Ball State baseball's 8-game losing streak longest since 2012
By Colin Grylls / April 3, 2017"We know we're better than we're playing, there's no question about that," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said.
"We know we're better than we're playing, there's no question about that," Ball State head coach Rich Maloney said.
The Cardinals (11-17, 0-6 MAC) were shut out 10-0 as the Bobcats (14-12, 3-0 MAC) completed the series sweep.
The Cardinals have lost their last seven games in a row.
Senior outfielder Matt Eppers is ready for April Fool’s Day, and his teammates know it.
Both the Cardinals and the Bobcats have lost their last five games.
Ball State baseball was overpowered by Butler's offense in a 7-3 loss on Tuesday afternoon.
Ball State baseball looks to end its four-game losing streak when it hosts Butler in a mid-week non-conference game Tuesday. The Cardinals (11-13, 0-3 MAC) boast the best ERA in the Mid-American Conference (3.53), though the Bulldogs (16-7, 0-0 Big East) have a 3.15 ERA that's second in the Big East. Butler is on a five-game winning streak, including a 3-game sweep of Ohio (11-11, 0-0 MAC) over the weekend. Ball State was just swept by Kent State in its first series of MAC play. The Bulldogs hit .267 as a team, led by redshirt junior infielder Michael Hartnagel, who's on a six-game hitting streak. Hartnagel is hitting .410 on the season with 10 doubles. Ball State sophomore outfielder Roman Baisa carries a seven-game hitting streak into the matchup, hitting .275. He's also second on the team with 13 runs scored. Junior right-handed pitcher Brendan Burns (1-0) is expected to make his first start of the season for the Cardinals. He has a 2.61 ERA but has only pitched 10.1 innings. Primarily a starter last season (12 of his 14 appearances were starts), Burns went 5-4 with a 3.81 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday at Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
The first inning of Ball State baseball's 9-4 loss to Kent State Sunday was symbolic of the entire series.
The Cardinals were swept in their first Mid-American Conference series.
Ball State baseball dropped the second game of it's Mid-American Conference-opening series against Kent State on Saturday.
Kent State needed a diving catch with the tying run on second base to seal the win.
Justin Wechsler was an All-MAC pitcher for Ball State before playing pro baseball and becoming a scout.
Ball State won the MAC West last year, while Kent State won the MAC East. Both were predicted to repeat in the MAC Preseason Poll.
The game-time temperature for Ball State baseball's 16-4 loss was 35 degrees, but Purdue's bats were anything but cold.
The Cardinals host the Boilermakers Wednesday at 3 p.m.
On a 37-degree day in March, senior pitcher BJ Butler pitched a complete-game shutout to give Ball State baseball (10-8) their ninth win of the season in the Cardinals' home opener. The last time a pitcher from Ball State’s roster pitched a complete-game shutout was March 26, 2016 by Zach Plesac for a 9-0 victory over Miami.
Ball State baseball plays its home opener Saturday in a doubleheader against Dayton. “It’s always better to be off the road,” head coach Rich Maloney said.
Ball State baseball’s Florida getaway was more like a homecoming for CJ Alexander. Over Spring Break, the Cardinals, along with 18 other Division-I schools, competed in the annual Snowbird Baseball Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida — about an hour away from Alexander’s home in Cape Coral.
The Cardinals are now 7-3 on the season after winning both legs of Saturday's doubleheader.
Ball State's starting pitchers allowed just 12 hits in four games this weekend.
