Ball State University Athletics
Friday, April 24
Muncie, Ind.
1 PM
Ball State University
vs
UMass
Photo by: Caden Vincent
Baseball Hosting UMass Starting Friday for First Games against Minutemen in Series History; Start Time for Opener Pushed up to 1 PM
April 23, 2026 | Baseball
The Ball State baseball team welcomes UMass to Muncie for three games starting Friday at 1 p.m., for what will be the first contests between the two teams in series history.
The start time for Saturday is set for 1 p.m., while Sunday's first pitch is scheduled for Noon. Links to the WMUN radio broadcast, video stream on the WMUN Facebook page and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early on Saturday for a pregame recognition of the 2006 Mid-American Conference Tournament championship team.
The Cardinals (20-21, 13-8 MAC) beat IU South Bend 25-7 in seven innings on Wednesday and took the opener at Kent State last weekend 11-3 before dropping the final two games on Saturday and Sunday.
The Minutemen (12-21, 8-13 MAC) are winners of six straight conference games but dropped midweek matchups to Central Connecticut State (6-4) on Tuesday and Stonehill (12-5) on Wednesday. UMass swept Bowling Green at home last weekend and Eastern Michigan on the road the week prior.
Brandon Shileikis and Max Weir are in their first season as co-head coaches of the Minutemen, who were picked to finish last in the MAC preseason poll.
UMass is tenth in the league in both ERA (7.58) and runs per game (5.6). Junior right-handed pitcher Callen Powers is fourth in the MAC in ERA (3.28) and strikeouts (57) this year. Sophomore righty Adam Merritt has the best hits allowed per nine innings ratio (4.91) in the league and fourth-best in the country along with the fourth-best WHIP (1.09) in the MAC.
The next scheduled game for the Cardinals after Sunday is set for Friday, May 1 at Toledo.
MINUTEMEN IN MUNCIE: Friday's game against the Minutemen will be the first in series history between Ball State and UMass.
The program from Amherst, Mass., joined the Mid-American Conference in advance of the 2025-26 school year and has played Ball State in other sports including men's and women's basketball, field hockey, soccer and women's tennis.
GO GO GARZA: Sophomore Brendan Garza struck out five in 8.0 innings of three-run ball (two earned) to earn the win in Ball State's 11-3 victory in last Friday's series opener at Kent State.
The right-handed pitcher worked around traffic, stranding nine runners on base, and shut down the Golden Flashes' offense in the third through eighth innings to lead the Cardinals against the league's top team. Garza is fifth in the Mid-American Conference in innings pitched (57.1) largely thanks to complete games against Hawaii (Feb. 28) and Ohio (March 27) in addition to Friday's performance at Kent State.
QUICK CARDINALS: Seniors Gavin Balius and Brett Griffiths are near the top of the national leaderboards in stolen bases and triples, respectively.
Balius has swiped 31 bags to pace the MAC and rank fourth in NCAA Division I, while Griffith's five triples are the sixth-most nationally. Justin Love (44 steals in 1997) and Zach Cole (nine triples in 2022) hold Ball State program records in those categories.
CHAMBERS CHARGING: Senior John Chambers has been a workhorse as of late for the Ball State pitching staff, going 6.1 innings on Saturday at Kent State after posting season-bests in innings pitched (7.2) and strikeouts (eight) while allowing only four hits and two runs in Ball State's 3-2 win against Akron in his previous start on April 11.
The right-handed pitcher has notched 50 strikeouts in 48.1 frames with a 4-4 record, 4.66 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 11 apperances (four starts) this year.
KELLER COMING ON STRONG: Junior Charlie Keller has hit three home runs, including a go-ahead three-run blast in Friday's win at Kent State, and a double with seven RBI in his last five games played.
COMEBACK CARDINALS: Ball State's 3-2 win over Akron on April 11 was its fourth this season when trailing entering the ninth inning.
The Cardinals came back from a 2-1 deficit to walk-off the Zips courtesy of a run-scoring single from Griffiths. The senior also had a two-run game-winning double on March 8 against Central Michigan to help Ball State come back from a 10-5 deficit entering the final frame. The two wins at Western Michigan (March 21 and 22) also featured comebacks from down 6-3 and 4-3 going into the ninth, respectively.
HITS AND TAKING THE EXTRA BASE: Ball State enters the week leading the MAC in hits (412) and triples (12) and ranking second in home runs (52).
The 12 triples are 23rd-most in NCAA Division I, while the 412 hits are No. 39 in the division.
SEVENTH INNING STRETCH: The Ball State offense has been at its best in the seventh innings of games, scoring 50 runs total in that frame so far this season.
The Cardinals have allowed 31 runs in the seventh this year for a +19 run margin. Ball State has also bumped up its fourth inning run production to 50 as well after crossing home plate three times in that frame on Wednesday against IU South Bend.
Â
The start time for Saturday is set for 1 p.m., while Sunday's first pitch is scheduled for Noon. Links to the WMUN radio broadcast, video stream on the WMUN Facebook page and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early on Saturday for a pregame recognition of the 2006 Mid-American Conference Tournament championship team.
The Cardinals (20-21, 13-8 MAC) beat IU South Bend 25-7 in seven innings on Wednesday and took the opener at Kent State last weekend 11-3 before dropping the final two games on Saturday and Sunday.
The Minutemen (12-21, 8-13 MAC) are winners of six straight conference games but dropped midweek matchups to Central Connecticut State (6-4) on Tuesday and Stonehill (12-5) on Wednesday. UMass swept Bowling Green at home last weekend and Eastern Michigan on the road the week prior.
Brandon Shileikis and Max Weir are in their first season as co-head coaches of the Minutemen, who were picked to finish last in the MAC preseason poll.
UMass is tenth in the league in both ERA (7.58) and runs per game (5.6). Junior right-handed pitcher Callen Powers is fourth in the MAC in ERA (3.28) and strikeouts (57) this year. Sophomore righty Adam Merritt has the best hits allowed per nine innings ratio (4.91) in the league and fourth-best in the country along with the fourth-best WHIP (1.09) in the MAC.
The next scheduled game for the Cardinals after Sunday is set for Friday, May 1 at Toledo.
MINUTEMEN IN MUNCIE: Friday's game against the Minutemen will be the first in series history between Ball State and UMass.
The program from Amherst, Mass., joined the Mid-American Conference in advance of the 2025-26 school year and has played Ball State in other sports including men's and women's basketball, field hockey, soccer and women's tennis.
GO GO GARZA: Sophomore Brendan Garza struck out five in 8.0 innings of three-run ball (two earned) to earn the win in Ball State's 11-3 victory in last Friday's series opener at Kent State.
The right-handed pitcher worked around traffic, stranding nine runners on base, and shut down the Golden Flashes' offense in the third through eighth innings to lead the Cardinals against the league's top team. Garza is fifth in the Mid-American Conference in innings pitched (57.1) largely thanks to complete games against Hawaii (Feb. 28) and Ohio (March 27) in addition to Friday's performance at Kent State.
QUICK CARDINALS: Seniors Gavin Balius and Brett Griffiths are near the top of the national leaderboards in stolen bases and triples, respectively.
Balius has swiped 31 bags to pace the MAC and rank fourth in NCAA Division I, while Griffith's five triples are the sixth-most nationally. Justin Love (44 steals in 1997) and Zach Cole (nine triples in 2022) hold Ball State program records in those categories.
CHAMBERS CHARGING: Senior John Chambers has been a workhorse as of late for the Ball State pitching staff, going 6.1 innings on Saturday at Kent State after posting season-bests in innings pitched (7.2) and strikeouts (eight) while allowing only four hits and two runs in Ball State's 3-2 win against Akron in his previous start on April 11.
The right-handed pitcher has notched 50 strikeouts in 48.1 frames with a 4-4 record, 4.66 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 11 apperances (four starts) this year.
KELLER COMING ON STRONG: Junior Charlie Keller has hit three home runs, including a go-ahead three-run blast in Friday's win at Kent State, and a double with seven RBI in his last five games played.
COMEBACK CARDINALS: Ball State's 3-2 win over Akron on April 11 was its fourth this season when trailing entering the ninth inning.
The Cardinals came back from a 2-1 deficit to walk-off the Zips courtesy of a run-scoring single from Griffiths. The senior also had a two-run game-winning double on March 8 against Central Michigan to help Ball State come back from a 10-5 deficit entering the final frame. The two wins at Western Michigan (March 21 and 22) also featured comebacks from down 6-3 and 4-3 going into the ninth, respectively.
HITS AND TAKING THE EXTRA BASE: Ball State enters the week leading the MAC in hits (412) and triples (12) and ranking second in home runs (52).
The 12 triples are 23rd-most in NCAA Division I, while the 412 hits are No. 39 in the division.
SEVENTH INNING STRETCH: The Ball State offense has been at its best in the seventh innings of games, scoring 50 runs total in that frame so far this season.
The Cardinals have allowed 31 runs in the seventh this year for a +19 run margin. Ball State has also bumped up its fourth inning run production to 50 as well after crossing home plate three times in that frame on Wednesday against IU South Bend.
Â
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballBaseball // Walk-off double to win the series vs. CMU
Monday, March 09
test
Thursday, March 05
This Week in Ball State Sports // Guests: World Series Champion Alex Call and AD Jeff Mitchell
Thursday, January 22
Sports Link: Michael Shebek's Power of Beneficence
Friday, November 07