A date today with one of the nation's top-ranked teams kicks off an eventful week for Ball State, which sits tied atop the Mid-American Conference West.
The Cardinals travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame, ranked eighth in this week's "Baseball America" poll, at 6 p.m. On Wednesday, the team heads north again, this time to face IPFW in Wizards Stadium, home of the Single-A Fort Wayne Wizards, at 7 p.m. The week climaxes on Friday with a trip to Eastern Michigan for a three-game series with the Eagles, who stand tied with Ball State.
"It's a big week," coach Greg Beals said, "and we identified that after the game on Sunday (a 17-5 victory over Western Michigan). It's a high-energy week for the program."
While the midweek slate is exciting, Beals isn't worried about his team (20-16) getting too high emotionally before the big weekend series. Instead, he believes it may help his team stay sharp.
"I think it's good to have these types of games this week leading up to the weekend," he said. "We're playing as close to a championship game as you can get in the regular season (at Eastern)."
Freshman Ryan DeGeeter (4-0, team-best 1.49 ERA), who pitched two innings of scoreless relief in a win Saturday, will start on the mound against the Irish. DeGeeter has started in five of his 11 appearances.
The last time BSU faced a ranked team was April 2003 at No. 16 Notre Dame, and the Cards won 3-1 thanks to a ninth-inning error by the Irish. Ball State's starting pitcher in that game was also a freshman -- Joe Ness, who now sports a 6-2 record as the No. 2 starter.
Beals -- and his team, he says -- is confident the team can pull off the upset again, and sees no reason the team can't.
"We feel that way with anyone we play," Beals said. "If we pitch well and play good defense, we can play with anyone. Then we get a couple big hits, and who knows."
Notre Dame (29-8) might well counter with its own freshman -- Jess Stewart (5-0, 3.78). The Irish are batting .316 as a team, and that's with All-America second baseman Steve Sollman at a .294 clip.
Notre Dame is also looking to right itself, as the Irish actually dropped to No. 11 after being swept by Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Beals said he has not decided who will start against IPFW (18-23), as that will depend some on who pitches at Notre Dame.
First baseman Brad Miller was named Co-MAC West Player of the Week on Monday after batting six of nine in a three-game series against Western Michigan. The sophomore slammed two home runs and tallied seven RBI in the series.
On the season, Miller has batted in 40 runs and leads the team with a .385 average and 10 homers.
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