MAC Bats: May 3

Ball State 6, Northern Illinois 2

With Central Michigan’s game against Bowling Green getting rained out yesterday, the Cardinals (29-15, 13-4 MAC) were able to occupy the top of the MAC standings by itself as they earned the win over the Huskies (14-30, 10-9 MAC). After a 2-2 tie after three innings, it was all Ball State as a John Ricotta two-run home run and a RBI-triple from Justin Conant in the fourth inning as well as a Ryan Peltier RBI-single in the eighth inning helped power BSU to victory. Drey Jamison was dominant on the mound as he went eight innings with 16 strikeouts, six hits allowed, two runs, two walks, and a hit batsman.

Kent State 6, Toledo 3

It was a game defined by power as the Flashes (23-20, 10-7 MAC) registered three extra-base hits while the Rockets (15-28, 3-14 MAC) collected none on the day. It was all KSU after the 1-1 tie in the first as it used a Collin Mathews sacrifice fly, a Michael Turner-RBI double, and a Kian O’Brien RBI-single in the third inning to take a lead that it did not relinquish. Ben Carew also had himself a productive day as he went 2-4 with two runs scored while both relievers for UT and KSU (Bryce Davis and Tyler Drabick respectively) both turned in over three innings of no-hit baseball.

Miami 5, Ohio 1

The RedHawks (33-12, 13-6 MAC) won their second consecutive game in convincing fashion as an unearned run by the Bobcats (15-27, 9-10 MAC) in the fourth inning kept this game from being a shutout. Landon Stephens had himself a day for the ‘Hawks as he went 2-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs, a double, and a homer. Sam Bachman picked up his seventh win of the year with five hits allowed, five strikeouts, and two walks in six innings of action.

Western Michigan 4, Eastern Michigan 2

The Broncos (14-26, 7-10 MAC) picked up three of its four runs with two outs left in innings as the dealt the Eagles (11-34-1, 6-13 MAC) their second straight loss. EMU’s Zachary Owings and Nick Jones delivered RBI-singles in the fifth inning to give the team a 2-0 lead, but WMU responded in the bottom of the inning with a score off of a defensive error and an Andrew Stone RBI-double. The Broncos extended their lead even further in the following inning with a Nate Grys sacrifice fly and a Jesse Forestell solo homer. The pitching staffs were fairly even as they both only allowed two earned runs, but WMU eked out a win thanks to only six hits allowed and eight strikeouts.