March 31, 2006
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. - Despite banging out 17 hits, the Miami RedHawks surrendered 23 hits and dropped game one of a three-game series with Ball State, 19-13 on Friday afternoon.
Ball State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the home half of the first inning on the strength of four hits, including a pair of doubles off Miami starter Keith Weiser (Hamilton, Ohio). The first four batters of the inning collected hits, making it 1-0, before a pair of RBI groundouts staked to Cardinals to a 3-0 edge.
Miami touched Ball State starter BenSnyder for four hits in the top of the fourth and exploded for five runs as the RedHawks took a 5-3 lead. Senior Eric Radley (Hermitage, Tenn.) led off the frame with a double and advanced to third on a single by junior Ryne Robinson (Toledo, Ohio). Radley came in to score on senior Jason Brown's (Fairfield, Ohio) single up the middle. Robinson touched home on the same play as the relay throw by Ball State's shortstop sailed into the third base dugout.
The rally continued as a sacrifice fly by senior Geoff Orr (Orland Park, Ill.) plated Brown to make it 3-3. Senior Jon Franzese (Barrington, Ill.) walked and was followed by freshman Jordan Petraitis (Canal Fulton, Ohio), who plated Miami's first baseman with a double to right centerfield. Petraitis scored one batter later when a potential inning ending ground ball was thrown away by Ball State's shortstop for a 5-3 Miami lead.
A two-run home run to left field by Ball State's Eric Earnhart in the bottom of the fourth inning evened the score, 5-5. Earnhart's shot came after Justin Rogers led off the inning with a single to right. Matt Singleton put the Cardinals back in front with an RBI single to left that plated Matt Gard from third base.
Later in the inning, a three-run shot to center field by C.J. Webb and a solo blast by Chris Pestle gave Ball State a 10-5 lead before tacking on unearned run with two outs to cap off an eight-run fourth inning and give the Cardinals an 11-5 lead.
Ball State increased its lead to 17-5 with a pair of runs in the fifth and four runs in the sixth off sophomore lefthander Matt Erwood (Atlanta, Ga.), who replaced Weiser to start the fifth. The Cardinals added a fifth run off freshman Tommy Nurry (Cincinnati, Ohio) to take an 18-5 lead after six innings.
A two-run double to right centerfield by Franzese in the top of the seventh cut Ball State's lead to 18-7, scoring Brown and Orr from second and first, respectively. Junior Brandon Hillier (Hinsdale, Ill.) made it 18-9 with a two-RBI single that plated Franzese and Petraitis.
Ball State added a single run in the seventh to take a 19-9 lead but Miami responded with four runs in the ninth to make the final score 19-13.
The teams play game two of the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. Senior Graham Taylor (Villa Hills, Ky.) is slated to start on the mound for Miami.
NOTES: SR Eric Radley's double in the third inning was Miami's first extra-base hit in 20 innings ... FR Ryan Bennett had his first collegiate at-bat in the ninth inning, singling and driving in two runs.
