The non-conference win moved Ball State to 8-4 (2-3 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) with a pair of conference matches at home this week. The Cardinals play host to IPFW on Thursday before hosting Lewis University on Friday.
Ball State completes play in the tournament today with a 10:30 a.m. first pitch against Southern Illinois University (7-2), winners of five in a row.
In what was a very competitive meet, Ball State won the vault with a season-best 48.525 along with the floor Sunday. Illinois State took the beam honors and Texas Woman's triumphed on the bars.
The Cardinals improved their record to 5-3 on the season after consecutive 7-0 sweeps of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Anderson University in their doubleheader Sunday at the Muncie Northwest YMCA Tennis Center.
Over the next two weeks the team is playing six matches, including two doubleheaders, and coach Bill Richards will find out pretty quickly whether all the work has paid off.
The Cardinals return today to face Mercer University (3-3) in the first game and then play host Kennesaw State University (2-0) in the nightcap.
Jumping out to an early lead, Ball State held on and defeated No. 15 Arkansas 5-2 Saturday afternoon.
The two teams will resume their three-game series today at 2 p.m. Arkansas, however, will likely be without second baseman Bo Bigham. The sophomore dove for a ball in the outfield and landed awkwardly on his left arm. He left the game with what was later reported as a dislocated shoulder.
Next week, the Cardinals will gear up and travel north to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to compete in the MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The event begins Friday at 10 a.m.
Ball State defeated Western Michigan 70-55 Jan. 6 at Worthen Arena to kick off Mid-American Conference action. Since then, both teams have struggled. The Cardinals (10-15, 4-8 MAC) have been snake-bitten with troubles in different aspects of their game on different nights, making it difficult for coach Kelly Packard to find a solution.
Ball State fans looking for a reason to attend the game might be interested in the halftime activities. The 1989-1990 Ball State team will be recognized for its 20th anniversary of reaching the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, followed by a performance by the Indy Bears Jump Rope squad.
Lately, earning victories has been easier said than done for the Cardinals. Since a close loss to Morehead State University two weeks ago, Ball State hasn't managed to generate any momentum. The team was dealt another crushing loss last Friday against Chicago State University by a score of 4-3 before losing again on Saturday to Butler University.
Five days since losing to a Quincy team that hadn't won a conference match in almost two years, Ball State and coach Joel Walton are trying not to think about one of worst upset loses in its program history.
The victory effectively gives Ball State a two-game lead in the MAC West with three conference games to play.
Tonight's four-team meet will have more of a conference appeal to it as the other participants include Western Michigan University, Northern Illinois University and Miami University.
The Cardinals took full advantage of the whistle-happy officials against his Chippewas. Ball State hit 24-of-31 free throws, led by freshman guard Jauwan Scaife, who hit 12-of-14 free throws to outshoot Central Michigan at the charity stripe (9-of-13).
The Ball State University men's basketball team defeated visiting Central Michigan University 69-63 Wednesday night at Worthen Arena to take a two-game lead in the Mid American Conference West Division with just three MAC games left to play. Check out the images from the game.
The Razorbacks start the year ranked No. 15 and reached the final four of the College World Series last year before falling to eventual national champion Louisiana State University.
Hood has been a coach for 25 years, the last seven of which have been in the Mid-American Conference. He said he hopes his experience in the conference will help him develop Ball State's defense into a championship winner.
