Powered by Kory Benbow's two home runs and Ryan Chenoweth's four RBI's, the Ball State University baseball team opened the Mid-American Conference portion of its schedule by winning two out of three games against the University of Akron this weekend.
"Not just me, but a lot of people are starting to see the ball well," Benbow said. "I can't say I was really trying or looking to hit home runs. A pitch up in the zone in the middle of the plate, you just need to drive it."
The first game, originally scheduled for Friday, was moved to Saturday due to rain. The two teams played a double header Sunday to get all three games played.
The Cardinals won game one 10-5 and game three 6-4, but lost the second game 12-5.
Ryan DeGeeter got the start for the Cardinals in game three. DeGeeter pitched eight and one-third innings, allowing six hits and four runs.
"The main key was getting the first hitter of the inning out," DeGeeter said. "Being able to get the first hitter out helped to put up some zeros [on the scoreboard]."
Beals said he wanted DeGeeter to get the complete game.
Beals said DeGeeter's strong performance allowed the bullpen to get some needed rest.
"It certainly helps the bullpen," Beals said. "The bullpen is certainly going to get some work in our two mid-week games."
Brenden Stines got the start in the first game. He went six and one-third innings, giving up six hits and three runs. He also struck out seven Akron batters.
Stines got early run support. The Cardinals scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning allowing Stines to pitch with a 4-0 lead. Benbow hit the first of his two weekend home runs to start the Cardinals scoring.
The bottom half of the lineup scored 14 of the Cardinals' 23 runs in the three game series and drove in 11 runs.
"It puts pressure on their pitcher all the way through our lineup," Beals said.
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