Ohio continued its seven-game road trip, taking on the Ball State Cardinals in a weekend series, which resulted in a three-game sweep in favor of the Cardinals.
The first game on Friday was an all-around rout with the Cardinals winning 10-0 and throwing the team’s second no-hitter since 2019. The Cardinals were led by sophomore Brendan Garza, who finished his outing with seven punchouts, two walks, and two hit by pitches.
The Cardinals put up 10 runs on 17 hits, with their top of the order dominant, combining for 7 runs and seven hits.
After going back to the drawing board for game two, both teams were going run for run in a competitive 14-7 win for the Cardinals. The Bobcats came out strong as grad student Colton Shirley drew a lead-off walk, before senior Cam Hill drove him home on a double off the center field wall to give the Bobcats an early lead.
Ball State responded in the bottom of the first, drawing back-to-back one-out walks before a single to left tied the game at one apiece. The Bobcats threw a punch back of their own after a two-out walk to freshman Sean Fox, junior Tyler Stack crushed a 2-run home run over the left field wall to give Ohio a 3-1 lead.
That lead did not last long as the Cardinals knotted the score back to 3-3 with a leadoff walk, passed ball, two singles and a throwing error from Stack as the teams continued to battle for momentum. Ball State continued to pour it on, scoring 5 unanswered runs over the next three innings.
In the third inning, defensive miscues led to a one-out rally for the Cardinals after giving up back-to-back singles to open the inning, a throwing error by fifth-year Will Henson plated a run, followed by an RBI single to grant Ball State a 5-3 lead.
In the fourth inning, the Bobcats went to the pen, calling on sophomore lefty Hunter Winston to limit the damage. After a single and a hit by pitch to start the inning, Winston generated a fielder’s choice to third before a single dribbled through to left center to tack on another run.
Ball State added two more to its lead in the fifth after a one-out bunt single. Brayden Huebner hit a 2-run 400-foot moonshot to left field to give him his fourth home run of the season before ending the fifth with an 8-3 lead.
Ohio did not go down without a fight, as in the sixth, Grant Wilson singled to left before Cameron Boyd brought him home on a double down the left field line. Following a strikeout, Fox scored Boyd with another double to left to end the sixth down 8-5.
Hill opened the seventh with a 412-foot solo shot to center field. Senior Dylan Shepherd followed with a long triple to right field before Henson added his second RBI of the game on a sac fly, cutting the deficit to 8-7.
However, the comeback was not enough as Ball State exploded for 6 runs on six hits and 3 runs. After an opening strikeout, the Cardinals got a one-out single followed by a steal that drove the first run home on a throwing error from Henson.
They continued the rally with an RBI double, a two-RBI double and a shallow hit single. The game ended in a 14-7 victory for the Cardinals.
In the final game of the series, the Cardinals continued where they left off, jumping out to a 4-0 lead early in the second, scoring 2 runs on two wild pitches with one out and bases juiced and two RBI triples.
The Bobcats cut the deficit to one in the third, with runners on first and third, Shepherd drove him one on a double to right. Followed with a sac fly to right center, and finishing with a shallow RBI single from junior Taylor Harris.
The Cardinals kept the lead, scoring 9 unanswered runs between the third and fifth innings, extending their lead to 13-3 headed into the top of the seventh. The Bobcats didn’t go down without a fight, scoring 4 runs.
After a leadoff single from senior Reese Harmon, senior Cale Steinbaugh crushed a 2-run shot to left field to generate a rally. Ohio added two more, loading the bases with two outs with a hit by pitch and a walk to cut the deficit to 7-13.
The Cardinals ended the game, tacking on 4 more runs in the seventh with a 3-run home run to end the game. The Cardinals finished the series outscoring Ohio 41-14 and outhitting Ohio 51-20.
The Bobcats look to get back on track on Tuesday when they round out their road trip with a matchup against Marshall in Huntington.
