Meet Chuck, Ball State baseball's magic mascot

MUNCIE, Ind. — With the emotional weight of nine consecutive losses hanging over a small meeting room, Ball State players wondered what coach Rich Maloney had up his sleeve. He'd called them together for a reveal he was particularly hyped up for. It was just before a pivotal Western Michigan series on April 8, and Maloney had the group staring at a four-foot-tall cardboard box.

"Everybody started freaking out," said senior Sean Kennedy. "Coach told everybody, 'I talked to the great Cardinal in the sky today.'

"We all think, 'Oh my gosh.'"

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