KALAMAZOO, Mich. – For the second consecutive day, a late rally handed the Western Michigan baseball team a close loss to Ball State, with the visitors claiming the finale, 7-5, to take the rubber match of the series.
 
FINAL SCORE: Ball State 7, Western Michigan 5
LOCATION: Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (10-11, 6-3 MAC) | Ball State (12-10, 7-2)
W: John Chambers (3-3) | L: Matt Hoover (1-1) | Save: Jeremy Jones (2)
 
The Cardinals opened the scoring with a pair in the top of the first.  
 
Western Michigan countered with three in the third to move in front. Cooper Hums got the Broncos started with a one-out triple, and then scored on a double by Drew Howard. Mark Mennecke tied it with an RBI single, and Connor Ostrander then delivered a two-out knock to give the Brown and Gold a 3-2 edge.
 
The score remained the same until the seventh inning as pitching settled in on both sides. WMU starter Ricky Kidd retired 11 consecutive Cardinals at one point, and faced just one more than the minimum over his final 5.0 innings. The right-hander gave the Broncos a career-high tying 7.0 innings, limiting BSU to two runs on five hits while notching a career-high five strikeouts.
 
Western Michigan tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, taking advantage of a pair of Ball State errors to make it 4-2.
 
The Cardinals edged a run closer in the eighth, and then moved ahead, 7-4, with a four-run ninth.
 
Hums led off the bottom of the ninth with a bunt single, and a pair of walks followed to load the bases for the Brown and Gold. Hums scored on a double play, but WMU was unable to get any closer in the final frame.
 
The Broncos step outside of conference play on Tuesday for a trip to South Bend, Ind., to face Notre Dame. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 pm.