Ball State continued to roll past Mid-American Conference opponents over the weekend with a series win over Marshall.
The Cardinals (33-14 overall, 17-5 MAC) easily crushed the Herd on Friday, 17-4, then rode the arm of Ben Snyder to a 9-0 win on Saturday. On Sunday, Marshall took a 7-3 win with the help of shortstop Aaron Jamieson. The junior finished four-for-four, including two doubles, and brought two runs across the plate. Before the loss, Ball State had won eight of its last 10 games, including six of eight against MAC teams.
By taking two of three against the Herd, Ball State won every series against MAC competition this season.
The Cardinals have gone 7-3 since April 29, and with a little help, they are in the running to host this year's MAC tournament.
Miami (Ohio) currently leads the conference with a 34-14 overall record and is 14-4 in the MAC, with Ball State trailing as the No. 2 seed. The Cardinals have the MAC West division wrapped up, with Central Michigan trailing with a 14-6 conference record. Miami travels to Kent State next weekend in its final MAC series.
"To win the conference championship was one of our goals [at the beginning of the season]," coach Greg Beals said. "We like our chances."
Earlier, Ball State won two of three games against both Eastern Michigan and Ohio. The Cards then defeated Xavier, 14-9, at home, but the game at Indiana State on May 11 was canceled due to weather.
Several Cardinals' bats have stayed hot. In the last nine games, Mike Sullivan has led the team with a .444 batting average, while Kyle Dygert has been just behind at .438. Dygert leads the team for the season with a .364 average.
Sullivan went five-for-seven in the first game against Marshall, and Brad Miller finished four-for-six. Two of Miller's hits were home runs. Marc Franz added a grand slam, and Jon Byerly added a two-run shot in a slugfest that ended with the Cards collecting 26 hits. Both home runs were in the eighth inning, when Ball State was already leading 9-0. Franz and Eric Earnhart added two more runs in the ninth.
Joe Ness (5-4) was on the mound for seven innings and struck out seven. He allowed two runs on six hits.
The Cardinals turned to its pitching in game two, when Ben Snyder (8-3) shut down the Herd with a nine-inning complete game shutout, the first of his career. He struck out seven and allowed five hits in Ball State's 7-0 win.
"Ness and Snyder were very good," Beals said. "[Snyder] was game-over good. He really set the tempo for the ball club."
In the finale, Marshall struck first for the first time in the series. The Herd scored twice in the bottom of the third, before exploding for five runs in the fifth inning to take a commanding 7-0 lead. Ball State finally got on board with three runs in the eighth.
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