MUNCIE, IN – The Northern Illinois University baseball team lost the final game of its weekend series against the Ball State Cardinals Sunday afternoon 11-1 in seven innings at the Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
Ball State (25-11, 16-4 MAC) got off to a fast start, with its first five batters all getting a hit off of starter Ryan Anderson (Palatine, Ill./McHenry C.C.) in the bottom of the first. Back-to-back RBI singles from Ross Messina and Nick Powell put the Cardinals up 2-0. Ryan Peltier followed with a double to right field that brought Messina around to score the third run. Anderson got Trenton Quartermaine to ground out for the first out of the inning, but Powell scored from third to make the score 4-0. The senior right-hander got the next two outs to get out of the inning.
NIU (7-27, 6-14 MAC) put its first runner on base in the top of the second when Dylan Lonteen (Peoria, Ill./Illinois Central College) reached on an error. Brady Huebbe (Peru, Ill./Illinois Valley C.C.) then got the Huskies' first hit with a single off of Ball State starting pitcher Trennor O'Donnell to give NIU runners at first and second with one out. O'Donnell erased the threat with a flyout and groundout to keep the Cardinals ahead 4-0.
Anderson settled in after a bumpy first inning, allowing two hits over the next three innings while retiring the side in the third. Ball State extended its lead in the bottom of the fifth, scoring seven runs on five hits to take an 11-0 lead. Jake Dunham put the Huskies on the board in the top of the sixth with his third home run of the season, a solo shot that made the score 11-1. NIU got its first two batters on base in the top of the seventh on a Malik Peters (Calumet City, Ill./Mount Carmel) single and a pinch-hit walk from Paxton Kennedy (Mendota, Ill./Illinois Valley C.C.). Ball State relief pitcher Mac Ayres then got a double play and a ground out to lock up the win and the series sweep for the Cardinals.
"We didn't control the big innings today and it got us," said head coach Mike Kunigonis. "We need to do a better job of limiting the damage in an inning. It hurt us this weekend and we will get back to work this week and be ready to play against Akron."
The Huskies open an eight-game homestand on Friday, April 30 when the Akron Zips come to Ralph McKinzie Field for the start of a four-game series. First pitch is at 2 p.m.
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April 26, 2021 at 03:33AM
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NIU Drops Final Game Of Weekend At Ball State - Northern Illinois University Athletics
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