Race Day!!!

Today was my first 5k race. My PR during training was 28:06, but I ran a 27:32 this morning during the race to set a new PR. In the preliminary results, I finished 104th overall and 10th in the M 30-34 age group. I felt good during the entire race. I went out too fast, clocking the first mile in 8:10. I slowed the pace down a little and ran a 9 minute second mile and completed the race at a 9:30-10:00 pace. I now know what to do before the race and what it is like during the race. That knowledge will help me when I run my next 5k sometime in November.

In baseball news, Ryan Howard is a Braves killer. He hit two home runs last night to lead the Phillies to a 9-4 victory over the Braves. Howard is batting .344 with 7 HR and 14 RBI in 16 games against the Braves this season. Tim Hudson started for Atlanta and pitched well, giving up 3 runs in 7 innings of work. The weary bullpen gave up 6 runs over the last 2 innings to put the nail in the coffin. The Braves are 4.5 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race with 15 games left.

Seven in a row, but is it too late???

The Braves extended their winning streak to seven games with a 7-3 victory over the Mets on Thursday Night. Brian McCann had a homer and 4 RBI while Martin Prado was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Jair Jurrjens gave up 1 run over 7 innings to get the win. Eric O'Flaherty pitched the 8th and Rafael Soriano threw the 9th. The Braves travel to Philly for a three-game series starting tonight at 735p. We must sweep the series to have any chance at a division title. Tim Hudson will get the start for the Braves.

Atlanta is 7.5 games behind Philly in the NL East and 4.5 games behind Colorado in the wild card race with 16 games left in the season.

Six! Six games in a row! Ha Ha Ha!

The Braves were behind for most of the game last night, but a fortunate error by the Mets allowed the Braves to come from behind and win 6-5. Atlanta was down 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth. Garrett Anderson led off with a double and was pinch-ran for by Reid Gorecki. Brian McCann was hit by a pitch and Yunel Escobar converted a sacrifice followed by an intentional walk to Adam LaRoche to load the bases. Omar Infante tied the game with a sac fly and Ryan Church hit a ground ball to Daniel Murphy at first base that was booted to allow the winning run to score. It was a good win, especially after Atlanta went through 7 pitchers in the game. Derek Lowe started the game and threw two innings before a blister took him out. Kris Medlen and Kenshin Kawakami each threw two innings of long relief. Peter Moylan pitched the 7th and Mike Gonzalez gave up a homer in the 8th to allow the Mets to take the lead. Manny Acosta finished the 8th inning and Eric O'Flaherty pitched the 9th and got the win. The final game of the series is tonight at 710p. Jair Jurrjens will start for the Braves.

Atlanta is 7.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and 5 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race with 17 games left in the season.

The Tommy Hanson and Adam LaRoche show

The Braves stuffed the Mets last night 6-0. Tommy Hanson scattered three hits and three walks over 7 innings to get the win. Hanson is now 10-3 on the season with a 2.65 ERA and hopes of winning the NL Rookie of the Year. Adam LaRoche was 4-for-4 with two homers, 3 RBI, and 4 runs scored as he was a one-man wrecking machine. The Braves have now won 5 games in a row and will take on the Mets in game two of the series tonight at 710p. Derek Lowe will pitch for the Braves.

Atlanta is clinging to slim playoff hopes with 18 games left. They are 7.5 games behind Philly in the NL East, but only 5 games behind Colorado in the wild card race.

Ball State is now a 7.5 point underdog for their road game at Army this Saturday. The over/under is 43.5, which means the odds makers only expect the Cards to score 18 points. After seeing their performance in person during the first two games of the season, that seems about right.

Drew Storen is on the Washington Nationals roster for the Florida Instructional League. The league plays 15 games and starts on September 24th. After the Florida league, Storen will play in the Arizona Fall League that starts on October 13th.

Let's do this!

The Braves begin a three-game series with the Mets tonight at 710p. Tommy Hanson will pitch for the Braves. Atlanta is 7.5 games behind Philly in the NL East and 6 games behind Colorado in the wild card race. There are 19 games left in the season and we have the weakest schedule in the NL to finish the season, so we need to get things done on our end and let the chips fall where they may.

Ball State's game against Auburn on September 26th will be at 6pm. TV coverage will be on FOX Sports South. This Saturday, the Cardinals face Army at noon. TV coverage will be on CBS College Sports. BSU is a 7-point underdog against Army.

Too little, too late

The Braves beat the Cardinals 9-2 to complete a road sweep of one of the better teams in the league. It took Javier Vasquez only 94 pitches to shut down the home team, as he scattered 7 hits and had 8 strikeouts. He also gave the bullpen a much needed day of rest. Nate McLouth had 4 hits and Adam LaRoche had 3 RBI to lead the offense. The Braves have the day off today before going to New York to face the Mets tomorrow night.

Atlanta is 7.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and 6.5 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race. However, there are only 19 games left in the season, so we need to start the playoff push ASAP!

Braves win!!! Cardinals lose!!!!

The Atlanta Braves beat the St Louis Cardinals yesterday 7-6 in a crazy game. The Braves led 5-4 going into the bottom of the eighth when Mike Gonzalez allowed a walk and two singles then was "helped" by two errors on defense to allow the Cardinals to take the lead 6-5. However, in the top of the ninth the Braves got to Cards closer Ryan Franklin with a single, a walk, and two doubles including the two-RBI double of Brian McCann. Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth for his 24th save of the season. Game three of the series is at 215p today. Javier Vasquez will pitch for the Braves.

Atlanta is 7 games behind Philly in the NL East and 7.5 games behind the Rockies in the wild card race.

The Ball State football team showed nothing on offense for the second week in a row in losing to #8 ranked in 1-AA New Hampshire 23-16. BSU amassed 57 yards in the first three quarters before making one last push to win the game. After a BSU TD with 6 minutes left to makes the score 23-16, the Cardinals had one last chance to tie the game but a huge penalty put the game out of reach. Freshman Kelly Page was 15 of 34 for 114 yards and 1 interception. However, he held the ball in the pocket way to long and was sacked 5 times. The NHU defense keyed on MiQuale Lewis as he was held to 21 yards on 14 carries. Lewis also had 8 catches for 22 yards. BSU's next game is Saturday at Army.