With two more non-conference wins under its belt this week, the Ball State baseball team hopes to pocket more this weekend when Illinois State visits for four games.
The Cardinals are a Mid-American Conference-best 23-10 after starting 0-4, and lead the MAC West with an 8-4 mark. The Redbirds, from the Missouri Valley Conference, bring a record of 11-19, but Beals is still expecting a tough series. ISU is coached by Jim Brownlee, who returned to his alma mater this season after compiling 701 wins in 23 years at Evansville.
"He's a great coach, and I have lot of respect for him," Beals said. "I'm going to have respect for the club he'll bring in here."
The club he brings in is led by outfielders Jay Molina and Jeremy Pickrel. Molina has a team-best .352 average and 28 RBIs, while Pickrel is batting .336 with seven home runs.
As a team, the Redbirds have a .278 average and 5.51 ERA.
Even with the recent wins (30-12 over Anderson and 6-5 at Butler) and a break from conference, Beals says his team realizes the need to get better.
"Our guys know they have work to do," he said. "I fully expect them to take this opportunity to improve. We'll use our same pitching rotation."
That rotation would be seniors Jason Paul and Brian Lynch, and juniors Mike Johnston and Andy Anderson.
With home runs the last two games, Brad Snyder is now tied for the team lead with Adam Metzler (seven). Snyder is batting at a .395 clip, with Marc Franz and Lucas Fry checking in at .413 and .403 respectively.
"I think we're starting to make serious progress offensively," Beals said. "Our approach and mechanics are getting better. Butler was another example of our ability to find ways to win."
"We may not have played our best (against Butler)," added assistant coach Clint Albert, "but we kept competing. We have to keep playing hard."
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