Hunter Dobbins' walk-off home run lifts Ball State baseball to victory over Ohio in MAC Tournament

MUNCIE, Ind. — It came down to the final pitch because, after a year like Ball State baseball's had, of course it would.

Down early in the count, freshman Hunter Dobbins walked back into the box with fifth year Amir Wright on second. It was the bottom of the ninth inning and Ball State, after tying the game the inning before, was down to its final out.

But there was Dobbins, a freshman sensation who — outside of a game in February — just started playing just over a month ago. Dobbins has been bothered by a hamate bone injury all season but decided to play through it.

It paid off.

Standing in the box with a 2-2 count, someone inside Ball State's dugout yelled, "Win it, Dob. Win it!" Moments later, Dobbins blasted a no-doubt, two-run home run over the left field fence, giving Ball State a 6-4 victory over Ohio in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference baseball tournament.

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"In a spot like that, you always want to do it," Dobbins said. "It's hard to keep yourself from taking that A-swing that you have. I swung pretty hard, I missed the (first) pitch. I thought he was going to throw a slider, he threw a fastball, and I was very late. I knew he was going to come back with a slider, they haven't thrown me many fastballs, so I sat on it and hit it pretty hard."

Ball State's dugout cleared almost as soon as the ball left Dobbins' bat. He trotted around the bases before being mobbed by his teammates at home plate. Moments like that were the reason Dobbins decided to play through his injury.

He watched his team grind through one four-game series after another to get to this point. If he could fight through discomfort to play a part in that grind, he would. He did. Coming into a double-elimination tournament as the No. 1 seed, Dobbins could feel how important the moment was for BSU. With one swing of the bat, he helped the Cardinals grind out their most important win to date.

"I love to win and I didn't want to leave my team all year hurt and all that," Dobbins said. "It hurts but, you know, I'm going to finish the season because I want to see the seniors win just like they do. ... If I can tolerate it, I'm going to play."

Dobbins' led Ball State's offense, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Wright went 1-for-4 with an RBI, fifth year Trenton Quartermaine went 1-for-5 with an RBI and junior Zach Cole went 2-for-3 with an RBI, as well.

Junior Tyler Schweitzer, the Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Year, started the game for the Cardinals, which began on Wednesday before it was postponed due to weather. Sophomore Ty Johnson got the nod Thursday, 24 hours after the game was originally supposed to played and six hours after it was supposed to begin Thursday.

Maloney, on top of keeping track of the game's ever-changing start time, said he thought until the last minute about who he would put out on the mound. Ohio stuck with its original starter, fifth year Edward Kutt IV. Maloney went with Johnson.

"This was tough because you pitch your starting pitcher, Schweitzer, and he only gets one inning," Maloney said. "Then you have to make the decision of do you go with him or do you go with your next guy? Tough call. ... I was wrestling with it because it's a huge decision."

The decision paid off. Johnson pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing five hits, four earned runs and two walks while striking out six. Sophomore Sam Klein, who was credited with the victory, kept the Cardinals tied heading into the ninth inning. Sophomore Ryan Brown pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

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While Dobbins' will get the spotlight for the first round victory, there were several key plays which allowed the Cardinals to advance.

Cole scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning to give Ball State its first run in the second inning and tie the game. Junior Adam Tellier made a diving play on a ground ball up the middle and threw out redshirt freshman AJ Rausch in the top of the ninth and keeping a potential go-ahead run from scoring. Klein — after intentionally walking Ohio senior Colin Kasperbauer, putting two runners on base in the final inning — struck out senior Mason Minzey to strand two runners in scoring position.

"We just grinded it out, this team grinds out, that's what they do," Maloney said. "They just grind out, they believe in each other and they stay the course. And then we've been able to make plays this year at the right time."

Through weather delays and a not-so-great day at the plate, Ball State made the plays it needed to advance in the MAC Tournament. With the win, the Cardinals will play Central Michigan in a game scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Friday. The winner advances to the championship game while the loser will play the winner of No. 3 Toledo and No. 4 Ohio, who will play at 9 a.m., in the final of three scheduled games Friday.

"In my head, I knew we were going to win this game," Dobbins said. "We had to win so many close games this year and just to be No. 1, regular season champs, we knew we couldn't lose the first game. We gotta win, we've got to put up a good fight."

Robby General covers Ball State and East Central Indiana high school sports for The Star Press. Contact him via email at rgeneral@gannett.com or on Twitter @rgeneraljr.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State baseball wins 2022 MAC Tournament over Ohio