At the top of the seventh inning, the Ball State softball team faced its last chance against nationally ranked Missouri as it stood in a 0-3 hole.
The Cardinals wouldn't go down easily.
Sophomore slugger Jennifer Gilbert began a rally with a one-out walk, which sophomore first baseman Taylor Rager followed with a single. Once senior catcher Amanda Montalto loaded the bases by drawing another walk, sophomore third baseman Audrey Bickel stepped to the plate with the bases loaded.
Bickel reached base on an error by the Missouri center fielder, scoring both Gilbert and Rager. With the score now 2-3, freshman shortstop Jessica Craft drew a walk to load the bases once again, but it was all for nothing.
Sophomore first baseman Lauren Schroeder and freshman second baseman Taylor Cox struck out to end both the game and the hopes of a Cardinals upset.
Throughout its entire weekend at the Quality Inn Classic in Troy, Ala., Ball State dealt with similar scenarios. The result was a 2-2 record to open the 2012 season and a team looking to "cash in on more opportunities," coach Craig Nicholson said.
"With the way we played the first weekend out, I feel like overall, this is probably the best we've played on a first weekend in the last three or four years," Nicholson said.
In game one on Friday against East Tennessee State, Ball State took advantage of its chances.
After being held hitless through the first four innings, the Cardinals came to life in the bottom of the fifth. After freshman right fielder Loren Cihlar and Cox loaded the bases with back-to-back hits, junior center fielder Amanda Carpenter drew a walk to move the score to 1-2. Gilbert followed Carpenter with a two-run single up the middle to give Ball State the lead at 3-2. The Cardinals never looked back as they tallied four more runs to win the game, 7-2.
Ball State's afternoon game with No. 5 Missouri was a story of senior right-handed pitcher Audrey Workman. After holding the Tigers scoreless through the first two innings, Workman lost her command in the bottom of the third. The Tigers scored three runs on three hits to pull ahead of the Cardinals 3-0.
Workman regained her composure for the rest of the game, but two strikeouts by Ball State hitters in the top of the seventh ended the hopes of a comeback.
Rager's offense was the key for Ball State's matchup with Nicolls State on Saturday. After going 0-4 in Friday's opening game, she continued to build off of her 3-3 effort against Missouri. Rager went 2-2 in the game, including a two-run homerun over the left field wall and a walk.
"I think one thing in her [Rager] case is she has some confidence right now," Nicholson said. "She had a tough game the first game. After that, she's hit everything she's seen. When you get on a roll like that, it keeps going."
Workman picked up her first win of the season as she struck out seven batters in seven innings.
The final game on Sunday against Troy was a game the Cardinals and Workman would like to forget. The Cardinals led the whole way going into the bottom of the seventh inning due to home runs by Rager and Montalto, but a single and a sacrifice bunt by Troy batters forced Workman to make a throwing error.
After both teams were held scoreless in the eighth, Troy put two runners on base again in the bottom of the ninth. With two on and two out, Troy's starting pitcher Ashley Rainey blasted a walk-off home run to left field to cap off the come-from-behind win for Troy.
"It happens," he said. "I couldn't even tell you if it was a good pitch or a bad pitch. I don't know if she hung it or the hitter just hit a good pitch. It really doesn't matter. She stayed in and definitely pitched well enough to save that ball game. But we made a mistake, and it cost us."
Ball State returns to action on Friday when it travels to Chattanooga, Tenn., to play in the Frost Classic Inspired by Memorial. The first game will be against Troy at 11 a.m.
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