All but one of the 30 of the Major League Baseball teams are hosting Pride Nights this season, most during Pride Month, which celebrates and supports LGBTQ+ culture and rights. The Texas Rangers are the only team without a Pride Night. They say they are committed to making everyone feel welcome at all games.
The Wes-Del Warriors hoped that they would return to the 1A State Championship for the first time since the 1990 season. But they would fall two games short as they were defeated 6-2 in their first semi-state game. “I'm extremely proud of them,” Wes-Del head coach Daniel Hanson said. “This moment sucks and they're hurting. I told them [in the post-game huddle] how proud I am of them and that we came here today to fight and they did that.”
Last year, the Wes-Del Warriors ended their season with a 5-3 loss to Cowan in the sectional championship. “This group was pretty determined [to not repeat that],” Warriors third-year head coach Daniel Hanson said. “...[The team] wanted to make sure that when we got back to those kinds of moments, we were prepared, and that it was a different outcome.” So with that in mind, how did they respond this season?
After a historic season and postseason, winning a Mid-American Conference Championship and making it to the NCAA Tournament, the Ball State Baseball season comes to an end. Head coach Rich Maloney said he would never forget the team being selected and hearing Ball State be picked to play in an NCAA regional. Ball State (36-23) lost their elimination game against West Virginia (40-20).
In the first inning of today’s NCAA regional game in Lexington, KY, Ball State junior Decker Scheffler hit a single. That was followed by a double by senior Adam Tellier. With two base runners on second and third with only one out, Cardinal fans might have thought that their team was going to hit the scoreboard early. But then, the hometown Kentucky Wildcats retired the next two Ball State batters with a lineout and a strikeout. The Cardinals did not know it then, but that would end up being their best chance to score in their 4-0 opening loss of the NCAA Tournament.
If you wanted perfect baseball weather for yesterday’s sectional championships, you got it as the day brought sunshine and enjoyable temperatures. But if you were looking forward to the final two Delaware County teams continuing their postseasons, disappointment was your answer. The Sectional #24 championship game at Yorktown High School came down to two teams who ended the regular season under .500, with both teams losing their first five games of the season. In the semi-finals, the Delta Eagles knocked off the hometown Yorktown Tigers (20-7, 11-3 Hoosier Heritage) 5-3, while the New Castle Trojans defeated the Jay County Patriots (13-14, 1-5 Allen County) 4-3.
No. 1 seed Ball State (36-21) defeated No. 3 seed Kent State (42-16) 12-9 to win the 2023 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship Tournament and advance to the program's first NCAA Regional appearance since 2006.
Just about a week ago, Ball State got beat 29-11 at home against Kent State in the last regular season series. Yesterday, Ball State (35-21) beat that same Kent State (41-15) team 6-1 to advance to the Mid-American Conference Championship. Senior Trennor O’Donnell, who started in the 29-11 loss, went a complete nine innings today to beat the Golden Flashes. It was the first complete game of his career.
Grit. Following today’s 7-6 win against No. 2 Central Michigan (33-21, 19-11 MAC), he used it once more. “[The Cardinals] are a gritty bunch who believe in themselves,” Maloney said. “And they've been amazing because we've been short-handed for a long period of time.” With the team going through some adversity this season, yesterday’s win made the Cardinals’ (34-21, 19-11 MAC) first Mid-American Tournament (MAC) victory more than just that. It was a big moment for multiple players and lifted the team's spirits.
Ball State baseball needed a sweep of three games to take the Mid-American Conference regular season title, but after day one, those hopes were gone. The series result would be the complete opposite of what the Cardinals wanted as they were the ones who were swept.
Ball State Baseball defeated in-state opponent Southern Indiana 12-1 last night. This was the final non-conference game of the season for the Cardinals, improving their record to 33-18. After three innings, Ball State had a 9-0 lead.
The Ball State Baseball team won its series with Miami (Ohio), only losing one of the three games. The series took place from May 12-14. The Cardinals dropped the first game and won the last two to take the series.
During the top of the sixth inning of the 2023 Delaware County Championship, the Wapahani Raiders and Delta Eagles were tied at one apiece. Wapahani senior Daniel Blevins, a former Delta student, stepped up to the plate. Until this point, he was zero-for-two on the day. But he would end the contest one-for-three as he destroyed a two-run home run to left field. This helped the Raiders capture their 13th Delaware County Title in program history as they downed the Eagles 4-1.
The 2023 Delaware County Tournament started with some stellar performances that included a no-hitter from Wapahani’s starting pitcher senior Gavin Lash and a defensive shutout by Wes-Del. Both teams will move on to Saturday’s second round.
Indiana State (33-13) was able to surmount a 2-1 lead in the first inning and grew to 3-1 in the third inning. In the fourth inning, Indiana State was able to drive in four runs in the inning.
Ball State Baseball (28-15, 15-6 MAC) defeated Bowling Green (15-25, 9-15 MAC) two times out of three in a Mid-American Conference (MAC) series in Ohio. The Cardinals return to action May 5-7 with a three-game series against Ohio (16-23, 13-8 MAC) in Athens.
Decker Scheffler and Trennor O'Donnell's disappointing 2022 seasons turned out to be the catalyst toward successful 2023 campaigns, as O'Donnell has become the Cardinals' ace on the mound and Scheffler is among the Mid-American Conference leaders in hitting.
In the first matchup between Ball State and Indiana, the Cardinals struck first then fell behind later in the game. This time Indiana struck first and held the lead the whole game.
Ball State Baseball (26-13, 13-5 MAC) swept Northern Illinois (7-30, 4-13 MAC) in a three-game series, putting up 36 runs in the process. Ball State returns to action in two days when it hosts Indiana University (30-11, 9-3 B1GTEN) at 3 p.m. April 25.
Ball State Baseball (23-12, 10-5 MAC) fell to Purdue (17-18, 7-5 B1GTEN) 3-2 in West Lafayette to lose its sixth straight contest. The Cardinals return to action April 21 at 3 p.m. as they take on Northern Illinois (7-26, 4-10 MAC) in the first of three games in Muncie.
