The Ball State University baseball team will play three games at the Music City Challenge this weekend, but coach Greg Beals said it doesn't matter who the Cardinals play at this point in the season.
"I'm more concerned with playing better baseball," Beals said. "I'm not at all concerned with who we are playing. We will compete fine with the teams we are playing."
After going 0-4 in their opening weekend, the Cardinals will play Lipscomb University Friday, Vanderbilt University Saturday and Belmont University Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.
All three opponents have done well this season. Lipscomb is 5-2 winning its last five games, Vanderbilt is ranked No. 1 in the nation according to the most recent Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll and Belmont is 2-0 allowing 1.5 runs per game.
Beals said the team is young and he is trying to get players experience. He said with more playing time the team members will improve.
"Forget about the results, we need to build on the experience," Beals said. "We aren't hitting any panic buttons, don't need drastic changes. With more at-bats they will improve."
Beals gave many young players the opportunity to play last weekend. A total of 15 players, including 10 freshmen, played for Ball State for the first time.
"It's a crazy difference from last year," senior Matt Gard said. "We had 11 seniors last year and all pretty much started, but this is still a talented team. This is one of the best freshman classes I have seen. We are just going through growing pains."
Youth is not the only disadvantage the Cardinals have. They also haven't practiced outside, and instead have been in the Field and Sports Building until it is warm enough for outside practices.
"It changes a lot of little things," Beals said. "We can't play intra-squad games. Our infielders can't get live balls coming of a live bat. They know we will be hitting it to them."
Gard believes outdoor practices give more options for drills.
"It gets tedious," Gard said. "There is only so much you can do inside. You can't really compare practicing indoor to outdoor. Outdoor is just so much better."
Gard also isn't worried about starting 0-4. He believes the team just had a bad weekend and got away from playing the type of baseball it wants to play which led to mistakes. The Cardinals committed 12 errors in the four games. The errors are the main reason for the 10.5 runs allowed per game last weekend, Beals said.
Another factor the Cardinals could face this weekend is fatigue. Ball State played in Florida last weekend, then traveled back to Muncie for a week of classes, and will play in Nashville, Tenn. this weekend.
"That obviously makes it difficult to play," Gard said. "Trying to keep up with school work is hard. It can get tiring, but I think its more that if we have a grueling game on Friday it changes the rest of the weekend. If you have a tough one run game that first game it makes it harder in the next two games."
The Cardinals are approaching their early season schedule as tune-ups for the Mid-American Conference season, wanting to get players experience so they can improve and become better players.
"We fully expect to be playing good Ball State baseball here very soon," Beals said. "Our expectations are still very high."
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