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FINAL: Ohio (11-14, 2-2 MAC) 12, Ball State (15-12, 2-2 MAC) 6 -- 10 Innings -- Muncie, Ind. (Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex)

OHIO STARTERS: Mitch Longo (LF), Manny De Jesus (CF), Ty Black (2B), John Adryan (3B), Cody Gaertner (C), Rudy Rott (1B), Tony Giannini (RF), Nate Squires (DH), Tyler Finkler (SS), Jake Miller (P)

BALL STATE STARTERS: Matt Eppers (CF), Alex Call (RF), Caleb Stayton (1B), Jarett Rindfleisch (C), Alex Maloney (SS), Ryan Spaulding (2B), Colin Brockhouse (DH), Sean Kennedy (3B), Roman Baisa (LF), Zach Plesac (P)

THE BASICS
The Ohio baseball team (11-14, 2-2 MAC) batted around and plated six runs in the top of the 10th inning to topple Mid-American Conference West Division foe Ball State (15-12, 2-2 MAC), 12-6, on Friday (April 1) in the opening game of a three-game weekend set at Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex in Muncie, Ind.

The Bobcats ended a two-game losing skid with the victory while putting a stop to a three-game winning streak for the Cardinals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Senior center fielder Manny De Jesus (Caguas, Puerto Rico) went 2-for-6 with a triple and four RBIs to lead the Bobcats at the plate.
• Junior left fielder Mitch Longo (Mayfield, Ohio) finished 2-for-5 with a double, a walk, three RBIs and a run scored.
• Sophomore right fielder Tony Giannini (Carmel, Ind.) doubled, singled and scored a run.
• Senior third baseman John Adryan (Delran, N.J.) went 2-for-6 with a double and two runs scored.
• Freshman first baseman Rudy Rott (Holmen, Wis.) singled, drew two walks, drove in a run and scored two more.
• Junior shortstop Mateus Vakuda (Sao Paulo, Brazil) came off the bench to coax a walk, drive in two runs and score another.
• Senior right-handed starting pitcher Jake Miller (Westerville, Ohio) struck out three over five innings while allowing three earned runs on seven hits and three walks.
• Junior righty Tom Colletti (Wheaton, Ill.) threw two innings of relief, fanning two while giving up two earned runs on two hits and a walk.
• Redshirt sophomore right-handed reliever Jake Roehn (Sandwich, Ill.) earned the win on the mound to improve to 2-2 on the season, striking out a season-high five while surrendering one earned run on three hits.
• Ball State junior right-handed starting pitcher Zach Plesac allowed six earned runs on eight hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out four.
• Senior southpaw Matt Haro threw two scoreless relief innings for the Cardinals, striking out two while permitting a walk.
• Sophomore right-handed pitcher Colin Brockhouse was saddled with the pitching defeat for Ball State, dropping to 3-3 on the year. He fanned four over two innings but allowed six unearned runs on four hits and three walks.
• Junior shortstop Alex Maloney doubled twice for two of his three hits, plated three runs and scored another to lead Ball State's bats.
• Junior right fielder Alex Call went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored for the Cardinals.
• Senior second baseman Ryan Spaulding tallied two hits and an RBI for Ball State.
• Ball State landed the first punch with a two-run bottom of the first. Call and junior first baseman Caleb Stayton coaxed back-to-back one-out walks. Maloney drove in call one out later with a base hit through the left side, then Stayton later scored on an RBI single back to the mound by Brockhouse.
• Ohio evened the score with two runs in the third as redshirt junior designated hitter Nate Squires (Plain City, Ohio) and junior shortstop Tyler Finkler (Olmsted Falls, Ohio) were both struck by pitches by Plesac, and both scored two outs later on a triple to right center by De Jesus.
• The Cardinals took a 3-2 lead in the third when Maloney sent a two-out double down the left field line, then scored on a single to left center by Spaulding.
• The Bobcats retaliated with a three-run fourth to take a 5-3 lead. Adryan got things rolling with a leadoff double down the right field line. He scored one out later on a base hit through the right side by Rott to tie the ballgame. Rott advanced to third on a double to left by Giannini, then scored on an infield single to short by Squires. Giannini then scored Ohio's fifth run on a two-out RBI infield single to short by Longo.
• Ohio's lead swelled to three runs in the sixth when redshirt senior catcher Cody Gaertner (Pittsburgh, Pa.) sent a leadoff single to center and later tagged up and scored from third by way of a sacrifice fly to left by Vakuda.
• Ball State began a late rally in the seventh, though, cutting the Bobcat advantage down to a run. Call hit a leadoff single to center, then Stayton followed with a walk. Both scored one out later on a double to left by Maloney.
• The Cardinals knotted the score at six-all in the ensuing frame as junior third baseman Sean Kennedy led off with a double to right and scored two outs later on a single to center by Call.
• Neither team managed to score in the ninth, but the Bobcats ensured the extra-inning affair would be short lived by exploding for six runs in the 10th. Junior second baseman Ty Black (Waynesville, Ohio) got the barrage started with a leadoff single to left, and Adryan followed suit with a base hit to right to put on with nobody out. Gaertner reached on a fielder's choice, and Black was able to scamper home on the play by way of a Ball State miscue. Rott drew an intentional walk to fill the bases with Bobcats. Ohio took advantage two outs later when Vakuda drew a bases-loaded walk to bump home Adryan. Two more runs scored on a double to left by Longo that plated both Gaertner and Rott. A single to center by De Jesus brought Vakuda and Longo around to score. When the dust settled, the Bobcats had scored six runs on four hits, three walks and a Ball State error to take a 12-6 advantage.
• Roehn shut the door in the home half of the 10th to nail down the victory for Ohio.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• Ohio has come away victorious in each of its last three matchups against Ball State.
• The Bobcats earned their first extra-innings win in four tries in 2016.
• Ohio has totaled at least 10 hits in a game 14 times in 2016.
• De Jesus posted his 10th multi-hit game of the year, which ranks second on the squad. He also recorded his fourth multi-RBI game of the season. His four RBIs against the Cardinals mark the most in a game by a Bobcat this year.
• Longo logged his ninth multi-hit outing of the season -- good for third on the team -- in addition to recording his second multi-RBI game of the year.
• Adryan notched his team-high 11th multi-hit game of the year.
• Giannini tallied his third multi-hit effort of the season.
• Vakuda drove in multiple runs for the second time this year.

UP NEXT
Ohio takes aim at its first MAC series win of the 2016 season when it takes on Ball State on Saturday (April 2) in a 1 p.m. ET contest at Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex in Muncie, Ind. 'Voice of the Bobcats' Russ Eisenstein will have the call on WOUB-AM 1340 and online at OhioBobcats.com.

The Bobcats last took a series from the Cardinals in Muncie in 2006.

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