A Mid-American Conference regular season title may not have been the only thing Ball State University lost Saturday.
Shortstop T.J. Baumet separated his shoulder in the seventh inning of Ball State's 8-7 loss at the University of Toledo, coach Greg Beals said.
Baumet was injured diving for a ball. Tim Issler replaced him in the lineup and Mitch Widau slid from second base to shortstop.
Beals said Baumet will have X-rays Sunday that will determine if he can play in the MAC Tournament, which begins Wednesday.
This is the second time Baumet has been injured this year. He was hit by a pitch at Bowling Green State University on April 9th and missed two games. Beals said Widau would become the starting shortstop if Baumet had to miss more games.
Baumet is hitting .342 with six home runs and 26 stolen bases as Ball State's leadoff hitter. He has also committed 24 errors.
Closing time: Despite being in multiple save situations this weekend, Beals did not call on Aaron Hammons, who began the year as Ball State's closer.
Beals said Hammons was available this weekend.
"I didn't feel like the situation was right for him," Beals said.
Hammons has appeared in 18 games this year, notching five saves and a 3.71 ERA. He has not appeared in a save situation since April 24 against Central Michigan University, which he converted.
The Cardinals were 1-for-3 in save opportunities this weekend. Seth Hobbs and Derek Grabner each blew a save in the series.
Kolbrin Vitek, typically a starting pitcher, got the final out of Friday's 8-7 victory for his second save of the year. His first came when he pitched the final six innings of a suspended game at Western Michigan University.
"Closing the game [Friday], was a cool feeling," Vitek said. "It was something I'd never done before."
In the clutch: Center fielder Cody Elliott hit two game-tying home runs this weekend, though both came in Ball State losses.
Elliott went 5-for-12 with six RBIs at Toledo, breaking out of a month-long slump. In Elliott's last nine games, dating back to May 1, he went 4-for-30 with four runs and one RBI.
"We made an adjustment mechanically in his swing this week," Beals said. "It certainly seems like the adjustment paid off."
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