April 1, 2006
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. - A strong pitching performance by Ball State's Tyler Pritchard limited the Miami RedHawks to just three hits as the Cardinals downed the RedHawks, 5-0, on Saturday afternoon at Ball Diamond. The win was Ball State's sixth in a row.
A two-out home run by Ball State's Brad Miller staked the Cardinals to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. After starter Graham Taylor (Villa Hills. Ky.) retired the first two batters of the inning, Miller deposited a 2-2 pitch over the wall in right field.
Chris Pestle made it 2-0 for Ball State in the bottom of the second when he took Taylor's 2-0 offering and lofted it just beyond the wall in right for his third long ball of the season.
Ball State added another run in the top of the third inning on three hits before senior Geoff Orr (Orland Park, Ill.) logged Miami's first hit of the afternoon, a single to center with one out in the top of the fourth.
Neither team put a run on the board until Pestle made it 5-0 for with his second home run of the afternoon, a two-run shot that left the park in nearly the same spot as his shot in the second.
Taylor tossed a complete game and was tagged with the loss as he allowed nine hits and fanned six batters to drop to 1-4 on the season. Pritchard went 7.1 innings and punched out six RedHawks to move to 3-1 on the year. Kyle Heyne earned his fourth save of the year.
The RedHawks and Cardinals play the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Ball Diamond. Sophomore John Ely (Homewood, Ill.) is slated to start on the mound for Miami.
