At its lowest point, Ben Schroeder's average dipped to .136 early in the season. But since then, the senior left fielder has watched that figure rise, including a jump of 41 points to .341 this week.
Schroeder's effort culminated Sunday, as he hit for the cycle to lead Ball State past Illinois State, 10-3, in non-conference baseball action at Ball Diamond. Over the weekend he had 10 hits and seven runs, and the Cardinals won three of four games against the Redbirds.
"I knew (Ben) would get hitting again," first-year BSU coach Greg Beals said. "I tried to protect him some, move him down in the lineup and sometimes sit him against left-handers. But once he got going, I bumped him back up (in the order). He can be a spark plug."
Schroeder reached the cycle with a seventh-inning triple, which he scored on thanks to one of ISU's six errors. He agreed that batting in the bottom of order earlier helped him, adding that he'd never struggled that bad before.
"I got to see more fastballs," he said. "It made me work my way back up. I've got to thank my teammates. They still had confidence in me."
Ball State (26-11) trounced the Redbirds (12-22) in Friday's opener, 13-3, connecting for five home runs among 22 hits. Jason Paul (6-1) allowed one run in six innings for the win.
BSU's Brian Lynch (4-3) gave up a 2-run homer to Jon Peacock on the fourth pitch of Saturday's first game but struck out 10 for his second straight complete-game win. Lucas Fry's 1-out single provided the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the seventh for the 3-2 victory.
Illinois State erased a 7-2 deficit in the second game for its lone win. The Redbirds put together 17 hits and four Cardinal errors, eventually plating two runs off BSU closer John Pettibone for an 8-7 win.
"We just played a bad game," Beals said after the loss. "From about the fourth inning on, we didn't do anything that condones winning. We were flat in the dugout. We couldn't get anything (more) going."
But as disappointed as Beals was then, he was pleased after Sunday's win. His team led 3-2 when the game was delayed more than an hour due to rain and lightning and scored four times in the sixth raise the lead.
Brad Snyder highlighted that rally with a 2-run bomb that bounced off a telephone pole behind right-center. Andy Anderson (3-1) pitched five innings for the win, and Michael Hale finished out for his first save.
Snyder backed Schroeder's weekend effort with eight hits (four doubles), eight RBIs and six runs. Adam Metzler added six hits.
Snyder now leads the team in average (.404), hits (57), runs (44), homers (eight), RBIs (45) and slugging percentage (.745). As a team, the Cards are hitting .333.
"We're getting better and better offensively," Beals said. "Mechanically, we're taking better swings more consistently, and it's showing.
"The wins and losses will take care of themselves, but what matters is we're playing good baseball."
Lately, it's been a lot more wins than losses for Ball State, who has won 26 of 33 since starting 0-4. BSU travels to Notre Dame Tuesday to face the nationally ranked Irish.
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