Ugly day...

I ran in the Big Ten Hoops 5k yesterday and did not have a good race. My time was 29:43, which is 30 seconds slower than the Jingle Bell Run in December when it was 27 degrees out. Many factors contributed to the slow time. The first is that I was not in very good running shape. The weather prohibits running in the winter and I hate to run on the treadmill. Also, I was unfamiliar with the course. According to my GPS, I ran 5.14km, which added an extra minute or so to my time. And finally, it was cold and windy, 43 degrees and the wind whipping through the buildings downtown. Anyway, I did finish the race, so that is always a positive. I finished 418th out of 803 runners and 52nd our of 71 in the M30-34 group. I definitely need to learn from this experience.

Speaking of ugly, the Ball State baseball team had some big innings that determined their games. On Friday, the Cardinals faced Michigan and was down 8-0 early until BSU had a 6-spot in the 5th and added two more in the 6th to tie the game. However, Michigan added 4 more in the bottom of the 6th to win 12-8. Seven of Michigan's 12 runs were un-earned. Kolbrin Vitek and Stephen Claypool had 3 hits in the game.

On Saturday, BSU took a quick 4-0 lead over Lipscomb, but that lead was erased by a grand slam in the 4th inning. Lipscomb added another run in the 5th to take the lead. But, a huge 9-run sixth inning by the Cardinals put the game away, leading to a 14-5 victory. Morgan Coombs got the win by pitching 5 innings and giving up 3 earned runs while striking out 6. Scott Brother Jr, pitched the final 4 innings in scoreless fashion. Once again, Kolbrin Vitek and Stephen Claypool had 3 hits in the game.

Sunday's game against Illinois was also decided by a big inning. The Illini put up 6 runs in the 5th to take a 7-0 lead en route to a 10-3 victory. BSU could only manage 6 hits in the game.

After 9 games in 10 days, the Cardinals get a little break before going to Lousiville this weekend. Louisville is 14-1 and ranked 9th in the RPI. BSU is 5-11 and ranked 188 in the RPI. That RPI is currently 6th best in the MAC.