Over the weekend, through various weather delays, Ball State baseball went 2-1 in their series against Jacksonville University.
In the first of two games Saturday, the Cardinals showed the sunshine state that they were ready to win.
Junior Jacob Hartlaub pitched for 4.2 innings, allowing just four hits. This quieting of at-bats allowed for Ball State's offense to steadily gain and keep momentum throughout the game.
Within his time on the mound, his teammates were able to produce a large 8-0 lead. Sophomore Blake Bevis and senior Decker Scheffler each had two, baserunning runs, while senior Nick Gregory had a run and three RBIs.
On the day, the Cardinals had 12 hits and used this offensive success to propel them to a 9-2 win. However, this victory was just the start of success for Ball State.
To begin the second game, junior Michael Hallquist hit a home run, but the Cardinal's bats would go quiet until the seventh inning. This game quickly became the exact opposite of Ball State's previous outing, with the Dolphins picking up seven runs in this scoring drought.
Ball State fought back, earning themselves a six-run inning in the seventh made up of 10 different batters. In the next inning, they scored three more times, putting themselves back on top with a 10-7 lead.
But unlike the previous game, the Dolphins kept fighting, scoring 2 more runs to bring them within one. After a day of waiting due to a weather delay, the Cardinals played in their resumed match and held on to secure a 10-9 victory.
With two games under their belt, Ball State went into the third match looking to complete a series sweep. However, Jacksonville came prepared to not let that happen by any means.
In the first five innings, aside from the third, the Dolphins scored unanswered runs, leaving the Cardinals behind offensively. In the sixth, Ball State started to answer, with Junior Hunter Dobbins securing a baserunning run. However, this was quickly shut down.
Jacksonville hit a triple in the bottom of the inning putting them up by six runs, 7-1. Ultimately Ball State wasn't able to overcome this lead and Jacksonville kept picking up runs, leading to a 10-1 Cardinals loss.
Ball State returns tomorrow, March 5th, at 4 p.m. to face Florida A&M. This game is the first of two, with the second taking place March 6th, at 4 p.m. After this series, Ball State will play at home for the first time this season, with a three-day series against Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponent Eastern Michigan University.
Contact Trinity Rea via email at trinity.rea@bsu.edu or on X @thetrinityrea .
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