Three Ball State University athletes earned Mid-American Conference weekly honors, as announced by the MAC office Monday afternoon. Baseball's Kolbrin Vitek and Morgan Coombs and men's basketball's Randy Davis were selected for their productive weeks for the Cardinals.
Ball State used only two pitchers Saturday. Cal Bowling started the game and pitched four innings, allowing one run. Morgan Coombs (1-0) relieved the sophomore and threw five gutsy innings for the victory. The right-hander was in trouble throughout his outing, but was able to escape jam after jam. Arkansas had at least one runner on base in each of the first eight innings and stranded 12 in all.
Ball State returns to MAC play Wednesday as it plays host to Eastern Michigan University in its final home game of the regular season. The Cardinals look to avenge a 57-53 loss to the Eagles in Ypsilanti, Mich., on Jan. 23.
The Cardinals return to the field Friday as they begin play in the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. Ball State faces East Tennessee State, Wright State, Austin Peay, Central Connecticut State and Tennessee-Martin in the three-day event.
Ball State last defeated a ranked team last year, when they pounded No. 23 Ohio State University 20-8 April 22. It was also Ball State's first win against a school from the Southeastern Conference since the 2006 NCAA Tournament, when it upset the University of Kentucky.
The win over Saint Francis snaps a two-match losing streak for the Cardinals, who had lost three of their last four going into the match.
The team was soundly beaten by the University of Cincinnati, 6-1, extending its losing streak to four matches. Now with a 4-5 record, the Cardinals have fallen under .500 for the first time this season.
Ball State (11-15, 5-8 MAC) returns to play Tuesday as it plays host to Northern Illinois University with a 7 p.m. tipoff at Worthen Arena.
If the Cardinals are going to win today, they place they will need to minimize mistakes is on the balance beam. Ball State had three consecutive falls on the beam last week, which caused its loss to Bowling Green State University.
The non-conference win moved Ball State to 8-4 (2-3 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) with a pair of conference matches at home this week. The Cardinals play host to IPFW on Thursday before hosting Lewis University on Friday.
Ball State completes play in the tournament today with a 10:30 a.m. first pitch against Southern Illinois University (7-2), winners of five in a row.
In what was a very competitive meet, Ball State won the vault with a season-best 48.525 along with the floor Sunday. Illinois State took the beam honors and Texas Woman's triumphed on the bars.
The Cardinals improved their record to 5-3 on the season after consecutive 7-0 sweeps of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Anderson University in their doubleheader Sunday at the Muncie Northwest YMCA Tennis Center.
Over the next two weeks the team is playing six matches, including two doubleheaders, and coach Bill Richards will find out pretty quickly whether all the work has paid off.
The Cardinals return today to face Mercer University (3-3) in the first game and then play host Kennesaw State University (2-0) in the nightcap.
Jumping out to an early lead, Ball State held on and defeated No. 15 Arkansas 5-2 Saturday afternoon.
The two teams will resume their three-game series today at 2 p.m. Arkansas, however, will likely be without second baseman Bo Bigham. The sophomore dove for a ball in the outfield and landed awkwardly on his left arm. He left the game with what was later reported as a dislocated shoulder.
Next week, the Cardinals will gear up and travel north to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to compete in the MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The event begins Friday at 10 a.m.
Ball State defeated Western Michigan 70-55 Jan. 6 at Worthen Arena to kick off Mid-American Conference action. Since then, both teams have struggled. The Cardinals (10-15, 4-8 MAC) have been snake-bitten with troubles in different aspects of their game on different nights, making it difficult for coach Kelly Packard to find a solution.
