Freshman Joey Ranieri’s score of 140 led all individuals and Ball State Men’s Golf at the Butler Invitational on April 1 and 2. Ranieri, who recorded a career low of 69 on Monday, tied for fourth along with Purdue Fort Wayne’s Eric Brinker and Butler’s Raymond Sullivan.
The Ball State sent four individuals to participate in the tournament: Ranieri, freshman Yianni Kostouros, redshirt sophomore Tyler Green and sophomore C.J. Jones. Although the individuals did not compete as a team, the invitational saw all four golfers finish with scores below 150.
“I thought the [Butler Invitational] went very solid,” Ranieri said. “I was very level-headed, and I didn’t make a ton of mistakes. I told myself that I wasn’t going to care about my results and how I played, but I rather just wanted to go out and play the best I could.”
As a freshman, head coach Mike Fleck said the tournament was an extra way for Ranieri to gain experience aside from competing with the team. The invitational marked Ranieri’s second top-10 finish this season.
“[Ranieri] played two solid rounds of golf,” Fleck said. “Obviously it was a good performance for him. Hopefully it prepared him and the other guys for what’s to come here in April.”
Round one began Monday, which saw Ranieri’s score of 69 place him for second on the day before hitting 71 in round two to settle for a fourth-place tie. The round was also highlighted by Kostouros’ score of 72, boosting him to 10th place after round one.
Kostorous fell to 16th place after the second round to end the tournament, but finished with a score of 144, hitting 72 both days. Green’s score of 70 on Tuesday led the Cardinals in round two, which boosted him to a tie for 21st place after both rounds.
Sophomore C.J. Jones rounded out the Cardinals with a score of 149 over both rounds to tie for 38th place.
“We were able to get some good rounds in at a time where we haven’t consistently been able to get out and play well,” Fleck said. “We played on a really good golf course with some good greens. I think the month of April is just going to build for a very competitive environment amongst this group.”
IUPUI's score of 561 led all teams. The Cardinals will spend the rest of the week practicing before heading to Vanderbilt University for the Mason Rudolph Championship, taking place April 5-7.
“I think if I continue to keep the same mindset, then I don’t really care what happens on the golf course,” Ranieri said. “Whatever happens will happen, and I’ll just have to move along, but I’m excited for the coming weeks.”
Contact Connor Smith with any comments at cnsmith@bsu.edu or on Twitter @cnsmithbsu
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