The thought of a complete game never crossed the mind of Ball State pitcher Cal Bowling.
It turned into a reality, earning Bowling Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week.
This past week, the 6-foot-2 junior right-hander tossed his second consecutive complete game versus Miami on Sunday, a four-hit shutout.
"It [feels] pretty good," Bowling said. "I didn't really think it would happen and it has. It's fun to do it and help your team out and save your bullpen."
Bowling threw just 98 pitches to post his second complete game, striking out six RedHawks and walking none.
Bowling said he has focused on being more consistent with his slider and changeup to compliment his fastball in his past two outings.
"I wasn't as consistent with [those pitches earlier in the season]," Bowling said. "[My] slider and changeup make [my] fastball play better."
Bowling said he didn't change his approach to either game, but focused on getting ahead in the count.
"Hitting with strikes more consistently, especially on the first pitch," he said. "That's probably the most important thing from earlier in the season [when] I was probably around 50 percent [first pitch strikes]."
He is the first Ball State player this season to earn MAC weekly honors and the first Cardinals pitcher since Kolbrin Vitek on May 17 2010 to earn Pitcher of the Week accolades.
Bowling is the only player in the MAC so far this season to post two complete games and ranks seventh in the league with a 2.51 ERA.
Ball State returns to the diamond Wednesday evening for a non-conference game against Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind. at 6 p.m.
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