Ball State 2nd annual Chirpies awards student-athletes
By Staff Reports / April 12, 2016A number of players, coaches and teams earned awards at the second annual Chirpies award ceremony.
A number of players, coaches and teams earned awards at the second annual Chirpies award ceremony.
After a 4-0 week and a dominating three-game home sweep against Western Michigan over the weekend, the Mid-American Conference honored the Ball State baseball team.
Baseball Ball State outscored Mid-American Conference rival Western Michigan 41-6 over its three-game home streak. After canceling the original opener on April 8, the teams rescheduled for a doubleheader on April 10. The Cardinals followed up its 7-2 opening win with two more, winning them 21-1 and 13-3.
Davis, a Muncie native, played at Muncie Central and spent the last two seasons at Ball State.
Ball State baseball (21-12, 7-2 MAC) swept Western Michigan (8-20, 1-5 MAC) in its three-game series, outscoring the Broncos 41-6. Head coach Rich Maloney had a simple explanation. “There really isn’t much you can say,” he said. “We were pretty dominant.”
Junior right-handed pitcher Zach Plesac tied his career total with 11 strikeouts in Ball State’s 7-2 win over Western Michigan. Head coach Rich Maloney said it was an important victory because Western Michigan starter Keegan Akin entered the game with the lowest ERA (1.43) and the most strikeouts (58) in the Mid-American Conference. “It’s a big win because Akin’s been dominating the league,” he said.
The only two runs allowed by Ball State (17-21, 3-6 MAC) in its loss to Buffalo (10-24, 4-3 MAC) April 8 were unearned.
The final weekend of the regular season will determine Ball State men’s volleyball’s final ranking in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.
When Ball State baseball (18-12, 4-2 MAC) hosts Western Michigan (8-17, 1-2 MAC) this weekend, Cardinal coach Rich Maloney will be facing off against his alma mater. Maloney said former Western Michigan head coach Fred Decker, who retired in 2004 after 20 seasons with the Broncos, was one of his mentors. “I wouldn’t be here [at Ball State] if it wasn’t for my experience at Western,” Maloney said.
After losing two against Northern Illinois (25-10, 6-2 MAC) April 5, Ball State (17-20, 3-5 MAC) will take on Mid-American Conference East Division rival Buffalo (9-24, 3-3 MAC). Ball State swept Ohio in three straight games last weekend, before the it went on the road for a midweek clash against the MAC West Division leaders, Northern Illinois.
Mickey Deputy waited with anticipation on a Tuesday night as her mother, Jenny Deputy, told her to get in the car.
Days after learning he made the St. Louis Cardinals' opening day roster, Ball State alumnus Jeremy Hazelbaker is preparing to make his first Major League start.
Junior right fielder Alex Call picked up two base hits, including a double, and scored two runs in Ball State’s (18-12, 4-2 MAC) 5-4 win over Xavier (10-19, 0-0 Big East) April 5, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.id.
For the second time this season, junior outside attacker Brendan Surane was named Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Offensive Player of the Week.
When the Ball State football team went into the locker room after practice, junior transfer defensive lineman John Swisher stayed outside, practicing on the tackling dummy. Swisher and sophomore Kevin Thurmon, two of the nine defensive linemen on the roster, were getting extra reps. “There’s a lot of good defensive tackles here. ... I’m just trying to get my stride in the spring,” Swisher said.
Senior thrower Marie Lumpkin holds Ball State's indoor weight throw record, but it wasn't until her last month at Union High School in Losantville when she realized she would in compete in collegiate track and field.
In the top of the ninth inning, Ball State junior right-handed pitcher BJ Butler had runners on second and third with two outs, a one-run lead and Xavier University senior catcher Daniel Rizzie at the plate. Butler fell behind in the count, 2-0, but Rizzie popped the ball up to redshirt freshman third baseman Zach Milam for the final out of the Cardinals’ 5-4 win.
One swing of the bat gave Northern Illinois (25-10, 6-2 MAC) the victory in the second game of a double header on April 5 against Ball State (17-20, 3-5 MAC). The Cardinals lost the first game 10-0, with its sole hit coming from sophomore catcher Leigh McAnally. After another first inning deficit in the second game the Cardinals fought back to tie the game 4-4 in the seventh inning.
Two of the Mid-American Conference’s top players are facing off April 5 as Ball State softball travels to Northern Illinois. Ball State is coming off a weekend sweep of Ohio to play Northern Illinois, which sits atop the MAC West Division.
Junior right fielder Alex Call hit a pair of three-run home runs, one in each of Ball State's (17-12, 4-2 MAC) wins over defending MAC tournament champion Ohio University (11-16, 2-4 MAC), earning his first Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week award of the season. In the last four games, Call hit .600 (12-20), scored 11 runs, recorded 10 RBIs, and hit three doubles, a triple and two home runs. On the season, Call has the highest batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in the MAC, slashing .421/.511/.702.
