(MUNCIE) – The Ball State baseball Cardinals will be headed to next week’s Mid-American Conference Tournament in Avon, Ohio, thanks to a 7-4 win over Northern Illinois, Friday, in Muncie.  Home runs from Ryan Spaulding and Caleb Stayton boosted the Cards to victory, and clinched Ball State a spot in the MAC tournament.

Ball State improved to 29-23 overall and evened their league record at 13-13.  Northern Illinois fell to 22-32 overall and 10-16 in league action.  The two teams will complete the regular season with a 1 p.m. game today (Sat.) at Ball Diamond in the First Merchants Ballpark Complex, across Tillotson Avenue from Scheumann Stadium.