MUNCIE - The race to the MAC Baseball Championship is on, and Ball State did its part Thursday by thumping Toledo 10-1. The victory clinched a first-round bye in next week's MAC Baseball Championship, and allowed the Cardinals (34-17, 18-5 MAC) to keep pace with league leader Central Michigan (20-5).
"You always want to play one less game in a tournament. Getting the bye is really important," head coach Rich Maloney said. "It helps with the pitching staff, it helps with the team. It's the first part of the process. We have 2 games left and now we just need to focus on playing good baseball.