Sometimes, one victory can change an entire season especially when itcomes against the reigning national champions.
Or, according to Ball State baseball's head coach Rich Maloney, one victorycan stand as a benchmark to what a team can accomplish when it plays to itsfull potential.
What Maloney's team accomplished Wednesday in Coral Gables, Fla. was a 12-4rout of collegiate baseball's reigning kings, the University of Miami.
"This was huge," Maloney said. "I think this game right here will always bea game we can look at and see how good we can be."
The Cardinals jumped on top of Miami (10-9) in the top of the fourth inningwhen rightfielder Brad Snyder scored on a wild pitch from Hurricanes'starter Vince Bongiovanni, making the score 2-1.
Ball State (4-5) would stretch its lead to 6-1 in the fifth, as theCardinals scored four runs on three Miami pitchers half of those coming ondesignated hitter Adam Metzler's second home run of the year.
The Cardinals added three runs in both the seventh and ninth innings tosecure the victory.
Those runs would prove unnecessary, however, due to solid pitching fromstarter Bryan Bullington.
Bullington struck out 13 batters, walked two and gave up eight hits andthree earned runs over eight innings en route to his first win of theseason.
According to Maloney, the junior faced not only a Miami lineup that enteredWednesday's game hitting .321, but the added pressure of having professionalscouts and general managers in the stands watching him pitch.
"(Bullington) was throwing in the 92-94 mph range all night," Maloney said."He was pretty much unhitable."
Maloney said he thought the addition of a slider to Bullington's array ofpitches helped the pitcher dominate a "solid hitting" Miami team.
Miami loaded the bases twice against Bullington, the team's biggest threatcoming in the bottom of the sixth. The Hurricanes loaded the bases with noouts and, after third-baseman Kevin Howard struck out swinging, walked in arun to make the score 6-2. With the tying run at the plate, Bullingtonstruck out Kevin Mannix and Matt Dryer to end the inning.
The win makes Ball State 3-2 on its current road trip. The Cards took one ofthree games from Kentucky over the weekend and blanked Monmouth, 8-0,Tuesday.
Maloney said starting pitcher Patrick Lowery's performance against Monmoutha near perfect game in which the junior faced the minimum 27 batters andallowed one hit and no walks "set the tone" for Wednesday's victory overMiami.
Lowery, making his fourth collegiate start, took a perfect game into theninth inning but gave up a single to the Hawks' (2-4) Tim Davis with noouts. Ball State's defense, however, then turned a double play making itpossible for Lowery to face the minimum 27 batters.
Ball State continues its spring break road trip Thursday when the Cardinalsface Florida International at 7 p.m.
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