Baseball Knocks Off #1 Seed Kent State

T.J. Weir pitched a complete game and shut down the Kent State offense

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Ball State faced off against #1 seed Kent State yesterday in the second round of the MAC Tournament and defeated the Golden Flashes 3-1 thanks to some good pitching by T.J. Weir and good defense. Ball State scored an unearned run in the second inning thanks to some sloppy defense by the Golden Flashes and the score remained 1-0 through the eighth inning thanks to some good pitching by both teams. The Cardinals got to Kent State reliever Eric Dorsch for two insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning; Kent State finally scored a run in the bottom of the ninth but Weir was able to get out of a jam and pick up a complete game victory. The Cardinals and Kent State will rematch this morning at 9:00 am with Ball State looking to knock the #1 seed out of the tournament.

Weir earned his fourth victory of the season and allowed the one run on seven hits. He also walked two batters and racked up seven strikeouts in the game, I would be shocked if he doesn’t earn MAC West Pitcher of the Week honors.

As you might expect in a pitcher’s duel, there wasn’t a lot of hits for either team. Sean Godfrey and Ryan Spaulding each had two hits to lead the Cardinals offensively, Spaulding also scored a run. Cody Campbell and Weir each had one hit and one RBI apiece in the game, Blake Beemer had one hit and scored once. The Golden Flashes’ command wasn’t the sharpest yesterday, four Cardinals were hit by pitches and Billy Wellman drew three walks in the game, Wellman also stole a base and was caught stealing. One thing to keep an eye on throughout the rest of the tournament is how Ball State replaces the offense and defense of center fielder Wes Winkle, who broke his hand yesterday.

Go Cards!!

10 Cardinals Make Phil Steele Preseason All-MAC

Jonathan Newsome is one of two Cardinals on Phil Steele’s 1st team All-MAC team

Phil Steele has released his preseason All-MAC team and ten Cardinals have earned All-MAC honors at twelve positions. You can read the complete list of All-MAC players here.

Two Cardinals made first team All-MAC and, encouragingly for Ball State fans, both are defensive players. Defensive end Jonathan Newsome and Nathan Ollie will play a big role in the success of the Cardinals defense this season and I think they will both earn first team All-MAC status at the end of the season as well.

Wide receiver Willie Snead, tight end Zane Fakes, guard Jordan Hansel, and punt returner Jamill Smith were all named to the second team All-MAC. I have no idea how Snead could have been on the watch list last season for the Biletnikoff Award and Steele thinks there are three receivers better than him in the MAC.

Cardinals on the third team All-MAC are quarterback Keith Wenning, running back Jahwan Edwards, and Smith as a wide receiver/kick returner. You could make an argument that Wenning should be on the second team instead of Tyler Tettleton but both players are so good you almost have to flip a coin to determine who is on the second team and who is on the third team. No disrespect intended to David Fluellen or Beau Blankenship, but Jahwan Edwards should have been on the second team instead of one of them.

Last but not least, tackle Matthew Page and cornerback Eric Patterson are on the fourth team All-MAC. It’s encouraging that Page made All-MAC without being a full-time starter, hopefully both he and Eric will be a little higher on the postseason All-MAC teams.

 

Go Cards!!

Big Innings Allow Cardinals to Pull Away

Cody Campbell finished a double short of the cycle Wednesday

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Scott Baker and Miami (OH) starting pitcher Brooks Fiala entered the opening day of the MAC Tournament as two of the best pitchers in the conference. Naturally, both of them got roughed up Wednesday, although Baker was able to settle down and go eight innings for the Cardinals. Miami got to Baker for a run in the first inning, the teams then went back and forth through three innings with Miami holding a 4-3 lead. Ball State then got to Fiala for four runs in the fourth inning and another two runs in the fifth inning to chase him from the game. The Cardinals then got to Keith Wenning’s former high school teammate Cory Klenke for three runs and Wynston McMartin for another run in the sixth inning to take a 13-4 lead. The RedHawks were able to get to reliever Matt Johnsen in the ninth inning for three runs but the Cardinals won 13-7 to advance to the next round of the tournament.

Baker pitched eight innings and allowed four runs, the most runs he’d given up all year, on nine hits while walking three and striking out four. Scott didn’t have his best stuff early on but to his credit he hung in there and pitched well for another five innings. Scott won his 12th game and set a new school record for victories in a season, congratulations to Scott on this accomplishment! Johnsen allowed the three runs on one hit while walking two and striking out one.

Cody Campbell had three hits, finishing a double short of the cycle, while driving in three runs and scoring twice. Sam Tidaback also had three hits, scored two runs, and drove in three runs; Blake Beemer and T.J. Weir each had three hits and three RBIs, Beemer scored once and Weir scored three times. Wes Winkle had two hits, a RBI, and scored two runs; Ryan Spaulding also had two hits, scored a run, and drove in a run. Sean Godfrey filled up the box score with a hit, a bases on balls, one run, one RBI, and stole a base.

Go Cards!!

Three Cardinals Named All-MAC

Billy Wellman is one of two Cardinals to be named first team All-MAC

The Mid-American Conference announced the members of the post-season All-MAC team yesterday and three Cardinals were selected for this honor. Third baseman Billy Wellman and starting pitcher Scott Baker are first team All-MAC and outfielder Sean Godfrey was named second team All-MAC. Congratulations to all three players on earning this honor, the good news is that none of the three players are seniors and should return next season to give Coach Maloney a solid core to build the team around.

Wellman batted .315 this season, with 12 doubles and four home runs to go with 35 RBIs. He was also hit by six pitches, walked 12 times, and scored 24 times this season.

Baker went 11-1 in the regular season with a 1.63 ERA while limiting opposing hitters to a .218 batting average. He pitched five complete games and one shutout in 99.1 innings, allowed only one home run, and struck out 81 batters.

Godfrey hit for a team-leading .325 batting average and started all 51 games for the Cardinals this year. He banged out two triples, 14 doubles, and 5 home runs while driving in 29 runs and scoring 42 times. He stole a team-high 17 bases, tied for the most hit by pitches with 13, and walked 13 times.

 

Go Cards!!

Scott Baker Named MAC Pitcher of the Year

Scott Baker is the MAC Pitcher of the Year thanks to his 11-1 record and 1.63 ERA

Scott Baker has been named the MAC Pitcher of the Year in a vote by the head coaches. Scott is the third pitcher in school history to earn this honor, Erik Morrison in 2005 and Bryan Bullington in both 2001 and 2002 are the other two Cardinals who have earned this award. Scott went 11-1 on the year and had a miniscule 1.63 ERA, he has struck out 80 batters and is limiting opposing hitters to a .218 batting average. Scott is fifth in the nation in wins, 14th in the nation in games started (14), 15th in the nation in complete games (5), and 21st in the country in ERA. With numbers like that, Scott should be in line to receive All-American honors as well.

Congratulations to Scott on earning this award, he’s made huge strides this season and is a completely different pitcher than last season. Scott will take the mound tomorrow at 9:00 am (no that’s not a typo) to take on Miami (OH) in the MAC Tournament. Scott will be looking for revenge, he was the hard-luck loser the last time he faced the RedHawks. In that match up, Scott pitched a complete game but lost 1-0.

 

Go Cards!!

Baseball’s Rally Comes Up Short on Senior Day

The Cardinals came up a little short on Senior Day

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Ball State entered yesterday’s season finale against Northern Illinois looking to send the seniors out with a win, sweep the Huskies, and win the division. Unfortunately, they came up a little short in a 6-4 loss in 10 innings, but it was still a very successful season for Ball State baseball. The Cardinals were picked by the media to finish fifth in the MAC West, instead they finished only a game out of first place. The Cardinals will be the fourth seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament and will look to keep this year’s run going.

Northern Illinois scored a run in the first inning to take an early lead and extended their lead to 3-0 in the top of the third inning. The Cardinals were able to rally in the bottom of the same inning and scored two runs to narrow the Huskies’ lead to 3-2. Ball State was able to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and although both teams had opportunities to score runs, the game remained tied at 3-3 through nine innings. Unfortunately, Northern Illinois got to the Cardinals bullpen for the three runs in the top of the 10th inning to take a 6-3 lead. Ball State was able to get one run in the bottom of the tenth inning but stranded Cody Campbell on base to end the ballgame.

Chris Marangon was the Ball State’s starting pitcher and what could be his last start didn’t go the way the senior wanted, especially with his family in from Washington to see him pitch. Chris only lasted one-third of an inning and departed with the bases loaded; he walked two and allowed two hits and a run in his brief appearance. T.J. Weir relieved Marangon, got the Cardinals out of the jam, and pitched well for 8.2 innings of relief. T.J. allowed two runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out eight. It just wasn’t a good day for senior pitchers Saturday, senior reliever Miles Moeller allowed two runs and two his in one-third of an inning to take the loss before being pulled for Tyler Jordan. Jordan allowed another run to score on one hit, he also walked a batter.

Cody Campbell had three hits and two RBIs to lead the Cardinals offensively, he also scored a run and was hit by a pitch. Sean Godfrey had two hits and a RBI, he also scored once; Ryan Spaulding had two hits and score once and Weir was the final Cardinal to post multiple hits. The Northern Illinois pitching staff deserves a lot of credit for preventing the Cardinals from capitalizing with runners on base, the Cardinals stranded eight men in the game.

Go Cards!!

Baseball Cruises to Victory

Billy Wellman was one of several Cardinals to have a strong day at the plate

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Ball State easily defeated Northern Illinois 14-3 Friday to win the series with the Huskies and to pull into a tie with the Huskies for first place in the MAC West. The Cardinals will look to win the MAC West and break out the brooms tomorrow with the first pitch scheduled for 1:00 pm and Chris Marangon on the mound for the Cardinals. The Cardinals jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. Although the Huskies scored three runs in the seventh inning to cut the Cardinals lead to “only” 8-3, the Cardinals scored six runs in the eighth inning to put away the Huskies for good. After their second big inning of the day, the only thing that seemed in doubt for the Cardinals was if they were going to get the entire game in due to bad weather and darkness.

Jon Cisna got the start for Ball State and responded with six solid innings to earn the win and level his record at 3-3 on the year. Although all three runs in the seventh inning were charged to Jon, he had an otherwise good day and scattered five hits while walking a batter and hitting another. Tyler Jordan came on to pitch the final three innings of the game, he was the pitcher on the mound when the runs actually scored, and scattered four hits while striking out four.

Ball State chased Northern Illinois starter Jordan Ruckman after only one-third of an inning and after he allowed the first three of seven runs in the first inning. Elbert Devarie, Sean Godfrey, Sam Tidaback, and Billy Wellman all drove in at least one run in the first inning; the eighth inning featured back-to-back-to-back home runs by Wellman, Blake Beemer, and T.J. Weir. Wellman’s two hits and three RBIs led the Cardinals offensively, he also scored twice and walked once. Both of Blake Beemer’s two hits were for extra bases, his other hit was a double, and both of Weir’s two hits were home runs. Weir drove in two runs while scoring three times himself, Beemer drove in a run and scored twice. Wes Winkle had two hits, a RBI, scored twice, two stolen bases, and made a great catch at the wall to rob Northern Illinois of an extra bases hit. Devarie also had two hits, scored once, and had to leave the game after being hit by a pitch late in the game. Godfrey only had one hit in the game, but it was a double that drove in the first two runs of the game. Sean scored once himself and also doubled off a runner at first base in the field.

Go Cards!!