There haven't been many games recently where Ball State's (31-12, 9-2) offense has been held to six consecutive scoreless innings. But a first inning grand slam from sophomore third baseman Audrey Bickel was plenty of offense for senior pitcher Kim Mazzapica in the 4-0 win over Central Michigan (21-21, 6-8).
It was the third grand slam in three games for the Cardinals and the second straight game where they hit one in the first inning. Unlike Friday, however, the offense sputtered through the rest of the game and had only five hits throughout.
"The first inning I thought we did a great job at the plate," Coach Craig Nicholson said. "Later in the game I thought we started chasing a little bit too much and kind of got ourselves out a little bit."
Nicholson said he was just happy to see the pitching and defense carry the team Saturday, especially as the Mid-American Conference Tournament nears.
"At some point you're going to have to win some games 4-0 or 3-2," Nicholson said. "There may be a day where they got to go out and throw a bunch of zeroes up to give us a chance to get to that point where we can go score some runs."
Mazzapica (19-3) finished the day allowing seven hits in seven innings and walking two. She was only able to strike out one, but Nicholson said after some early jams she was able to get into a rhythm.
"I definitely think she kind of settled in after the first couple innings and pitched better later in the game," Nicholson said.
Freshman right fielder Hanne Stuedeman increased her on base streak to 34 games with a walk in the first inning.
Nicholson said she doesn't go out and have many big days but she's stayed consistent all season.
Ball State caps the weekend against Central Michigan at the Ball State Softball Complex at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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