April 2, 2010
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
MUNCIE, Ind. - A four-run fifth inning for the Ball State Cardinals proved to be the difference, as the Miami University baseball team was unable to rally after the Cardinals broke a 2-2 tie and fell to BSU in the series opener, 6-3, Friday afternoon at Ball Diamond. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak the RedHawks (11-13, 1-3 Mid-American Conference) had against Ball State (9-15, 3-1 MAC), who held its home opener Friday after playing its first 23 games on the road.
Strong pitching on both sides made for a quick game (two hours exactly), as the teams combined for just 12 hits--eight by Ball State and four by Miami. BSU starter Perci Garner (3-0) earned the win, tossing six innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks, while RedHawk starter Tyler Melling (Bellefontaine, Ohio) took the loss (1-3), conceding six runs (three earned) on six hits in six frames of work with three strikeouts.
Junior second baseman Jon Edgington (Cincinnati, Ohio) led Miami at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run, while sophomore centerfielder Ryan Curl (Columbus, Ohio) belted his second longball of the season and scored two runs. Cardinal second baseman Kolbrin Vitek went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored to lead Ball State.
Edgington led off the game with a solo shot to left field--his first round-tripper of the season--but the Cardinals answered with an RBI single from first baseman Ian Nielsen and a sac fly by left fielder Kory Benbow in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead after one. Miami quickly evened the score in the top of the third however, on Curl's solo blast to dead centerfield.
Melling kept Ball State at bay over the next three innings, sitting the Cardinals down in order each time, but in the fifth, BSU plated four runs to go up 6-2. A throwing error allowed centerfielder Cody Elliott to score the first run after leading off with a double while an RBI double by Vitek and a two-run home run by catcher Zach Dygert completed the outburst, with the final three runs coming unearned.
Curl trotted home again in the sixth on a double play groundout to close the gap to three, but three different Cardinal relievers combined to keep Miami hitless over the final three frames, including Aaron Hammons, who tossed the ninth inning to pick up his second save of 2010 and secure the 6-3 BSU victory. Sophomore reliever Matt Rosinski (University Heights, Ohio) kept the Cardinals scoreless after replacing Melling, but the 'Hawks were unable to mount the comeback.
The RedHawks and Cardinals will square off again Saturday in the middle game of their three-game set with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. ET.
--MURedHawks.com--
Notes: Junior second baseman Jon Edgington's leadoff homer was the first extra-base hit Ball State starting pitcher Perci Garner had allowed all year (23 innings) ... Edgington's round-tripper was Miami's first leadoff home run to start a game since current junior Adam Eaton did so on April 24, 2009 at Bowling Green ... Miami dropped the opening game of a MAC series for the second straight week, after falling to Central Michigan in its MAC opener last Friday ... The RedHawks fell to 0-4 in Friday games in 2010 ... Ball State has now won 14 straight home openers.
