Ball State baseball season preview: Cardinals hungry for breakthrough MAC championship

MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State baseball is eager to win it all.

Its 2023 season begins at 4 p.m. Friday at Charlotte, the start of what the Cardinals hope is the year they finally capture their first Mid-American Conference tournament title since 2006. Head coach Rich Maloney's 40-win squad in 2022 appeared poised to breakthrough, yet its historic campaign came to another disappointing end as BSU lost consecutive games at home to Central Michigan to come up just short of an NCAA Tournament bid.

"They were 32-7, the most wins ever in the history of the MAC, probably never be beaten ... They had beat Central seven straight times ... We had an incredible run," Maloney said. "Yes, we did not (make) the NCAA Tournament. Yes, we should have been an NCAA Tournament team ... The funniest thing is we've been good enough. We just happen to be in a league that gets one bid. No fault of our own ... In general, in tournaments, we've been winning games, we just haven't won enough of them."

Ball State has inched closer and closer to hoisting the conference tournament trophy over the past four seasons. Last year's squad won the program's first MAC regular-season title since 2014 and earned four of the MAC's six postseason honors: Coach of the Year, Pitcher of the Year (Tyler Schweitzer), Defensive Player of the Year (Ryan Peltier) and Freshman Pitcher of the Year (Ryan Brown).

Despite losing Schweitzer (Chicago White Sox's farm system), their entire outfield and first baseman, the Cardinals are expected to be right back in contention yet again and were voted to finish first the MAC in the preseason coaches poll released on Wednesday. They return a solid pitching staff and bevy of talented position players, all bonded by the team's disappointing finishes.

"It's been the motivating factor for the last couple years because we've fallen short ... That's always our goal, to get to the postseason regional," Peltier said. "We don't want to put too much pressure on it because we know it's going to happen sooner or later. We've got a lot of confidence in this team and we we think we can really get over the hump this year."

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Peltier, a fifth-year third baseman, is again one of Ball State's top leaders. Last year, he won the first ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove in program history and hit .302 with a team-high 20 doubles, and was recently named a 2023 Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (CBN).

Having seen the Cardinals continually regroup with new roster additions every year, he's confident the newcomers and returners can fill the holes left by significant contributors from last year like Schweitzer, All-MAC First Team outfielder Zach Cole (drafted by Houston Astros), All-MAC First Team first baseman Trenton Quartermaine, All-MAC Second Team outfielder Amir Wright, Nick Powell and multiple bullpen arms.

Peltier commended that group's work ethic, competitiveness and professionalism, all of which he feels set an example that the returning Cardinals have followed all offseason.

"They worked really hard and just kind of showed the younger guys what it takes to be the players they were, so the guys who are stepping into those roles understand what it takes," Peltier said. "I'm really confident in the guys who have filled those roles this year, and I'm really confident that we could just pick up where we left off last year but finish the job."

Brown is one of the younger returners expected to make a major impact, transitioning from reliever to starter. He was already a significant contributor in 2022, earning CBN Freshman All-American and All-MAC Second Team honors after notching a 2.14 ERA, 4-2 record and 65 strikeouts in 46.1 innings.

He's garnered national attention this offseason as well. D1 Baseball ranked Brown the No. 49 prospect in the country and one the top mid-major prospects entering the 2023 season. He was the only MAC player to crack the top-100 list.

Brown improved as the season went along, notching a 1.71 ERA in conference play, and said the more experienced Cardinals taught him valuable lessons that he'll carry into his second season on the mound.

"I think just bring the same energy to every game, the same competitive fire," Brown said of what he learned last year. "Just compete every chance we get. Never let off the gas, regardless of the score."

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Senior Trennor O'Donnell (5.48 ERA, 65.2 IP) and junior Ty Johnson (5.47 ERA, 75.2 IP, All-MAC Second Team) also return from BSU's 2022 starting rotation, and junior Sam Klein, a 2022 All-MAC First Team member, headlines the bullpen.

CBN named Klein a Preseason All-American, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NBCWA) also selected him for its Preseason All-America Team. Klein led the MAC and tied for 18th in the NCAA with 11 saves last year, tallying a 3.18 ERA and 47 K's in 34 innings over 23 appearances.

This group led a strong 2022 performance on the bump by the Cardinals, which led the MAC with 10.5 strikeouts (11th in NCAA) and 7.57 hits allowed (fifth in NCAA) per nine innings despite having significant pitching departures after 2021.

Brown believes BSU should be even better equipped this season with more returning experience. Maloney also mentioned fifth-year pitcher Ty Weatherly (7.71 ERA, 23.1 IP) as a "wild card" to watch for, citing his "pro arm" that earned him a free agent this offseason, which Weatherly declined to return to BSU.

"I feel like our pitching is definitely going to be a big strength. We have lost a lot of guys in the past, but we have a lot of guys that are ready to step up," Brown said. "There's going to be young guys that are going to have big roles and we have a good core of guys coming back, seniors and juniors, so I think we're gonna be really good."

There's more uncertainty in the field for Ball State, but also plenty of upside.

Sophomore catcher Hunter Dobbins, who was limited by a hand injury last year, is poised for a breakout campaign after earning a 1.020 OPS and hitting eight home runs, including a walk-off to beat Ohio in the MAC tournament, in just 112 at-bats.

Senior shortstop Adam Tellier, whom Maloney called BSU's "most talented player," is also healthy after being limited to just 16 contests in 2022 by a Jones fracture in his foot. He notched a 0.841 OPS and .955 fielding percentage.

Ball State's X-factor, however, might be senior Zach Lane, who Maloney will try in centerfield after previously playing at second base. The Indianapolis native didn't have the most consistent 2022 season, hitting just .249, but flashed power with 10 extra-base hits in 134 at-bats.

Maloney said Lane had a great summer, hitting .320 with five homers in a wood-bat league, but missed all fall due to injury. Losing that time was crucial to preparing him for the position switch, as well as keeping his timing at the plate, but Maloney still feels like Lane's skillset gives BSU the best option in centerfield, even if there's an adjustment period.

"He can run, he can throw and he can hit. He's gonna find his way in the lineup one way or another, but I'm trying him at center," Maloney said. "So these first couple of weeks ... probably we're going to experience some growing pains at times ... Maybe we'd have caught a ball last year that we might not catch this year right now until we get going a little while. So I'm curious to see myself how the guys play when the lights turn on."

As for Ball State's newcomers, freshman Blake Bevis will start at first base. Maloney expects him to have ups and downs, like anyone adjusting to the college game, but believes "there's also going to be times where he's going to hit the ball and everybody says, 'Oh my gosh, the power that kid has.'"

Maloney will also try to find ways to get freshman backup shortstop Dylan Grego in the lineup, possibly by playing him some in left field, and transfers Nick Gregory (junior centerfielder) Andrew Wilhite (fifth-year outfielder) and Logan Flood (senior outfielder) are expected to garner playing time, too.

Finding the right lineups will take time, and many Cardinals will have opportunities to carve out a role. That process might lead to a slower start to the season, similar to last year when BSU began 6-10, especially since Maloney makes a point to schedule tough matchups in the beginning to get a better evaluation of his roster's strengths and weaknesses.

O'Donnell will take the ball in the first of Ball State's four games at Charlotte over the weekend, and Johnson will start Game 2 on Saturday, the first of a double-header. The 49ers are a formidable program, which should prepare the Cardinals to face Big Ten preseason No. 2 Rutgers on Feb. 25 and national No. 6 Wake Forest on March 4.

If BSU can find success and stay healthy during its pre-conference slate, Maloney said the team should be well prepared to face every MAC squad's best shot en route to what he and the players hope is a championship journey.

The Cardinals are overdue to make history. They just have to go out on the diamond and take it.

"It would mean so much. I mean, it would just make me think of the guys who I've played with the last couple of years, who had been on some really good teams and they didn't get the chance," Peltier said of winning the MAC. "It'd mean a lot for our coach because he's been here for a really long time, and all he's done is won here, but we haven't been able to get to a regional ... We just want to get it done for the program and just make that the standard."

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State baseball: season preview: Cardinals want MAC championship