Losers of their last four nonconference games, the Ball State University baseball team will try and ride the momentum from Sunday's doubleheader sweep at the University at Buffalo to break the skid against Purdue University on Tuesday.
The Cardinals (14-12) travel to West Lafayette to take on their second Big Ten opponent of the season. Ball State defeated Indiana University as a part of the Austin Peay Tournament in February and will send senior Brenden Stines to the hill to try and improve that mark against Purdue (13-12).
Stines was scheduled to start Saturday at Buffalo, but the game was rained out.
"We'll have to determine how far he can go and still be available next Saturday at Bowling Green," coach Greg Beals said.
Stines has struggled much of the season, but seemed to break through in his last start, at home against Kent State University on March 28. He pitched six innings for his lone win this season, allowing only two runs to the preseason Mid-American Conference favorite.
Ball State will face an offense that ranks ninth in the Big Ten in runs scored. The offense is still potent, and has scored only one fewer run than the Cardinals. Leading the way is senior outfielder Brandon Haveman, who is hitting .426. Junior infielder Dan Black packs the punch for the Boilermakers with nine home runs and 33 RBI.
If the Cardinals are to snap their four-game nonconference losing streak, they will need to find a way to score more runs. In their last four nonconference losses, the Cardinals averaged 3.5 runs and were shutout once. The average could be even worse, but they rallied for six runs in the eighth inning at Indiana State University, after falling behind 14-0. In Ball State's other 22 games, the average is 7.3 runs per game and they have not been shutout.
Tuesday's game will also feature a sibling rivalry, with Cardinals' freshman first baseman Ian Nielsen and his older brother, the Boilermakers senior catcher Eric Nielsen. Ian Nielsen enters the game hitting .374 with 22 RBI and was named MAC West Division Player of the Week on Monday. Eric Nielsen is hitting .234 with 11 RBI.
The brothers will get another shot at each other April 28 when Purdue visits Ball Diamond.
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