Greg Beals is confident his Ball State team will separate its two nonleague losses this week from the Mid-American Conference series at Akron's Lee Jackson Field this weekend.
"Our guys are resilient," he said.
But the second-year coach still wasn't pleased with the Cardinals' poor play in their losses to Division II Findlay (16-13) and Xavier (5-3).
"It's concerning no matter who we played against," he said. "It's an indication of our competitiveness. A true competitor shows up and competes every day."
Ball State (14-12, 4-2 MAC) will compete with an Akron team that has won five straight, improving its record to 13-8.
The Zips split a four-game series with BSU last year, and currently lead the MAC East with their two wins over Buffalo to open league play.
Akron has two regulars batting over .300: junior shortstop Doug Kruthaupt (.324) and Tony Maccani (.310). As a team, Akron has hit just six home runs and is last in the MAC with its .249 average. But the Zips' credible 4.78 ERA and league-leading .971 fielding percentage explain their strong play of late.
The top two starting pitchers are Ross Liersemann (2-1, 2.16 ERA) and Billy McKinney (4-2, 4.35). Reliever Darek Stanfield has already recorded six saves in just 12 appearances, with a 1.26 ERA.
"We match up well (with them)," Beals said. "They're pitching well again. Both teams pitch and play defense well."
Ball State was leading the league in defense until the team committed nine errors during the two losses and fell to third (.968). The Cardinals are hitting .290 (fifth in the MAC), but are second in team ERA (3.90), just .01 behind Bowling Green.
Junior third baseman Marc Franz (.373, five homers, 31 RBI) and sophomore first baseman Brad Miller (.361, eight, 26) will carry 11-game hitting streaks to Akron. Sophomore center fielder Mike Sullivan leads the team with his .410 average and 43 hits.
On the mound, Ball State will trot out starters Mike Johnston (1-3, 4.00), Joe Ness (4-1, 3.83) and Andrew Anderson (3-1, 3.16).
"I think we're just a little bit flat," Beals said. "We need to play more energy; 'character' was what I said to the guys (after Wednesday's loss to Xavier). If we play baseball the way we're capable of, we'll be fine. If we don't play well, we'll in trouble."
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