The baseball team, fueled by the play of three struggling hitters, swept the University of Toledo this weekend -- taking four games in three days from the Rockets.
The Cardinals concluded the series with a 16-6 rout Sunday, won both ends of Saturday's doubleheader (6-3; 11-6) and five-hit the Rockets (4-16, 2-6 MAC) in a 13-1 win Friday at Ball Diamond.
Entering Friday's game against Toledo, Ball State (14-11, 6-2 MAC) was riding a three-game losing streak and three of its players -- Kiel Holman, Lorenzo Scott and Keith Nunley -- were hitting a combined .216 (19-88). The three would help end the Cardinals' three-game skid, going a combined 12-28 from the plate during the series and driving in 16 of the Cardinals' 46 runs.
Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said he was encouraged to see some players who entered the series struggling step up for the Cardinals.
"We need people to step up," Maloney said. "(On) any good team, that's what happens -- somebody comes in there and does the job, and then they get another opportunity to play."
Both Nunley and Holman hit the first home run of their collegiate careers during the series -- Holman added his first grand slam Sunday with one out in the bottom of the sixth.
Holman hit his first collegiate home run -- a three-run jack that produced Ball State's winning runs -- in the bottom of the sixth during the Cards' 6-3 victory in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. The sophomore infielder said he hoped Toledo pitcher Matt Harris would throw him a slider some time during the at-bat.
"I saw him throw (his slider) in warmups and it wasn't a great pitch," Holman said. "I was kind of hoping he'd throw me that."
Holman finished the series 4-9 from the plate with eight RBI, two home runs and three runs scored.
Nunley hit his first home run for the Cards Sunday when the infielder placed a high inside pitch from Toledo's Todd Thomas almost halfway between the left field fence at Ball Diamond and West McGalliard Road.
"(Nunley's) job is really just to get on base," Maloney said."I was really happy for Keith that he was able to come in and make a major contribution ... that was something he'll always remember."
Scott, who entered the series hitting .229, picked up six RBI, hit three doubles and added his first homer of the year during the series -- raising his batting average to .315 on the year in the process.
Scott and Nunley both attributed their offensive output to the Cardinals' coaching staff.
"I was really struggling at the beginning of the season," Scott said. "Coach (Maloney) showed a lot of confidence in me, left me in the lineup and now I'm starting to produce."
Bryan Bullington, Luke Hagerty, Patrick Lowrey and Brian Lynch picked up wins for Ball State -- which trailed Toledo for a combined half of an inning during the entire series -- and combined to allow 25 hits while racking up 27 strikeouts and allowing six earned runs in 28 innings.
Toledo showed signs of frustration as the series wore on.
During the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, Ball State infielder/reliever Paul Henry got caught in a rundown between first and second after singling in Ben Schroeder in the third inning. After Toledo second baseman Taylor Eckel applied what Maloney and Henry both described as an unnecessary hard tag, Henry and Eckel exchanged comments before heading to their respective dugouts.
"I took exception to a hard tag, should I have? I don't know," Henry said. "(Toledo) took exception to us heckling them from the dugout."
When Henry stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the eighth, Toledo pitcher Kris Barnswell threw his first two pitches behind Henry before being warned by third base umpire Steve Parington.
Henry said he wasn't that surprised by the incident.
"You've got to expect that, Henry said. "If you don't expect that every time you come into a ballpark where a conference game is being played, ... you might as well just not show up.
"People want to win, whatever it takes. If it takes hitting somebody or knocking them down to get them off their game, it's going to happen."
Ball State continues play against Xavier at 3 p.m. Tuesday in Muncie.
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