T.J. Weir caught Vinnie Booker, the first Western Michigan hitter of the game, looking at strike three for the first out of an important three-game, Mid-American Conference West divisional weekend series.
After what appeared to be the start of a good afternoon for Weir was quickly washed away thanks to an hour and nine minute rain delay, as the Broncos defeated the Cardinals 10-5 at Ball Diamond Friday afternoon.
Coach Alex Marconi didn't assume the Cardinals were going to be in control after Weir struck out the first hitter of the afternoon.
"You hate to assume after one hitter what the game is going to be like," he said. "It was just normal T.J. Weir. He goes out there and gets some outs. They got some hits today and scored some runs and that's just the way it goes."
The Broncos' next two batters reached base via singles before third baseman Ryan McMillin drove in his first of four RBI with a one-out sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring designated hitter Zach Thoma.
The third inning proved to be a back-breaker for Weir with McMillin coming through yet again. With one out in the third inning, McMillin launched a two-run home run to left-center field. It was the first of back-to-back home runs for Western Michigan in the inning.
McMillin has grown accustomed to hitting at Ball Diamond over the last couple of seasons. Counting last season, McMillin has 16 at-bats against Ball State and has nine hits, including three home runs and 11 RBIs.
"He may just be comfortable hitting in this ballpark," Marconi said. "That's pretty plain and simple. He's a good hitter and what he does well is he hits mistakes. We've thrown a couple of mistakes to him and he's capitalized on those with runners on base.
"We've got to try and keep runners off base when he comes up so if he does hurt us, it's a double with nobody on base or a home run with nobody on base. That's the key is to keep him in situations where he's not hitting with runners in scoring position."
The Cardinals (11-30, 6-13) and Broncos will square off in game two this afternoon with the home team looking to even the series before Sunday's finale.
-á
Read More
Ball State women’s basketball runs out of gas against Columbia in the Battle 4 Atlantis
By Elijah Poe / 16 hours ago“As hard as we played, we literally were running on fumes,” Ball State women's basketball head coach Brady Sallee said about the 69-62 loss to Columbia in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Ball State defeats Eastern Kentucky in opening game of Gulf Coast Showcase
By Zach Carter / 21 hours agoBall State defeated Eastern Kentucky 63-61 for the Cardinals' second win of the season.
Ball State tops Texas A&M in second game of Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament
By Logan Connor / Yesterday“It's the reason you come to play in tournaments like this, to play really good basketball teams,” head coach Brady Salle said after his team's Battle 4 Atlantis win
