Ball State hopes to rebound from a disappointing loss to Akron on Sunday, which ended a school record-tying 12-game winning streak.
The Cardinals (20-10) travel to conference rival Miami today for a non-conference game. It is scheduled as a non-conference game because of the third game against Middle Tennessee State being rained out at the beginning of the season, and the Cardinals wanting to fill that vacant game. The RedHawks (20-10) are on a six-game winning streak, their last three coming against Birmingham-Southern.
Coach Greg Beals believes the Spring Break trip, despite the team going 2-7 during that stretch, helped the team develop what led to the win streak.
"I'm not making any excuses for the wins and losses, but it was a developmental time as a team," he said. "We paid a price a little bit with the wins and losses, but I felt we learned a lot."
Until Sunday, the pitching staff continued to show signs of improvement over the weekend. Both Joe Ness and Ben Snyder lasted seven innings on Friday and Saturday, respectively, each allowing three runs on eight hits. Ness struck out five, while Snyder struck out six.
The bullpen also pitched quality innings before Sunday. Erik Morrison continued his impressive season by picking up Friday's win and improving to 4-0 for the season. He added his eighth save of the season on Saturday in a two-inning appearance.
But the Cardinal's third starter, Michael Hale, struggled from the outset on Sunday. He lasted only three innings, allowing five runs on nine hits. Tyler Pritchard, Kory Bucklew, and Ryan DeGeeter each came in in relief but couldn't stop the bleeding. Pritchard and Bucklew allowed eight runs -- all earned -- on 10 hits.
Ball State's 13-4 loss Sunday wasn't without opportunity. The Cards twice threatened to reduce the deficit later in the game, including once in the seventh inning when the bases were loaded.
The Cardinals lineup has seen minor tweaks in the last week. Franz and Chris Pestle switched positions, with Franz moving to the designated hitter spot and Pestle to left field. Right fielder Brian Meyer replaced Eric Earnhart for the Akron series. Earnhart's last start came in the first of three games against Northern Illinois. He came off the bench in the other two contests and hasn't seen any action since. Meyer went 4-for-8 for the weekend.
"Just to get Chris out on the field some, instead of DH-ing all the time," Beals said on why Franz and Pestle switched.
Offensively, the Cardinals haven't had much power at the plate, with just 15 home runs (compared to 29 at this point last season) and six triples. However Ball State connected on two triples on Sunday, the first by C.J. Webb scoring two runs in the third inning. Mike Sullivan lashed one in the fifth.
Ball State continues with non-conference action Wednesday when Dayton visits Muncie.
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