The lowest final round score vaulted the men's golf team to a second-place finish at the Marshall Invitational. Ball State University fired a 286 on the final 18 holes Saturday, moving up four spots.
"It was a tournament that gave us a good opportunity to play well and have a good finish," coach Mike Fleck said. "Overall, I was pleased with how we ended the tournament and now we have to build on it."
Eastern Michigan University won the 15-team event, finishing 10 shots ahead of the Cardinals.
C.D. Hockersmith shot a 70 in the second round and tied for 10th place to lead Ball State. Patrick Wilkes-Krier had a team-low 70 in the final round and finished in 12th place.
Wayne Denger (tie for 24th), Brandon Boomsma (tie for 31st) and Andy Skillman (tie for 50th) rounded out the Cardinals' lineup.
Austin Steele tied for 50th competing as an individual.
Rain twice affected play in the tournament with delays in the second and third rounds. Ball State hadn't finished its second round and some of the players had three or four holes remaining following the rain delay.
"What killed us and really put us in a not-so-good position is when we came back out and just gave up eight shots in the last three or four holes," Fleck said. "It was basically the difference in the tournament."
Fleck said the players didn't handle the delay with the proper mental approach.
"Unfortunately sometimes we've mastered the art of giving up a lot of shots at the end of the round," he said. "It's all mental - the ability to focus and stay with it. We need to try to do a better job of that on a more consistent basis."
Ball State finished ahead of six Mid-American Conference schools. Tournament host Marshall University finished two shots behind the Cardinals in third place.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
