griffiths, Brett 1
HR: Muizelaar, Ryan 1 ; Huebner, Brayden 1 ; Thomas, Kenskey 1
RBI: Griffiths, Brett 1 ; Balius, Gavin 1 ; Muizelaar, Ryan 1 ; Huebner, Brayden 2 ; Gillis, Jacob 2 ; Bakus, Jack 1 ; Murphy, Preston 1 ; Thomas, Kenskey 3
SH: Landsnes, Tommy 1
SF: Gillis, Jacob 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Griffiths, Brett 1 ; Muizelaar, Ryan 2 ; Huebner, Brayden 3 ; Sorgius, Kendric 1 ; Davidson, Brady 2 ; Murphy, Preston 1 ; Thomas, Kenskey 2
CS: Huebner, Brayden 1
HBP: Murphy, Preston 1
