Each week, The Ball State Daily News sports staff picks its PPQ — the player, play and quote of the week. And, with the help of our online readers, the weekly fan choice is also featured.
Here's this week's best:
Player: Morgan Coombs, baseball
The senior right-hander pitched five innings in relief in Saturday's 5-2 upset at No. 15 Arkansas, giving up no earned runs and striking out eight Razorbacks batters. For his efforts, Coombs was named MAC Pitcher of the Week and National Primetime Pitcher of the Week by CollegeBaseball360.com.
Play: Ellie Carrico, gymnastics
Ball State trailed Illinois State by 0.025 going into the final rotation Sunday as Carrico, a sophomore, stepped up as the first Cardinal on the floor exercise. She scored a career-best 9.65, the first of six scores above 9.6, as Ball State went on to win the meet at Worthen Arena.
Quote: "It's a huge relief for us. We just came out with this fire. We wanted it so bad. We wanted to prove who we are." — Men's volleyball middle attacker J.D. Gasparovic after his team's 3-1 win at Saint Francis, the night after losing at Penn State in one of the worst losses in recent program history.
Fan Choice: Randy Davis, men's basketball
For the third week in a row, Davis (23 votes, 32 percent) won this week's Fan Choice poll. Davis earned MAC West Player of the Week honors after scoring a career-high 24 points while adding five rebounds and five assists in Ball State's win over Central Michigan, then had 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win over UT Martin.
To vote in next week's poll, be sure to visit Monday's online edition of The Ball State Daily News.
Read More
Wes-Del baseball defeats Wapahani in conference rivalry game
By David Moore / 4 hours ago“Right now our focus is being back and ready to play tomorrow,” Wes-Del head coach Daniel Hanson said. “We try not to look at the big picture, not look at the rankings, to the end of the year, none of that. Just getting in and getting better at focusing on what we can control.”
'We didn’t bring it today:' Ball State softball falls to Purdue in final non-MAC contest of 2024
By Zach Carter / 4 hours agoIn the loss to the Boilermakers, the Cardinals only recorded one hit, which was a solo home run from senior Kaitlyn Mathews. Ball State finished its 2024 non-conference season with a 13-14 record.
Third round rise leads Ball State women’s golf to 4th place finish at MAC Championship
By Nick Shelton / YesterdayThroughout a season that saw a number of ups and downs, from placing 14th in their season opener to placing 1st at the Brittany Kelly Classic two weeks later, the Cardinals continued to climb. Closing out their season at the Pinnacle Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio, Ball State’s young squad had a lot to prove.
