Fighting to stay in the top half of the Mid-American Conference West Division, the Ball State University baseball team begins a three-game series at Western Michigan University Friday afternoon.
The Cardinals (22-15, 7-5 MAC) are in third place in the MAC West, tied with Central Michigan University, and need to avoid being swept by the Broncos to stay ahead of them in the division. The Broncos (20-13-1, 5-7 MAC) would pull a game ahead of the Cardinals if they were able to sweep them.
A week ago the Cardinals were tied for first place but, after being swept by Central Michigan last weekend, find themselves on the cusp of being on the outside looking in for qualifying for the conference tournament.
"We got off to a hot start," coach Greg Beals said. "We won six in a row, but we've hit a low point having lost five of six. We've got to change the trend and get back to winning."
Ball State has played half of its MAC season so far, leaving 12 conference games, all against divisional opponents.
During the Cardinals' start to the conference season, in which they won 13 of 15 games overall, they scored in double figures eight times and averaged 11 runs per game.
In the past five games the Cardinals have lost four times, scored in double figures once and averaged 5.6 runs per game.
In their most recent game the Cardinals scored one run in a loss at Purdue University, but Beals said the offensive woes weren't as serious as the statistics would make them seem.
"The offense is in pretty good shape after Purdue," he said. "We outhit Purdue, and we hit the ball hard a lot of times ... we hit the ball better than the scoreboard showed."
The Cardinals' goal is to win two of three at Western Michigan, and Beals has altered his starting pitching rotation for the second straight weekend to give his team a better chance at accomplishing its goal, he said.
Eric Van Matre started last weekend, replacing Brenden Stines, but will be subbed out in favor of Brad Piatt, Beals said.
"[Piatt's] just outpitched the other candidates right now," Beals said. "He is the best candidate for the job, and that is as good as it is bad."
If everything goes according to plan, when Piatt makes his start Sunday he will turn the game over with a lead leaving it to closer Kyle Heyne to shut the door on the victory. Heyne, who was recently named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award midseason watch list, said with the season nearing an end, things get a little easier for the players.
"There's no more schoolwork," he said. "Nobody is getting up early to go to class. We've just got to focus on baseball."
The Cardinals' sight is focused on the Broncos for the next three days. If they can win two of three, they will be close to locking up a spot in the MAC Tournament.
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