Struggling early the Ball State University baseball team rallied late to defeat the Indiana Institute of Technology 11-6 on a cold, windy day at the Ball Diamond on Tuesday.
Down 2-0 going into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Cardinals (13-9) took their first lead with one swing of Ryan Chenoweth's bat. With the bases loaded following two singles and a hit-by-pitch, Chenoweth cranked a 1-2 pitch well over the right field wall for a grand slam.
"There were two strikes, so I was looking for something away, but he threw a fastball in, and I hit it pretty well," Chenoweth said.
Chenoweth came into Tuesday's game batting .419. His average dropped slightly as the home run was his one hit in four appearances but his RBI total almost doubled from five to nine.
The 4-2 lead the Cardinals took with Chenoweth's grand slam was short-lived as pitcher Jay Broughton gave up three runs to the Warriors in the top of the fifth inning.
The Cardinals tied the game 5-5 in the sixth inning but once again lost the lead by allowing one run in the next half inning. However, with a man on, Ball State shortstop Dean Anna hit a towering shot over the wall to give the Cardinals a 7-6 lead that wouldn't be relinquished. It wasn't the one hit of the day for Anna as he enjoyed a 3-for-5 day at the plate, scoring three runs and driving in three.
"It starts with coming to the ballpark first," Anna said. "Sometimes you hit the ball hard sometimes you don't. Today I did."
The Cardinals were clinging to a one-run lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning, but a series of singles, errors and walks plated four more runs, giving the Cardinals insurance runs heading into the ninth.
Ball State closer Kyle Heyne pitched the final inning for Ball State despite it not being a save situation. Heyne began warming up before the Cardinals scored the insurance runs, and while they would have preferred to not use him, Beals said, he thought he should since Heyne was warm.
"Unfortunately we got Heyne going, and once he was hot, we might as well let him go up and pitch the inning," Beals said. "But it was good our offense was able to put the game away like they did."
Despite getting the victory and continuing their now four-game winning streak, Beals said his team didn't play to the level they did last weekend when it swept Kent State University to open Mid-American Conference play.
"I think the problem [Tuesday] was we were unable to match the overall intensity we had over the weekend," he said. "I challenged our guys to do that ... I was a little disappointed they weren't able."
Beals said the cold and windy weather did not cause the struggles.
"It wasn't an easy day to play, but it was that way for both teams," he said. "We just have to be a little more focused in these midweek games so we can keep this winning streak and momentum for the weekend."
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