BASEBALL: Ball State offense spurred by Godfrey

The Daily News

Junior Sean Godfrey fields during the first game of the Akron doubleheader on March 23, 2013. Ball State dropped both games against Akron on Saturday. DN PHOTO JONATHAN MIKSANEK
Junior Sean Godfrey fields during the first game of the Akron doubleheader on March 23, 2013. Ball State dropped both games against Akron on Saturday. DN PHOTO JONATHAN MIKSANEK





Ball State’s offense struggled over the weekend in its 2-1 series loss to Akron. The team scored just nine runs in those three games, failing to capitalize when they put runners in scoring position.

Without Sean Godfrey’s offensive input, the numbers would have been even worse.

Godfrey played a role in five of the nine runs for Ball State, including both runs they scored in the 2-1 win on Friday. 

After hitting a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, he hit the game winning single over the center fielders’ head, allowing Blake Beemer to score to end the game in the tenth.

“It was pretty exciting to get that hit and know I pulled out a win in our first game,” Godfrey said. “We were just going out there and trying to put another run on the board so we could end the game.”

He could have had another home run that game, but Akron’s right fielder stole it in the bottom of the first, plucking the ball away over the right field fence just before it could make it over.

The team hit just .285 during the series, but Godfrey batted .428, the best on the team.

It raised his overall batting average over the season to .314, and it isn’t like that number is inflated because he’s had a low number of at-bats. Godfrey leads the team with the most at-bats with 86.

He led Ball State in batting average last year, posting a .328, although it was with just 131 at-bats, a number he’s on pace to shatter this season.

One of the most consistent hitters for the Cardinals, Godfrey key hits kept the team within striking distance of the Zips all weekend, even though the final two games ended up as losses.

In the bottom of the seventh in game three, Godfrey singled to bring in Wes Winkle and tie the game at three. Two innings later, trailing 4-3, he hit a leadoff single and stole second, but Cody Campbell couldn’t knock him in.

“I’m seeing the ball pretty well right now,” Godfrey said. “That’s one of the big things right now, I’m just trying to let the ball come to me and not do more than I know I can.”

Ball State coach Rich Maloney was happy with how his right fielder played.

He said Godfrey is a big time player and he showed up when the team needed him most all weekend.

After committing an error during game two, he didn’t allow it to affect the rest of his game. He didn’t commit another error for the rest of the series.

He attributed the stability in his game to the focus he says he has during every play. Not trying to look back or ahead, Godfrey only pays attention to the matter at hand, keeping himself from becoming distracted from other events that occurred.

Maloney said his right fielder stood out over the series and showed the ability to step up his game for conference play.

“Sean Godfrey was tremendous for us all weekend, he was truly great,” Maloney said. “His star was shining this weekend.”

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