Ball State University Athletics
Friday, April 10
Muncie, Ind.
3 PM
Ball State University
vs
Akron
Photo by: Brayden Goins / Ball State Athletics
Baseball Welcomes Akron to Muncie for Three Games Starting Friday
April 09, 2026 | Baseball
The Ball State baseball team returns to Mid-American Conference play when it hosts Akron for three games starting at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Subsequent games are scheduled for 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, and each game will be broadcast on WMUN 92.5 FM / 1340 AM and streamed on the WMUN Facebook page. Links to the video and radio broadcasts and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
The Cardinals (16-16, 10-5 MAC) beat Manchester 18-5 on Wednesday afternoon largely thanks to a trio of big offensive innings including four runs in the first and sixth and nine runs in the fourth frame.
The Zips (14-18, 5-10 MAC) beat West Virginia Wesleyan 14-4 in seven innings on Tuesday afternoon and fell 12-7 at Kent State on Wednesday night in midweek action after being swept in a three-game set at Bowling Green last weekend.
Head coach Bryan Faulds is in his third season in charge of the program that was picked to finish 10th in the 12-team MAC preseason poll.
The Zips utilize small ball to the tune of a conference-best 90 stolen bases (No. 10 in NCAA Division I), and they rank second in the league in sacrifice bunts (22, No. 27 nationally) and walks (184, No. 30). Akron has turned the most double plays in the MAC (25) so far this year.
Redshirt junior Tucker Biehl's 10 sac bunts are the most in all of Division I. Freshman Blake Bowen has the second-most walks in the MAC (36) and sixth-most nationally.
After this weekend, Ball State's next scheduled game is Tuesday afternoon at Butler.
HUEBNER ON A HEATER: Sophomore Brayden Huebner has hit a home run in three straight games including two last Saturday at Miami (Ohio).
The Evansville, Ind., native went 4-for-4 with four RBI and five runs scored in the 18-5 win over Manchester on Wednesday and boasts a .615 batting average (8-for-13) with four homers, three doubles, nine RBI and nine runs across the last three games. In the most recent eight contests, Huebner has blasted six home runs.
DAVIDSON CAN DO IT: Junior Brady Davidson has posted a .444 batting average since making his Ball State debut on March 20 against Western Michigan.
The utilityman out of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., went 3-for-4 on Wednesday against Manchester with a three-run homer and a double. Davidson has held down second base for the last few weeks and posted one game with two hits, three with three hits and one with five hits (March 29 vs Ohio).
SEVENTH INNING STRETCH: The Ball State offense has been at its best in the seventh innings of games, scoring 43 runs total in that frame so far this season.
The Cardinals have allowed 28 runs in the seventh this year for a +15 run margin, which is its second-best in any inning behind the ninth at +17 (20-3).
PINCH HITTING PROWESS: Ball State pinch hitters have come through for the Cardinals at a productive rate so far this season, batting .355 (22-for-62) compared to opponents' .182 (4-for-22) average.
Jack Bakus paces the team with five pinch hits, while Tommy Landsnes, DJ Scheumann and Kenskey Thomas have each tallied three. Bakus, Scheumann and Thomas have pinch hit grand slams on the year, as Bakus hit his in the ninth inning of the March 21 comeback win at Western Michigan.
HITS AND TAKING THE EXTRA BASE: Ball State enters this weekend's series against Akron leading the MAC in hits (323), triples (10) and sacrifice flies (16) this year.
The Cardinals are tied with Toledo for the most sac flies in the league, while the 10 triples are 26th-most in NCAA Division I. Senior Brett Griffiths' four triples pace the MAC and rank eighth nationally.
CHAMBERS CHARGING: Senior John Chambers was credited with a win in three straight recent appearances and kept the Cardinals in the game last Saturday at Miami.
The right-handed pitcher ranks fourth in the MAC with four victories on the season and fifth at a 10.22 strikeouts per nine innings ratio.
NO-NO FOR GARZA: Sophmore Brendan Garza tossed Ball State's first no-hitter since 2019 in a 10-0 win in seven innings over Ohio on March 27 in Muncie.
The right-handed pitcher struck out seven and worked around two walks and two hits batsmen on his way to the no-no, which earned him a MAC Co-Pitcher of the Week honor. John Baker and Luke Jaksich combined on a no-hitter back in May 11, 2019 which was also against the Bobcats.
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Subsequent games are scheduled for 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, and each game will be broadcast on WMUN 92.5 FM / 1340 AM and streamed on the WMUN Facebook page. Links to the video and radio broadcasts and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.
The Cardinals (16-16, 10-5 MAC) beat Manchester 18-5 on Wednesday afternoon largely thanks to a trio of big offensive innings including four runs in the first and sixth and nine runs in the fourth frame.
The Zips (14-18, 5-10 MAC) beat West Virginia Wesleyan 14-4 in seven innings on Tuesday afternoon and fell 12-7 at Kent State on Wednesday night in midweek action after being swept in a three-game set at Bowling Green last weekend.
Head coach Bryan Faulds is in his third season in charge of the program that was picked to finish 10th in the 12-team MAC preseason poll.
The Zips utilize small ball to the tune of a conference-best 90 stolen bases (No. 10 in NCAA Division I), and they rank second in the league in sacrifice bunts (22, No. 27 nationally) and walks (184, No. 30). Akron has turned the most double plays in the MAC (25) so far this year.
Redshirt junior Tucker Biehl's 10 sac bunts are the most in all of Division I. Freshman Blake Bowen has the second-most walks in the MAC (36) and sixth-most nationally.
After this weekend, Ball State's next scheduled game is Tuesday afternoon at Butler.
HUEBNER ON A HEATER: Sophomore Brayden Huebner has hit a home run in three straight games including two last Saturday at Miami (Ohio).
The Evansville, Ind., native went 4-for-4 with four RBI and five runs scored in the 18-5 win over Manchester on Wednesday and boasts a .615 batting average (8-for-13) with four homers, three doubles, nine RBI and nine runs across the last three games. In the most recent eight contests, Huebner has blasted six home runs.
DAVIDSON CAN DO IT: Junior Brady Davidson has posted a .444 batting average since making his Ball State debut on March 20 against Western Michigan.
The utilityman out of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., went 3-for-4 on Wednesday against Manchester with a three-run homer and a double. Davidson has held down second base for the last few weeks and posted one game with two hits, three with three hits and one with five hits (March 29 vs Ohio).
SEVENTH INNING STRETCH: The Ball State offense has been at its best in the seventh innings of games, scoring 43 runs total in that frame so far this season.
The Cardinals have allowed 28 runs in the seventh this year for a +15 run margin, which is its second-best in any inning behind the ninth at +17 (20-3).
PINCH HITTING PROWESS: Ball State pinch hitters have come through for the Cardinals at a productive rate so far this season, batting .355 (22-for-62) compared to opponents' .182 (4-for-22) average.
Jack Bakus paces the team with five pinch hits, while Tommy Landsnes, DJ Scheumann and Kenskey Thomas have each tallied three. Bakus, Scheumann and Thomas have pinch hit grand slams on the year, as Bakus hit his in the ninth inning of the March 21 comeback win at Western Michigan.
HITS AND TAKING THE EXTRA BASE: Ball State enters this weekend's series against Akron leading the MAC in hits (323), triples (10) and sacrifice flies (16) this year.
The Cardinals are tied with Toledo for the most sac flies in the league, while the 10 triples are 26th-most in NCAA Division I. Senior Brett Griffiths' four triples pace the MAC and rank eighth nationally.
CHAMBERS CHARGING: Senior John Chambers was credited with a win in three straight recent appearances and kept the Cardinals in the game last Saturday at Miami.
The right-handed pitcher ranks fourth in the MAC with four victories on the season and fifth at a 10.22 strikeouts per nine innings ratio.
NO-NO FOR GARZA: Sophmore Brendan Garza tossed Ball State's first no-hitter since 2019 in a 10-0 win in seven innings over Ohio on March 27 in Muncie.
The right-handed pitcher struck out seven and worked around two walks and two hits batsmen on his way to the no-no, which earned him a MAC Co-Pitcher of the Week honor. John Baker and Luke Jaksich combined on a no-hitter back in May 11, 2019 which was also against the Bobcats.
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Players Mentioned
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OF
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