Senior shortstop Eric Earnhart, a starter on last season's NCAA Regional baseball squad, has concluded his 30-day suspension after being arrested Feb. 10 on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Earnhart's first game back was March 13 against Wake Forest University.
According to a Muncie Police Department report, Earnhart was pulled over at 1:09 a.m. on the corner of New York and Neely avenues. According to the police report, Earnhart registered a .153 blood alcohol content on the Preliminary Breath Test, which is nearly twice the legal limit in Indiana in order to operate a motor vehicle.
"When Eric came to me and admitted to me of his wrongdoing, we immediately acted upon it according to what department and team policies are," coach Greg Beals said.
The 30-day suspension covered the first 13 games of the regular season, in which Ball State went 4-9. In the nine games since, Earnhart has a .300 batting average, which ties him for the lead on the team.
"Everybody initially said, 'Uh-oh, what are we going to do?'" freshman starting catcher Kyle Dygert said. "Him being absent hurt the team, experience wise, but it also gave some younger guys an opportunity to step in [and play]."
The 2006-07 Student-Athlete Handbook states, "Any athlete arrested for any type of alcohol use will be immediately suspended from the program. Each case will be judged on an individual basis from that point on and is to be discussed with the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics."
Beals said the 30-day suspension Earnhart received was fair.
"It's an incident that he has served those consequences and we're trying to move forward from that now," Beals said.
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
