Ball State University Athletics
Tuesday, March 10
Lexington, Ky.
6:30 PM
Ball State University
at
Kentucky
Photo by: Brayden Goins / Ball State Athletics
Baseball on the Road at Kentucky on Tuesday Night
March 09, 2026 | Baseball
The Ball State baseball team is set for its first midweek game of the season when it plays at No. 25 Kentucky on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.
The game at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington will be streamed on SECNetwork+ / ESPN+, and links to the broadcast and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
Ball State (7-7) beat Central Michigan 11-6 on Saturday and 11-10 on Sunday at Shebek Stadium to claim the home and Mid-American Conference opening series. The Sunday contest featured a six-run ninth inning rally for the Cardinals that was capped off by a walk-off two-run double from Brett Griffiths.
Kentucky (14-2), who cracked the Top 25 of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association week five poll after receiving votes the previous week, swept The Citadel in Lexington last weekend to extend its winning streak to nine straight. The Wildcats have only lost to Morehead State (8-6 on Feb. 17) and at Evansville (1-0 on Feb. 21) so far this year.
Nick Mingione is in his 10th season as the head coach at Kentucky, who was picked 11th in the 16-team Southeastern Conference preseason coaches poll.
The Wildcats are adept at small ball, pacing the SEC and ranking among the NCAA Division I leaders in getting hit by pitches (51, No. 2 nationally), stolen bases (53, No. 3) and sacrifice bunts (12, No. 18).
Junior Ethan Hindle has been the big bat in the Kentucky lineup so far this year, leading the Wildcats in OPS (1.214), home runs (five) and RBI (23) in 16 games.
Ball State next hosts Eastern Michigan starting Friday afternoon for a second straight home series to begin conference play.
GRIFFITHS GETS GOING: Senior shortstop Brett Griffiths collected game-winning hits both Saturday and Sunday against Central Michigan to help Ball State win the series against the Chippewas.
A walk-off two-run double to left center finished off an 11-10 comeback win for the Cardinals on Sunday a day after Griffiths blasted a go-ahead solo homer in an 11-6 victory on Saturday. The senior tallied five hits including a double, triple and home run and five RBI during the weekend set.
COMEBACK CARDINALS: Ball State came back from a four-run deficit on Saturday and a seven-run hole on Sunday to post back-to-back comeback wins over Central Michigan.
The Cardinals trailed 6-2 after the top of the sixth inning Saturday but scored four times in the sixth, three in the seventh and twice in the eighth for the final nine runs of the game. Central led 7-0 Sunday after a seven-run fourth frame, 10-4 after the top of the eighth inning and 10-5 going into the ninth, but Ball State rallied for six runs to capture the win.
GARZA GOES THE DISTANCE: Sophomore Brendan Garza surrendered only two hits and two walk and didn't allow a runner to advance past first base, in a complete game shutout in Ball State's 1-0 win at Hawaii on Feb. 27.
The right-handed pitcher worked 1-2-3 innings five times, as he retired the final 12 batters of the game following a leadoff walk in the sixth. Garza was named the Mid-American Conference pitcher of the week for the performance.
This was Ball State's first complete game since Merritt Beeker allowed one run in 9.0 frames in May 2024 against Toledo at the Mid-American Conference Tournament and first nine-inning shutout in five years (John Baker against Western Michigan in a 2-0 win on March 19, 2021).
BALIUS BATS AND RUNS: Senior Gavin Balius collected a hit in each game against the Chippewas and leads the Cardinals in stolen bases (13) while ranking third in hits (17) and second in batting average through the first 14 games of the season.
The Flushing, Mich., native has collected multiple hits in three games and multiple steals in four games so far this year. Balius leads the league and ranks eighth in Division I beginning this week with the 13 steals.
PITCHERS PUTTING IN WORK: Led by Garza (3.70 ERA, 21 strikeouts in 24.1 innings), Owen Quinn (2.13 ERA, 10 strikeouts in 12.2 frames), and John Chambers (3.29 ERA, 16 strikeouts in 13.2 frames), the Ball State pitching staff has been one of the best in the league to start the year.
The Cardinals rank third in the MAC in ERA (5.53) and fewest hits allowed per nine innings (8.62) and fourth in WHIP (1.50) as a group.
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 has 10 errors in 507 chances for a .980 fielding percentage (fourth in the MAC) to start the season.
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The game at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington will be streamed on SECNetwork+ / ESPN+, and links to the broadcast and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
Ball State (7-7) beat Central Michigan 11-6 on Saturday and 11-10 on Sunday at Shebek Stadium to claim the home and Mid-American Conference opening series. The Sunday contest featured a six-run ninth inning rally for the Cardinals that was capped off by a walk-off two-run double from Brett Griffiths.
Kentucky (14-2), who cracked the Top 25 of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association week five poll after receiving votes the previous week, swept The Citadel in Lexington last weekend to extend its winning streak to nine straight. The Wildcats have only lost to Morehead State (8-6 on Feb. 17) and at Evansville (1-0 on Feb. 21) so far this year.
Nick Mingione is in his 10th season as the head coach at Kentucky, who was picked 11th in the 16-team Southeastern Conference preseason coaches poll.
The Wildcats are adept at small ball, pacing the SEC and ranking among the NCAA Division I leaders in getting hit by pitches (51, No. 2 nationally), stolen bases (53, No. 3) and sacrifice bunts (12, No. 18).
Junior Ethan Hindle has been the big bat in the Kentucky lineup so far this year, leading the Wildcats in OPS (1.214), home runs (five) and RBI (23) in 16 games.
Ball State next hosts Eastern Michigan starting Friday afternoon for a second straight home series to begin conference play.
GRIFFITHS GETS GOING: Senior shortstop Brett Griffiths collected game-winning hits both Saturday and Sunday against Central Michigan to help Ball State win the series against the Chippewas.
A walk-off two-run double to left center finished off an 11-10 comeback win for the Cardinals on Sunday a day after Griffiths blasted a go-ahead solo homer in an 11-6 victory on Saturday. The senior tallied five hits including a double, triple and home run and five RBI during the weekend set.
COMEBACK CARDINALS: Ball State came back from a four-run deficit on Saturday and a seven-run hole on Sunday to post back-to-back comeback wins over Central Michigan.
The Cardinals trailed 6-2 after the top of the sixth inning Saturday but scored four times in the sixth, three in the seventh and twice in the eighth for the final nine runs of the game. Central led 7-0 Sunday after a seven-run fourth frame, 10-4 after the top of the eighth inning and 10-5 going into the ninth, but Ball State rallied for six runs to capture the win.
GARZA GOES THE DISTANCE: Sophomore Brendan Garza surrendered only two hits and two walk and didn't allow a runner to advance past first base, in a complete game shutout in Ball State's 1-0 win at Hawaii on Feb. 27.
The right-handed pitcher worked 1-2-3 innings five times, as he retired the final 12 batters of the game following a leadoff walk in the sixth. Garza was named the Mid-American Conference pitcher of the week for the performance.
This was Ball State's first complete game since Merritt Beeker allowed one run in 9.0 frames in May 2024 against Toledo at the Mid-American Conference Tournament and first nine-inning shutout in five years (John Baker against Western Michigan in a 2-0 win on March 19, 2021).
BALIUS BATS AND RUNS: Senior Gavin Balius collected a hit in each game against the Chippewas and leads the Cardinals in stolen bases (13) while ranking third in hits (17) and second in batting average through the first 14 games of the season.
The Flushing, Mich., native has collected multiple hits in three games and multiple steals in four games so far this year. Balius leads the league and ranks eighth in Division I beginning this week with the 13 steals.
PITCHERS PUTTING IN WORK: Led by Garza (3.70 ERA, 21 strikeouts in 24.1 innings), Owen Quinn (2.13 ERA, 10 strikeouts in 12.2 frames), and John Chambers (3.29 ERA, 16 strikeouts in 13.2 frames), the Ball State pitching staff has been one of the best in the league to start the year.
The Cardinals rank third in the MAC in ERA (5.53) and fewest hits allowed per nine innings (8.62) and fourth in WHIP (1.50) as a group.
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 has 10 errors in 507 chances for a .980 fielding percentage (fourth in the MAC) to start the season.
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