Pinch Hit Walk-Off Home Run from Bakus Leads Cardinals to 10-9 Win over UMass

Friday, April 24

Muncie, Ind.

1 PM

Ball State University

20-22, 13-9

UMass

13-21, 9-13

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
UMass	3	1	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	0	1	9	17	2
Ball State	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	3	0	0	8	12	0

Jack Bakus in a black Ball State baseball uniform celebrating with teammates after hitting a walk-off home run

Photo by: Caden Vincent

Pinch Hit Walk-Off Home Run from Bakus Leads Cardinals to 10-9 Win over UMass

April 25, 2026 | Baseball

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MUNCIE, Ind. – Jack Bakus blasted a pinch hit two-run walk-off home run over the right field wall to lead the Ball State baseball team to a 10-9 win over UMass on Saturday afternoon at Shebek Stadium.

Trailing 9-8 entering the ninth inning, the Cardinals (21-22, 14-9 Mid-American Conference) got an infield single by Brady Davidson before Bakus drilled the first pitch he saw for the game-ending homer.
The ninth inning go-ahead home run was the second of the season for Bakus after he hit a grand slam in the final frame of Ball State's win at Western Michigan on March 21.

Brayden Huebner drove in Gavin Balius on an RBI single to knot the score at 1-1 in the third inning. Brett Griffiths hit a two-run homer to right center the next frame to give Ball State a 3-1 lead. Jacob Gillis tacked on a run on an RBI single in the fifth to make for a 4-2 edge for the Cardinals.

Tied at 4-4 entering the bottom of the sixth, Huebner hit a bases-clearing triple and Gillis produced a sacrifice fly to put the hosts ahead 8-4. The visiting Minutemen (13-22, 9-14 MAC) plated three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to gain a 9-8 advantage before the ninth inning heroics from Ball State.

Four Cardinals had two hits in the game, and four produced multiple runs batted in led by Huebner's 2-for-4 with four RBI performance at the plate. The win after trailing entering the ninth inning was the fifth of the season for Ball State including the third at home.

Brady Strawmyer (1-0) struck out one in getting the final five outs for the hosts to earn his first win at Ball State. John Chambers started on the mound and tallied six strikeouts in 5.2 innings of four-run ball.

Ben Thomason (2-1) suffered the loss for UMass by allowing four runs in 3.0 innings of work.

The visitors claimed an 11-inning 9-8 decision in a game that was suspended in the ninth inning Friday with UMass up 7-5 and resumed on Saturday before the second game of the series was played. Brett Griffiths drove in two runs on a single to centerfield to cap a three-run bottom of the ninth that tied the game at 8-8, but the Minutemen got an RBI bunt from Marc Willi in the 11^th to take the win in the series opener.

Dylan Terwilliger (2-1) was credited with the win with 2.0 shutout innings in relief for UMass. Zander Bretza (1-3) struck out four in 3.1 frames but allowed two runs to be hit with the loss.

"Our boys battled back in both games," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said. "Came close to pulling off a dramatic win in game one and did it in game two. The guys never quit even when their backs are against the wall."

The rubber match between the Cardinals and Minutemen is set to take place at Noon on Sunday.