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4
Winner Ball State BALL 3-2
3
Bradley BRAD 0-1
Winner
Ball State BALL
3-2
4
Final
3
Bradley BRAD
0-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Ball State BALL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 8 1
Bradley BRAD 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 2 3

W: ORSELLI, Andre (1-0) L: Hickey, Troy (0-1)

0
Bradley BRAD 0-2
5
Winner Ball State BALL 4-2
Bradley BRAD
0-2
0
Final
5
Ball State BALL
4-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Bradley BRAD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
Ball State BALL 0 4 0 0 0 1 X 5 4 0

W: McDERMOTT, Chayce (1-0) L: King, Nick (0-1)

Dan Bolt Eli Rawlinson vs Evansville March 30, 2019
James Franks

Pitchers Headline as #30 Ball State Sweeps Opening DH

Ball State pitchers limited the Braves to four hits in 17 innings to sweep Friday's season-opening twinbill, 4-3 in 10 innings and 5-0 in seven innings

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Game Recap: Baseball | | Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications
NORMAL, IL – Pitching dominated the night as #30 Ball State limited Bradley (0-2) to three runs on four hits in 17 combined innings to earn a doubleheader sweep Friday night at The Corn Crib.  The Cardinals (4-2), who split a season-opening series at Arizona last weekend, took Friday's first game, 4-3 in 10 innings and then completed took a 5-0 win in seven innings in the nightcap.
 
As of Tuesday, Ball State was scheduled to visit Charleston Southern for a weekend series, while the Braves were not scheduled to open the 2021 campaign until next weekend at New Orleans.  After CSU was forced to cancel its series against the Cardinals due to an Athletics-wide COVID-19 pause, they became an available opponent as Bradley looked to take advantage in the break in the area's winter weather.
 
The two teams will complete the 3-game series with a single game at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Corn Crib.  Live stats coverage of Saturday's finale will be available at BradleyBraves.com.
 
Game 1 Recap: #30 Ball State 4, Bradley 3 (10 inn)
Making his Bradley Baseball debut after transferring from Fort Scott C.C., junior RHP Dalton Mall struck out 10 and allowed just two unearned runs on four hits in 6.0 innings, but Ball State starter John Baker allowed just two hits with 12 strikeouts in his 8.2 innings, highlighting a pitching duel to open the 2021 season.
 
Mall struck out three of the first six first Ball State hitters he faced and kept the Cardinals off the board in the first two innings, before running into trouble in the third.  Ball State shortstop Justin Conant led off the third by reaching on a throwing error by his Bradley counterpart, freshman TJ Manteufel, advancing to second on the play.  Noah Navarro moved Conant with a sacrifice and he came home with the game's first run on a wild pitch.  After consecutive singles, Mall battled Cardinals cleanup hitter Nick Powell for an 8-pitch strikeout, but DH Decker Scheffler came through with a 2-out single on an 0-2 pitch for a 2-0 Ball State lead before Mall closed out the inning with his fifth strikeout.
 
Ball State starter John Baker cruised through the Bradley lineup in order through the first 3.2 innings, retiring the first 11 Braves he faced, until Dan Bolt broke up the perfect start with a deep blast to right field.  The Missouri Valley Conference preseason Player of the Year according to several media outlets, Bolt smashed seven home runs in Bradley's 10-game 2020 season and now has 24 in his career.
 
Mall started his third trip around the Ball State order by striking out the side in the fifth inning, the first two each on three pitches, but Baker returned the favor by fanning the Braves in order in the home half of the fifth.
 
Mall made it eight consecutive strikeouts by the two hurlers by opening the sixth with his 10th strikeout, but he plunked Scheffler to end the string.  Scheffler stole second and took third on an infield single to put runner on the corners with one out, but Mall induced a double play to end his day at 111 pitches.
 
Senior RHP Jed Moscot relieved Mall to start the seventh, but he got into immediate trouble when pinch hitter Zach Losey greeted him with a bloop single, advanced to second on an error by rightfielder Eli Rawlinson and took third on a wild pitch.  Conant grounded out to third, however, and Losey was caught at the plate trying to steal home to erase the threat.  Moscot turned in 3.0 scoreless innings, giving the Braves a chance to rally.
 
Entering the ninth at 102 pitches, Baker remained in the game to face the top of Bradley's order.  Brendan Dougherty legged out an infield single to get the inning started.  Ryan Vogel executed a sacrifice bunt and the Cardinals elected to intentionally walk Bolt to put the go-ahead run on base with one out.  Connor O'Brien flied out to right field to push the tying run to third with two outs and Dougherty came home with the tying run Navarro could not come up with a Keaton Rice ground ball to second.
 
Using the international tie-breaker rules, each team started the 10th inning with a runner on second base.  Bradley's third pitcher, Troy Hickey (L, 0-1), got the top of the 10th started by inducing a pop out on a Conant bunt attempt.  Navarro made up for his ninth-inning error by hustling to second base for a bloop double down the left field line that advanced the leadoff runner to third.  After Trenton Quartermaine flied out to shallow left, Ross Messina delivered a clutch, 2-run single to left to put the Cardinals back out in front, 4-2.
 
David Fleita, who entered as a defensive replacement in right field to start the inning, began the home half of the 10th as the runner at second base and took third on a Carson Husmann ground out against Ball State reliever Andre Orselli (W, 1-0).  Manteufel pulled Bradley to within, 4-3 with a sacrifice fly to center field, but with the bases empty and two outs, the Braves could not complete the rally.
 
Game 2 Recap:  #30 Ball State 5, Bradley 0 (7 inn)
Ball State's pitchers turned in a second stellar outing, blanking the Braves on two hits in the 7-inning nightcap Friday.
 
Junior RHP Nick King (L, 0-1) overcame a leadoff walk in the first inning by inducing a pair of ground balls to ease out of the frame unscathed, but he could not overcome a tough of wildness in the second inning, when he loaded the bases with one out on two walks and a hit batter.  Freshman Taylor Catton got caught Tyler Hinrikus looking, but surrendered a 4-pitch walk to plate the game's first run, before Navarro laced a 3-run triple down the right field line for a 4-0 Ball State lead.
 
While Catton held Ball State at bay into the sixth inning, the Braves managed little offense against Cardinals starter Chayce McDermott (W, 1-0), who allowed a lone hit with a walk and seven strikeouts in his 5.0 IP.  Bradley's best opportunity to score came in the fifth inning, when McDermott plunked Rawlinson and Logan Delgado in consecutive, 2-out plate appearances, but he rebounded with his fifth strikeout of the night to silence the threat.
 
Lefty Tyler Schweitzer relieved McDermott to start the sixth inning and promptly struck out the side.
 
Catton, the second-year freshman who led the 2020 Bradley staff with a 1.86 ERA, worked 4.2 innings for the Braves, allowing two runs on four hits with two walks and a career-best eight strikeouts.  Catton's previous best was five strikeouts in 5.0 IP Feb. 21, 2020 at Lipscomb.
 
The Cardinals gained some insurance against Catton in the sixth when Conant came through with a 2-out, RBI single.  Eli Campbell relieved and got the final out on a line out, stranding runners on the corners.
 
The Braves threatened again in their final at-bat, when Connor O'Brien led off the seventh with a double, but Schweitzer recovered by inducing consecutive pop outs from pinch-hitter Connor Manthey and Rawlinson, before striking out Delgado to close out the sweep.
 
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Players Mentioned

Dan Bolt

#35 Dan Bolt

OF
6' 1"
Senior
L/R
Eli Campbell

#8 Eli Campbell

RHP
6' 5"
Sophomore
R/R
Taylor Catton

#22 Taylor Catton

RHP
5' 10"
Freshman
R/R
Brendan Dougherty

#26 Brendan Dougherty

IF
6' 2"
Senior
L/R
David Fleita

#42 David Fleita

IF
6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
Troy Hickey

#31 Troy Hickey

LHP
6' 0"
Junior
L/L
Carson Husmann

#13 Carson Husmann

OF
6' 1"
Freshman
R/R
Nick King

#34 Nick King

RHP
6' 5"
Junior
R/R
Connor Manthey

#28 Connor Manthey

C/IF
6' 1"
Sophomore
R/R
Jed Moscot

#43 Jed Moscot

RHP
6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Dan Bolt

#35 Dan Bolt

6' 1"
Senior
L/R
OF
Eli Campbell

#8 Eli Campbell

6' 5"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Taylor Catton

#22 Taylor Catton

5' 10"
Freshman
R/R
RHP
Brendan Dougherty

#26 Brendan Dougherty

6' 2"
Senior
L/R
IF
David Fleita

#42 David Fleita

6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
IF
Troy Hickey

#31 Troy Hickey

6' 0"
Junior
L/L
LHP
Carson Husmann

#13 Carson Husmann

6' 1"
Freshman
R/R
OF
Nick King

#34 Nick King

6' 5"
Junior
R/R
RHP
Connor Manthey

#28 Connor Manthey

6' 1"
Sophomore
R/R
C/IF
Jed Moscot

#43 Jed Moscot

6' 3"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
RHP