Purdue's second error of the game, in the eighth inning, proved to be a costly one, as Ball State snuck away with a 9-8 win over the Boilermakers on Wednesday.
Kyle Dygert's single turned into the winning run when right fielder Neal Gorka bobbled the ball while trying to throw it into the infield. Brad Miller scored and Dygert advanced to third on the play to give the Cardinals what would become the winning run.
With Erik Morrison on the mound, the Cardinals (13-9 overall, 3-0 in the Mid-American Conference) held on in the ninth. Third baseman C.J. Webb's error allowed John Hunter to advance to first, then advance to second on a bunt by Spencer Ingaldson. With one out, Eric Osborn grounded out to Morrison and Mike Coles popped out to end the game, securing Morrison's seventh save of the season.
"Eric does what he does. He went out and pitched today like he has almost all season," coach Greg Beals said. "He throws strikes; he's got great movement on his fastball, and he's always ahead of the count, so he always puts pressure on the other team."
Before Miller's winning run, Ball State had led 8-7 heading into the top of the inning. Coles scored on an error that allowed Andy Dahl to advance to first, tying the game and setting up the bottom of the inning and Gorka's error.
The game was a back-and-forth battle between the two in-state rivals.
Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the second, Ball State took the lead when, with the bases loaded, Chris Pestle scored on a passed ball. Webb later scored on a ground out to first base by Mike Sullivan to give the Cards a 3-1 lead.
Purdue exploded for five runs the following inning, including a three-run homer by Osborn. Ball State narrowed the gap in the bottom half of the inning when Marc Franz scored on a bases-loaded walk by Eric Earnhart.
After a Boilermakers run in the fourth, Kyle Dygert led off the bottom of the fifth with a home run. Later in the inning with two outs, Matt Singleton hit an RBI single into right field that scored Pestle, and Singleton later scored on a double by Sullivan. Now tied 7-7, Jason Bucholtz ripped a single that scored Sullivan.
Beals said the fifth inning was the turning point of the game because the Cards were able to score three runs with two outs.
"That was a big, big part of the game. Getting those two hits was a big boost for us," he said. "If Singleton flies out, we score three less runs and we lose that game."
Luke Behning took the mound for his third start of the season. Before the game, Beals said several pitchers would be on the mound for the Cardinals, and he wasn't kidding. Five pitchers threw, with Behning's three innings being the longest. Behning allowed six runs on eight hits and struck out four.
Ryan DeGeeter and Tyler Pritchard each threw two innings, and Kory Bucklew and Morrison went one. The wind blew hard to left field throughout the game, and Beals said he knew once he arrived at the ball park that it would be a hitters day.
"Today is an offensive day. To give up eight runs isn't a whole lot," he said. "It doesn't sound good, but it isn't a whole lot on a day like today."
Sullivan and Dygert led the Cardinals with three hits and two RBI. Bucholtz, Miller and Pestle each had two, and the Cardinals finished with 14 to Purdue's 11.
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