Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Ball State
Baseball Suffers 13-12 Setback at Ball State
4/30/2010 7:14:21 PM | Baseball
Cardinals score four in the bottom of the ninth to take game one
Box score
MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team dropped game one of a three-game set Friday afternoon, April 30, versus the Ball State University Cardinals, as the Eagles fell, 13-12, after the Cardinals tallied four runs in the bottom of the ninth.
EMU drops to 21-22 overall and 10-6 in Mid-American Conference play with the loss, while BSU improves to 21-21 (12-4 MAC) with the win.
Sophomore Brent Ohrman (Adrian, Mich.-Adrian) had a stellar day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a home run, four runs scored and two RBI in the loss.
Junior Ken Battiston (West Milton, Ohio-Milton Union) went 3-for-4 at the dish with two runs scored, while senior Andrew Marshall (Mason, Mich.-Mason) tallied two hits, including his sixth home run of the season, tying junior Matt Skirving (Midland, Mich.-Midland) for the team lead.
After the Eagles scored one run in the top of the ninth to take a 12-9 advantage, the Cardinals rallied for four runs to win the game, as a walk-off three-run shot by Kolbrin Vitek made the difference. Vitek tallied two round-trippers in the game.
After singling earlier in the inning, Ohrman plated the first run of the game in the top of the first, scoring on a groundout by Skirving to give EMU a 1-0 advantage.
However, the Cardinals answered in the bottom half of the inning, as Vitek hit a two-out solo home run to left field to knot the game at 1-1. Ball State took a three-run lead an inning later, plating three runs on three hits and an EMU error to make it a 4-1 game.
The Eagles limited the deficit to two runs in the top of the third, as Skirving RBI double scored Ohrman to make it a 4-2 game. Magsig made it a one-run game later in the inning on an RBI single to score Skirving and limit Ball State to a 4-3 advantage.
The EMU offense opened the flood gates with two outs in the top of the fourth, as a two-run homer by Ohrman and an RBI double by senior Aaron Crooks (Toledo, Ohio-Ottawa Hills) paved the way for a 7-4 Eastern Michigan lead, forcing Ball State Head Coach Greg Beals to pull starting pitcher Perci Gardner from the game.
However, the Cardinals came back in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game, as a three-run homer by Zach Dygert with two outs made it a 7-7 game, forcing EMU Head Coach Jay Alexander to take out junior starting pitcher Corey Chaffins (New London, Ohio-New London). Chaffins pitched his shortest outing of the season, going three and two-thirds innings and giving up seven runs on nine hits and three walks, while striking out four batters.
After a back and forth battle found EMU ahead, 12-9, going into the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals rallied for four hits, including an RBI single by Beemer and Vitek's walk-off three-run homer, to win the game and take game one of the three-game MAC West series.
The last four regular season meetings between Eastern Michigan and Ball State have come down to final at bats, as all have been decided by one run.
Game two tomorrow, May 1, is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Ball Diamond.
