With a lineup featuring four players normally on the bench, the Ball State baseball team defeated Valparaiso 9-5.
The Cardinals started Brian Meyer (right field), Justin Rogers (first base), Phil Bednar (shortstop) and Jon Byerly (catcher) to give them some playing time and at-bats, coach Greg Beals said.
"Our bench players are very capable," Beals said. "We need to be able to give guys playing time to keep them sharp, and we need to be able to maintain the level of play that we have using the depth of our team."
Beals said the Cardinals (17-9) defense wasn't very sharp, making five errors which tied for most this season. The offense, he said, was OK, scoring nine runs on 11 hits. Four Cardinals -- Mike Sullivan, Marc Franz, Kyle Dygert and Byerly -- each had two hits; and Brad Miller, Chris Pestle and Bednar added one.
"The offense wasn't great, but we were able to score nine runs," Beals said. "With the defense, we've got to be more consistent."
Ball State opened the game on Franz's two-run home run, his first of the season, in the first inning. The Cardinals added a run in the third and Valparaiso responded in the same inning on an RBI double by Kevin Perri.
Leading 3-1 heading into the fourth inning, Bednar scored with the bases loaded on a wild pitch by Crusaders' starting pitcher Kyle Obenauf. The Cardinals scored two runs the following inning to take a commanding 6-1 lead when Miller scored on Dygert's RBI single and Dygert later scored on a fielder's choice.
Sloppy defense by the Cards allowed Valpo to try and mount a comeback in the seventh with two runs on three Ball State errors. But three runs the following inning gave Ball State plenty of breathing room. Matt Gard and Pestle scored on a throwing error by third baseman Jeffery Rickert. Bednar then scored on an RBI single by Byerly.
The Crusaders cored two more runs after Ball State committed another error early in the eighth inning, closing the scoring for the game.
Ball State travels to Notre Dame (13-12) today to take on a struggling Fighting Irish team. Third baseman Matt Edwards leads the Irish with a .374 batting average and 36 RBI.
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