Editor's Note: Nick Shelton contributed to the coverage of the Swig & Swine College Classic but did not contribute to the writing portion of coverage. Additionally, a provided quote from athletics has been added.
In their second weekend series of the season, the Cardinals walked away with one win and two losses, bringing their record on the season to 4-3.
After a rain-out Friday, the team was positioned to play back-to-back games Saturday, one against the University of Cincinnati (UC) and the other against Coastal Carolina University (CCU).
Each of these universities presented the Cardinals with a battle. Against UC, Ball State held the lead for most of the game, with the score being 4-1 in their favor at the top of the fifth. This changed fast, with the Bearcats scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning, propelling them to score the go-ahead runs a few innings later.
The Cardinals could not keep their momentum and fell just short, losing 5-6.
With just over an hour in between games, Ball State did not have much time to relax or re-adjust prior to their next match against CCU.
Against the nationally ranked opponent, throughout the whole 12-2 loss, Ball State racked up just three hits, with the game being called after just seven innings.
"We let the game against Cincinnati get away from us-we gave them one-Coastal was just better than us that day," Head coach Rich Maloney said via text message.
Sophomore Dylan Grego hit a solo run in the fifth inning of that game, accounting for one of his three hits across the whole weekend.
Grego also contributed to the win the Cardinals secured Sunday morning against the University of Illinois.
After losing two games the day prior, Ball State was more than ready to secure a win before returning to Muncie.
Grego hit an RBI double in the second inning, inspiring junior Hunter Dobbins to hit an RBI single in the next inning.
Dobbins was electric this weekend, becoming a bright spot for the Cardinals in a weekend full of upset.
A key part of this upset was found in the pitching core.
In their match against Cincinnati, the Cardinals cycled through three pitchers. Junior Jacob Hartlub started against UC, but was removed in the bottom of the fourth after a successful day.
When junior Nate Blain took over, there was an immediate shift in play.
For the next two innings, Blain would go on to give up three walks and record two errors. Additionally, he would load the bases for Cincinnati twice.
Maloney would pull Blain after two innings (one full inning pitched) in favor of freshman Zach Kwasny who would go on to close out the game.
"Our boys had to dig deep to overcome the disappointment of Saturday and put together a solid game in beating Big Ten foe Illinois. A great pitching performance by Logan Schulfer and Sam Klein carried us. A good finish to the weekend," Maloney said via text message.
The Cardinals continue to remain on the road to start their season and will next play Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m against Southern Indiana.
Contact Trinity Rea via email at trinity.rea@bsu.edu or on X @thetrinityrea.
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