Ball State Baseball (23-8, 10-2 MAC) went 2-1 in its final non-conference series of the season against The Citadel (15-16, 1-5 Southern). The Cardinals return to action April 11 at 6 p.m. against Indiana University (20-10, 5-2 B1GTEN) in Bloomington.
Through the archery club and team, Wes-Del Community School students find passion in alternative ways. Wes-Del is one of two out of eight Delaware County schools that offers archery to students.
The Broncos (11-7, 2-4 MAC) certainly took that into consideration Friday, as they tweaked their lineups from the last time they played Ball State (16-3, 5-1 MAC) on March 18, which saw the Cardinals sweep them 7-0. Coach Rifanty Kahfiani expected some changes from the Western Michigan side of things, and was ready for it. She had the team reflect on things that worked well for them in the first match, and take that into the second matchup.
With just four matches left, Ball State Men’s Tennis (10-9, 2-5 MAC) had a must-win match ahead of them Friday. The Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament takes only the top four teams. Coming into the day, the Cardinals stood a game-and-a-half behind the Buffalo Bulls for that coveted No. 4 spot. They had to start making up ground.
“We trained really hard,” head coach Donan Cruz said. “Our team is in a good rhythm and the guys are buying into what we are doing at this point of the year. We just emphasized how important it is for us to execute the little things and I thought tonight was a good reflection of that.”
“This group has just been amazing. They are good at communicating and putting away distractions and coming together towards a common goal,” said Head Coach Joanna Saleem.
On Tuesday evening, Ball State softball looked to get back in the win column after being swept by Ohio. This time, they traveled to South Bend to tangle with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. But after the lights were shut down and Melissa Cook Stadium went silent, the Cardinals (16-17, 6-5 Mid-American Conference) hopped on the bus with another loss.
Ball State finished 15th out of 16 at the Colonel Classic in Richmond, Kentucky. The Ball State’s five-person lineup consisted of freshman Madelin Boyd, freshman Jasmine Driscoll, freshman Sarah Gallagher, sophomore Payton Bennett and graduate student Peyton Broce.
“You have a 25 win season, and you win 4 championships this year,” Luce said, “There’s a reason for it, we have good players.”
After taking over first place in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) last week, Ball State Softball looked to hold that position. But after being swept by the Ohio Bobcats in Athens, Ohio, the Cardinals are now in fifth place while the Bobcats top the conference.
The Cardinals (15-3, 4-1 MAC) picked up a hard-fought 5-2 win, putting them in a good spot at the midway point of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular season. They’ve won four out of their five matches in conference play, and remain just one game behind the Toledo Rockets for first place in the conference.
In a three-game weekend series March 31 and April 2, Ball State Baseball (20-7, 10-2 MAC) went 2-1 against Akron (12-16, 5-8 MAC) in Ohio. The Cardinals return to action April 4 when they take on Bellarmine (8-20, 3-6 ASUN) at 3 p.m. at Ball Diamond at First Merchant's Ballpark Complex in Muncie, Ind.
In what was their final road stretch of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) portion of their schedule, Ball State Men’s Volleyball won both of their matches. First, the Cardinals won in straight sets (25-18, 25-21, 25-20) over McKendree on March 30, followed by a five-set (25-22, 25-19, 21-25, 17-25, 15-12) thriller against Lewis Saturday.
Ball State soccer was back in spring action at home with a 1-1 draw in a spring match against Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats April 1.
Friday was the second time in three weeks that Ball State (10-8, 2-4 MAC) and the Toledo Rockets (11-5, 3-2 MAC) matched up. The Rockets took the first match on March 11 by a score of 4-3. The Cardinals were looking to make some adjustments and pick up a quality road win. After losing once again by the same score to the same team, it’s another close match that the team let slip away.
Ball State (14-3, 3-1 MAC) is in a different position than in previous years. After losing last Sunday against conference-rival Toledo, the Cardinals no longer own the top spot in the conference standings. This week was all about how the team would respond to adversity. After a sweep of the Northern Illinois Huskies (11-11, 1-3 MAC) Friday, the Cardinals’ focus is reset as the conference season heads towards the home stretch.
This week was all about how the team would respond to adversity. After a sweep of the Northern Illinois Huskies (11-11, 1-3 MAC) Friday, the Cardinals’ focus is reset as the conference season heads towards the home stretch.
A 60-page PowerPoint helped Nick Elam bring his basketball idea to reality. What began as an idea between his friends watching March Madness soon turned into a 300-page book with one major takeaway: get rid of the clock in the waning moments of the game.
“This might be the best group of throwers and cutters that I’ve seen just all together,” said Koch. “That came from just recruiting and I just don’t think we’ve seen a better class up until this point.”
After some mid-week Mid-American Conference (MAC) play at home, Ball State is now the No. 1 team in the conference. To do so, they defeated Northern Illinois 2-1.
