For the second consecutive game the Ball State University baseball team went into extra innings against Furman University. This time the Cardinals were able to get a 9-7 victory in 11 innings, their first of the season.
Senior second baseman Nate Fields led off the 11th inning with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Sophomore third baseman Kolbrin Vitek brought Fields home with a single and then scored on freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen's two-out double.
Fields finished the game 3-6 with two runs and two doubles. Nielsen led the Cardinals with four hits and three RBI.
Junior closer Morgan Coombs earned the win, after taking the loss in Friday's 4-3 defeat. Coombs pitched 4.1 innings in relief, striking out two and allowing three hits. Freshman Bobby Lyne took the loss for Furman.
Freshman catcher Aaron Etchison hit his first career home run in the second inning to give Ball State a 2-0 lead. Etchinson would add another home run to lead off the seventh inning and start a five-run rally. The Cardinals hit around in the seventh, with key hits from junior left fielder Kory Benbow and Nielsen who each drove in two runs with two out.
The Cardinals overcame five errors, two wild pitches, a hit batsman and a steal of home to win the first game of the doubleheader. The Paladins stranded 12 runners, including twice leaving the bases loaded.
Leading the way for the Paladins was sophomore left fielder Reese Wade who went 3-5 with a run and an RBI.
Freshman right hander Perci Garner made his debut on the mound for Ball State, after spending two seasons as a backup quarterback for the football team. Garner pitched to three batters, retiring one of them before being relieved.
Also making his debut was fellow freshman right hander Justin Warrington who pitched three innings of relief. Warrington allowed three runs, all unearned, and struck out two.
Coach Greg Beals will call on right-hander Brad Piatt to start the second game of the doubleheader. The Cardinals will likely be without the services of Coombs and possibly senior left-hander Tom Mueller who has pitched 0.2 of an inning in each game this weekend.
Continue to check bsudailynews.com for game updates throughout the weekend and Monday's edition of The Ball State Daily News for complete coverage of the Cardinals' opening weekend.
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