With the fall season in full swing, Major League Baseball isn’t alone in utilizing the month of October. Ball State baseball joined in on the fun of October baseball with its annual Scout Day.
Almost 20 MLB scouts came to Ball Diamond on Oct. 2 to watch the team run through drills and take batting practice.
Head coach Rich Maloney says he enjoys days like this, as it allows his squad to get some early exposure.
“I tell them just to go out there and play on days like this,” Maloney said. “You have to play like there’s always someone watching you. That’s a maturing process, which is why it’s always fun to have days like this. They get exposed and can find out what they need to work on.”
The Cardinals plan to get as much playing time on the field as possible before winter hits.
“The fall season is all about improvement,” Maloney said. “It’s about getting better so by the time the season comes, we’ll hopefully be solid in all the areas that we need to be solid in.”
Ball State concluded the 2017 spring season with a 30-28 overall record and 14-10 Mid-American Conference record. The season marked the fifth straight year the Cardinals reached the 30-win plateau.
“We need to throw strikes, be able to move the baseball and just play the game the way it’s supposed to be played,” Maloney said. “That’s where the fall comes in. It’s about development and the guys are doing a great job.”
Ending the day with an intrasquad scrimmage, the players divided into two teams (Red and White) which allowed them to put their skills to the test in a real-game setting. In the fall season, the team typically plays about three intrasquad games a week. Monday’s scrimmage was one of the two highlighted scrimmages of the fall season.
The team has previously included an exhibition game in its fall season, but was not able to schedule an opponent at Ball Diamond this year.
With the addition of the new freshmen to his roster, Maloney uses the fall season to give his fresh faces the chance to gain exposure.
“We have a lot of new faces because we lost a lot of seniors,” Maloney said. “We have a lot of evaluation to do as far as who’s going to be the guys come spring. We have a lot of talent this year that will continue to get better.”
Ball State will wrap up its fall season with a scrimmage at Ball Diamond on Oct. 22 at noon.
Contact Kara Biernat with any comments at karabiernat@gmail.com or on Twitter at @karabiernat.
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