Looking to keep its winning streak alive before it wades back in to Mid-American Conference waters, Ball State plays host to Division II Findlay on Tuesday and Xavier on Wednesday.
"The biggest thing is just to keep it rolling," coach Greg Beals said. "We've won five straight; we want to keep things rolling and play winning baseball."
Ball State is coming off a weekend sweep of Northern Illinois at Ball Diamond, which improved its record to 14-10 overall and 4-2 in the Mid-American Conference. The game with Findlay will be Ball State's first-ever meeting with the school. Against Xavier, BSU holds a 9-5 series lead, including a 5-3 win last year in which shortstop Jason Bucholtz hit a three-run homer off the left field wall.
Xavier, which hails from the Atlantic 10 Conference, has not played in April due to some bad luck with the weather. The Musketeers (7-18) are led by center fielder Jay Johnson, who is hitting .365 with five home runs and 16 RBI, all team-highs. For its pitching staff, Xavier closer Mike Creevy has a 1.50 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 24 innings over 13 games.
However, Johnson is the only Xavier player hitting over .300, as the team hits just .236. Xavier's team ERA is 5.04.
"Xavier will be tough," Beals insists. "They're struggling, but they're better than the record."
Tuesday's opponent will travel from Findlay, Ohio. The Oilers are 13-16 overall and 4-8 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. First baseman Rob Talpas paces the team with his .394 average and 22 RBI, but the Oilers have a team ERA of 5.83.
After having his first career start rained out last week, freshman Billy Salazar (4.50 ERA in two innings) will have another shot against Findlay. Another freshman, Ryan DeGeeter, gets the call against the Musketeers. DeGeeter moved his record to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.93 in last week's victory at Purdue.
Ball State's team ERA dropped to 3.77 (second-best in the MAC) after the weekend sweep.
Beals said he will use his bullpen somewhat extensively in the two games and plans to get his backup position players some at-bats, "so when they're called upon in the future, they'll be ready."
Game time for both contests at Ball Diamond is 3 p.m.
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