With its offensive struggles hopefully fixed in Wednesday's rout of Valparaiso, Ball State opens Mid-American Conference play today with a three-game series at Bowling Green. Today's game is at 3 p.m. EST, with Saturday's at 1 p.m. and Sunday's at 1 p.m.
The Cardinals (9-8) opened up their home slate by trouncing the Crusaders 15-3, as sophomore first baseman Brad Miller launched a school-record four home runs. With his barrage, Miller raised his average from .228 to .270 and now has eight homers and 22 RBI, both team-highs.
"It was a good day for us," coach Greg Beals said of Wednesday's game. "We regained some confidence offensively. We need (Miller) to get hot. He's been struggling, but he sure as heck broke out.
"We pitched the ball well, too. We got some guys polished up."
Ball State might need all the offense it can muster at Bowling Green, who improved to 9-3 with Tuesday's 4-3 come-from-behind win over Xavier.
The Falcons' pitching has carried them so far, as the staff has compiled a MAC-best 2.09 ERA and held opponents to a .192 average. Top starter Tyler Saneholtz (2-0) has not given up a run in his 17 innings this year, while ace reliever Neil Schmitz (2-0) is unblemished in 10 innings.
Shortstop Jimmy Lipari is hitting .478. Rightfielder Nolan Reimold is at a .436 clip and leads the team with three home runs and 13 RBI.
"BG has always been solid. They will be very competitive and pitch the ball well," Beals said. "It will be a good test for us to start the MAC."
While he was happy with his team's offensive performance on Wednesday, Beals reminded that pitching and defense are the strengths his team will win with. Ball State's 4.15 team ERA is second only to Bowling Green, while its fielding percentage is best in the league.
"We've got to do that (pitching and fielding) well in the conference and get timely hits," Beals said.
For Ball State, senior lefthander Mike Johnston (1-2, 4.03 ERA) gets the start on the mound this afternoon. Sophomore Joe Ness (3-0, 4.32) will take the mound on Saturday, and senior Andrew Anderson (2-1, 2.88) on Sunday.
Centerfielder Mike Sullivan (.378) and third baseman Marc Franz (.354, 3 home runs, 21 RBI) are the Cards' top two batters.
Overall, Beals likes where his team is at as BSU carries a three-game winning streak into conference play.
"This is what we base our season on," Beals said of the conference play.
We've won three straight, we had a good game yesterday, and we're in the right frame of mind."
he is probable, most likely yes, not 100% sure, practiced pretty much full go today, but we'll see how feels in morning
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