After posting wins in its first two Mid-American Conference series of the season, Ball State looks to take another against East division foe Bowling Green (9-15, 3-3 MAC) in a three-game weekend series at Ball Diamond.
Ball State (6-20, 4-2 MAC) is in a three-way tie for second place in the West division with Toledo and Northern Illinois, two teams the Cardinals have yet to play this season.
The Cardinals enter this afternoon's game coming off of a 5-3 loss to in-state rival Indiana State Wednesday night.
With starters T.J. Baumet and Mitch Widau well-rested after sitting out Wednesday's contest, the Cardinals look to be in full swing when they take the field.
Junior right-hander Cal Bowling (3-1, 2.51 ERA) will get the start in the series opener this afternoon for Ball State.
Bowling was named MAC West Pitcher of the Week on Monday, coming off of back-to-back complete games against Ohio and Miami.
The 6-foot-2 pitcher will be making his eighth start of the season for the Cardinals in search of his fourth win. The right-hander has tossed a team-high 43 innings and has posted 17 straight shutout innings in MAC play while holding conference opponents to a .102 batting average.
The offense has been rolling recently for Ball State.
The newest addition to the Cardinals' offensive repertoire has been freshman Cody Campbell, who turned in his best offensive performance of his career against Indiana State. Campbell posted a career-high three doubles in his first three at-bats, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since former Cardinal Kolbrin Vitek tallied three doubles on March 25, 2009.
Widau leads the Cardinals with a .305 batting average and has drawn a team-leading 14 walks. Widau is second on the club with 25 hits and 14 RBI.
Junior centerfielder Cody Elliott leads the squad in both hits, with 27 and RBIs, with 17. Elliott is also one of three Cardinals with two home runs on the season, joining redshirt freshman Billy Wellman and Baumet.
Bowling Green enters this weekend's series coming off of back-to-back losses earlier this week against Western Michigan and Oakland.
Sophomore righty Cody Apthorpe (2-3, 5.76 ERA) will take the hill for the Falcons, in search of his third victory of the season.
Apthorpe has fanned 20 and walked 16 in his 29 2/3 innings of work this season. This afternoon marks Apthorpe's 10th appearance and seventh start of the season for Bowling Green.
The Falcons aren't a huge threat offensively with their .268 team batting average. However, they can be dangerous if not taken seriously.
Bowling Green has posted 119 RBIs on the season, 23 more than Ball State and has hit two more home runs than the Cardinals.
Junior infielder Jon Berti leads the Falcons offensively with a .400 batting average along with a team-high 32 hits, 10 stolen bases, 16 runs scored and is tied for the team-lead with 14 RBI.
After being eliminated by Bowling Green from MAC tournament play last season, Ball State looks to break even with its conference rival with a series win this weekend.
Game one is scheduled for 3 p.m. today while games two and three are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Check back for updates if inclement weather is in the area.
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