BASEBALL: Cardinals fold in 18-2 home loss
April 1, 2012After back-to-back extra-inning losses Friday and Saturday to Kent State, the class of the Mid-American Conference, Ball State appeared to be emotionally drained in Sunday's series finale.
After back-to-back extra-inning losses Friday and Saturday to Kent State, the class of the Mid-American Conference, Ball State appeared to be emotionally drained in Sunday's series finale.
The Golden Flashes pushed a pair of runs across the plate in the top of the 11th, securing a 4-2 victory and the weekend series.
While Ball State had an excellent chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth, Kent State staved off the threat and went on to win 7-4 in 10 innings.
Things don't get any easier for Ball State (4-16) this weekend, when it welcomes Kent State to Muncie for a three-game Mid-American Conference series.
Nestor Bautista cruised through the first inning, inducing consecutive fly outs from the first two Indiana State batters, and then he struck out the third batter on four pitches.
But in the fifth inning, the game unraveled for Jacob Brewer and the Cardinals' bullpen, as the Flyers exploded for 10 runs, cruising to a 14-5 victory Tuesday at Time Warner Cable Stadium.
But in the fifth inning, the game unraveled for Jacob Brewer and the Cardinals' bullpen, as the Flyers exploded for 10 runs, cruising to a 14-5 victory Tuesday at Time Warner Cable Stadium.
There is no one moment when Cal Bowling became a true college ace. There was never a day when he discovered a new grip for his curveball or suddenly reared back and found a few extra miles per hour for his fastball.
After snapping a seven-game losing skid at Akron on Sunday afternoon, Ball State made a brief return to Muncie before departing for Dayton with a 4 p.m. game against the Flyers today.
After struggling to score runs all weekend at Akron, Ball State coach Alex Marconi was willing to take a gamble in the 12th inning on Sunday. After T.J. Weir tripled with one out in the inning, Marconi flashed the sign for a suicide squeeze.
Akron used a six-run sixth inning to cruise to a 6-3 victory Saturday afternoon in Akron, Ohio.
The Cardinals managed just three hits against Akron right-hander Andrew Brown, and the Zips won the conference opener 4-0.
When Alex Marconi looks across the diamond and into the home dugout this week at Akron, he will see a familiar face.
Coming off the best start of his career a week ago, right-hander T.J. Weir was roughed up at Louisville on Saturday in one of the worst starts of his career.
Louisville scored eight runs in the final two innings Friday, defeating Ball State 9-4.
The final weekend tune-up for Ball State before Mid-American Conference play begins March 23 may provide the Cardinals their biggest test of the season.
The frustration was palpable in coach Alex Marconi's voice. Though the Ball State starting rotation had seemingly been righted with a shakeup last weekend at Middle Tennessee State, the bullpen remained as much a problem as ever.
For the first three weekends of the season, Ball State struggled to get much of anything going on offense. It was ranked 256th in the nation with 59 hits, an average of 7.375 per game.
Ball State lost 7-4 at Middle Tennessee State on Saturday, falling to 3-8 this season.
Ball State beat Middle Tennessee State 5-4 Friday afternoon, snapping a three-game losing streak.
