ATHENS, Ohio ? Seven Ball State runs in the top of the first inning put the game out of reach and sealed a game two victory for the Cardinals over Ohio Saturday, 11-3, in Mid-American Conference baseball at Bob Wren Stadium.

Ball State (29-13, 14-4 MAC) sent 11 hitters to the plate in the first and tapped Ohio starter Anthony Gressick (Lancaster, Ohio) for seven runs, all unearned. Four hits, three Bobcat errors, a balk and a run-scoring wild pitch in the opening stanza put Ohio in a hole it would never find a way out of.

?Anthony wasn?t sharp by any means,? said Ohio Head Coach Joe Carbone. ?And we didn?t field the baseball for him. Defensively we made some bad plays out there in the first inning.?

The seven-run cushion was more than enough for Ball State starter Ben Snyder (7-3). The freshman left-hander was nearly unhittable through the first six innings, before hitting a road bump in the seventh. But, with his club having posted 10 runs by that point, a three-run Ohio (21-18-1, 8-7-1 MAC) seventh did no damage. Snyder earned his seventh-win of the season, allowing three runs on seven hits, striking out eight and walking three.

?He was the difference-maker out there today,? Carbone said. ?He?s the best left-hander we faced all year. He?s got a nasty breaking ball, good changeup, throws strikes and was very efficient with all his pitches. You just can?t spot them seven runs and expect to beat a guy like that.?

Gressick was replaced after five innings with the score 8-0. After the first, the junior settled in and allowed the Cardinals just one more hit and one more run. Through five, Gressick (2-2) surrendered eight runs - only one of which was earned - on five hits, walking four and striking out four in the losing effort.

Zeke Isaacs (West Carrollton, Ohio) came on in relief of Gressick in the sixth and kept the Cardinals quiet for an inning. Ball State pushed a pair of insurance runs across in the seventh, however, using a walk and a couple hits to increase the lead to 10-0.

Ohio lit up the scoreboard for the first time in the seventh, manufacturing its first run of the contest. Ben Crabtree (Roxbury, Conn.) led off the inning with a single and after a walk and another single loaded the bases, Jared Willis (Logan W.Va.) hit a nubber to the first baseman and drove in Crabtree.

Later in the inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Bryan Buck (Hudson, Ohio) doubled off the wall in left, driving in two more and cutting the deficit back to seven.

Ball State pushed one more across in the eighth off Isaacs, taking an 11-3 advantage. With two outs and runners on the corners, Carbone went to his bullpen again, this time calling for Daniel Utts (Circleville, Ohio). The left-hander struck out the first hitter he faced and stranded a pair.

Ball State reliever Kyle Heyne kept the Bobcats quiet in the eighth and ninth to knot the series at one apiece.

Crabtree?s seventh inning single was the 256th of his career. The senior now stands 13 hits shy of becoming Ohio?s all-time hit leader.

Gressick was 2-for-4 at the plate and Jason Selhorst (Ottawa, Ohio) went 2-for-2 with a run scored after entering late in the game.

The Cats and Cards will tangle once more, as the series comes to a close Sunday with the rubber game slated for 1 p.m. at Bob Wren Stadium. Ohio will trot out John Angelicchi (Woodmere, Ohio) (3-0), while Ball State will counter with Michael Hale (4-1).