Ball State University Athletics
Friday, May 8
DeKalb, Ill.
4 PM ET / 3 PM CT
Ball State University
21-27, 14-14
2
at
5
Northern Illinois
30-13, 20-8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball St. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 2 |
| Northern Ill. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 6 | 0 |
Photo by: Kolbi Media
Baseball Falls 5-2 in Series Opener at NIU
May 08, 2026 | Baseball
DEKALB, Ill. – The Ball State baseball team got out to an early lead but fell 5-2 in the series opener to Northern Illinois on Friday afternoon at Ralph McKinzie Field.
The Cardinals (21-27, 14-14 Mid-American Conference) had four hits in the first inning and plated a run when Jacob Gillis bounced into a double play to score Brayden Huebner, but the host Huskies (30-13, 20-8 MAC) collected the next five runs of the game to build a 5-1 edge.
Northern Illinois got a two-run homer from catcher Ivan Dahlberg in the fifth to get on the board and added three more tallies in the sixth.
Brett Griffiths hit a solo home run in the eighth inning for the Cardinals to cut the deficit to three runs, but that was the only offense for the remainder of the contest.
Brendan Garza (4-5) started for Ball State and went 5.2 innings with five strikeouts but allowed five runs (two earned) in suffering the loss. Ryan Muizelaar and Charlie Keller posted two hits each to pace the Cardinals' offense.
Danny Cihocki (5-2) worked 7.2 innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts to earn the win for the Huskies. Blake Gaskey pitched a scoreless ninth to claim his third save of the year.
Game two of the series is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT).
The Cardinals (21-27, 14-14 Mid-American Conference) had four hits in the first inning and plated a run when Jacob Gillis bounced into a double play to score Brayden Huebner, but the host Huskies (30-13, 20-8 MAC) collected the next five runs of the game to build a 5-1 edge.
Northern Illinois got a two-run homer from catcher Ivan Dahlberg in the fifth to get on the board and added three more tallies in the sixth.
Brett Griffiths hit a solo home run in the eighth inning for the Cardinals to cut the deficit to three runs, but that was the only offense for the remainder of the contest.
Brendan Garza (4-5) started for Ball State and went 5.2 innings with five strikeouts but allowed five runs (two earned) in suffering the loss. Ryan Muizelaar and Charlie Keller posted two hits each to pace the Cardinals' offense.
Danny Cihocki (5-2) worked 7.2 innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts to earn the win for the Huskies. Blake Gaskey pitched a scoreless ninth to claim his third save of the year.
Game two of the series is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Danny Cihocki (5-2)
L: Garza, Brendan (4-5)
S: Blake Gaskey (3)
Batting:
2B: Keller, Charlie 1
HR: Griffiths, Brett 1
RBI: Griffiths, Brett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Huebner, Brayden 1 ; Griffiths, Brett 1
SB: Balius, Gavin 1
Batting:
2B: Gavin Baldwin 1 ; Charlie Parcell 1
HR: Ivan Dahlberg 1
RBI: Gavin Baldwin 1 ; Ivan Dahlberg 2 ; Charlie Parcell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Caden Robertson 1 ; Nolan Sandee 1 ; Gavin Baldwin 2 ; Ivan Dahlberg 1
HBP: Caden Robertson 1 ; Marcus Romero 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
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