Ball State baseball prepares for season
By Andy Newman / February 14, 2022With the start of the 2022 a week away, Ball State baseball is chomping at the bit to get their first in game action in over nine months.
With the start of the 2022 a week away, Ball State baseball is chomping at the bit to get their first in game action in over nine months.
In Ball State Softball's first action of the season, they traveled to Chicago for the DePaul Dome Tournament.
The Cardinals finished the job in set four, as senior outside attacker Kaleb Jenness had a team-high 19 kills on a .417 hitting percentage, the highest percentage on the court for players with more than 10 kills.
With two weeks remaining until the indoor Mid-American Conference (MAC) Indoor Championships Feb. 24-26, Wheatley said the Cardinals traveled to Kent State this weekend to prepare for the MAC Indoor Championships, which the Golden Flashes will host.
Redshirt sophomore guard Tyler Cochran contributed 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Cochran also totaled a team-high six steals and defended Buffalo forwards because of foul trouble. Whitford said Cochran did an excellent job adjusting and doing what the coaching staff asked of him.
Since their 54-51 loss against Kent State Jan. 9, the Cardinals had won six of their last eight and five straight. Sallee said Ball State has the opportunity to improve from this loss by emphasizing toughness and understanding its benefit when shots are not falling.
After missing the Feb. 5 match against BYU, graduate student opposite Angelos Mandilaris returned to the Cardinal lineup and recorded a team-high 18 kills.
The Owls have not defeated the Tigers since the 2015-16 season, and Yorktown continued its streak with a 71-64 overtime win against Muncie Burris Feb. 10.
Brehmer admitted he tried to get back into athletics after he left Ball State and when the opportunity emerged for him to take the men’s and women’s diving coach position at his alma mater, he seized it.
Tuesday, Indiana traded away their biggest star in center Domantas Sabonis along with swingmen Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for guards Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and veteran center Tristan Thompson.
Last Friday, the team traveled to Utah to faced Utah State and lost both meets. Despite the losses, they had some impressive stars show out once again for the squad.
As fans stand up and cheer, Ball State public address announcer Tom Simpson welcomes the Cardinals’ starting lineup. Simpson, sitting at the scorer’s table, is about to give himself a vocal workout for the next two hours, announcing everything from scores to fouls to promotional reads.
Freshman center Payton Sparks finished with his fourth consecutive double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds, but accumulated five personal fouls. Sparks said Central Michigan forced him to defend guards along the perimeter, but said he was prepared and knows he will improve defending opposing guards.
In overtime, Central Michigan scored the first six points before Sellers made a layup with 45 seconds to keep Ball State’s hopes alive. They got a steal in the backcourt and freshman center Payton Sparks made a layup to cut the Cardinals’ deficit to 86-84. Ultimately, in the final seconds, Central Michigan was able to make its final free throws and win 89-85.
In the past week, Ball State Men’s Volleyball has defeated no. 1 ranked Hawaii and split matches with no. 9 BYU.
Several Cardinals used the extended break from the cancellation to their advantage by placing in multiple events in the Meyo Invitational hosted by Notre Dame Feb. 4-5.
24 points and 12 rebounds made up the performance, along with three steals and two blocks on defense. Kiefer’s play along with all four other Cardinals' starters scoring in double figures led the Ball State to a 91-80 victory over Bowling Green.
In Ball State’s 93-83 victory against Toledo, the Cardinals shot 14-for-29 from the 3-point line and totaled 17 assists. Bumbalough said the offense opened up because they emphasized sharing the ball.
Graduate student libero Colin Ensalaco led the Cardinals with 12 digs while senior middle blocker Felix Egharevba finished with a team-high six blocks. Cruz said Ball State will learn from this loss and be prepared mentally and physically for the second match of the series.
Junior guard Demarius Jacobs set the tone for what would become a 3-point shooting barrage the rest of the game in Ball State Men’s Basketball’s 93-83 win over Toledo, as he made a 3-pointer in the corner on the first possession.
