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Box Score 2 Muncie, Ind. – The Western Michigan baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader at Ball State Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals won game one 21-1 before taking game two 13-3 at Ball Diamond.
The Broncos fall to 8-20 and 1-5 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) while the Cardinals improved to 21-12 and 7-2 in the MAC.
In game one, the BSU offense was hot all game long outhitting the Broncos 21-6. The Cardinals scored four runs early in the bottom of the first and WMU never recovered. BSU added a run in the bottom of the second, four more in the bottom of the fourth and put the game out of reach with nine in the bottom of the sixth.
For the Broncos, freshman Jesse Forestell drove in a run on an RBI double that plated freshman Andrew Stone, who reached on a fielding error earlier in the inning. Forestell extended his hitting streak to eight games on that double. Freshman Conner Henderson went 2-for-2 as he entered as a pinch hitter and finished the game as the designated hitter. Junior Nick Vogelmeier, freshman Connor Smith and junior Grant Miller all added a hit as well.
In game two, WMU scored two runs in the top of the fourth and added another in the top of the eighth inning. BSU jumped out to a 6-0 lead before WMU was able to push its first runs across. In the top of the fourth, Hunter Prince led things off with a single to center field and Forestell extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single to put runners on first and second with no outs. After both runners moved up on a wild pitch, senior Mitchell Ho drove in Prince on a single to left field and Forestell came around to score on a throwing error by the third baseman. WMU added their third run in the top of the eighth inning, where Stone led off with a walk and moved to third on Evan Nelson's single through the right side. Prince drove in Stone on a sacrifice fly to center field for his 11th RBI of the season.
The Broncos offense was balanced as seven different players had a single in the game while Smith had the only extra base hit, a double in the top of the fifth inning. First baseman Caleb Stayton had a huge day for the Cardinals, going 9-for-11 with eight runs, 10 RBI, three doubles, a triple and a home run in both games combined.
The Broncos host Valparaiso in midweek action on Tuesday, April 12 at 3 p.m. at Hyames Field. Follow the Broncos on Twitter @WMUBaseball for all updates about the team!
