With the wind blowing hard out to right field and a Ball State (30-12, 8-2) lineup loaded with left-handed power hitters, it was going to be a long day for the Eastern Michigan (19-26, 5-9) pitching staff.
Ball State finished with seven home runs in a doubleheader that led the team to 10-7 and 9-5 wins. The Cardinals have now won 11 of their last 13 games.
Ball State will look to continue the offense that has sparked the team against Central Michigan at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Junior center fielder Amanda Carpenter said the team could definitely see before the game that the wind would give the lineup an advantage.
Coach Craig Nicholson downplayed the wind saying no matter how the wind is blowing, there's still a game to play.
"I think five of the seven we hit today are out whether the wind is blowing out or not," Nicholson said.
The home run outburst gave the Cardinals 52 home runs on the season and the team is now only seven home runs away from the Mid-American Conference record of 59 set by Kent State in 2010. Nicholson said it's something that would be nice to look back on but isn't anywhere near the team's focus right now.
The home runs came from familiar faces too. Sophomore left fielder Jennifer Gilbert added one in each game to continue to pace the MAC lead at 13 home runs. Senior catcher Amanda Montalto added two in the second game to give her 12 on the year. Sophomore first basemen Taylor Rager hit her ninth home run in the opening game.
Carpenter and freshman right fielder Hanne Stuedeman both hit two-out grand slams. Nicholson was impressed with Carpenter's at bat after she was down one ball and two strikes and battled back to a full count before making Eastern Michigan pay with her sixth home run of the season.
"They set themselves up early in those at bats to get the pitch in the at bat that they could really do damage with," Nicholson said.
Senior pitcher Audrey Workman rebounded with a dominant performance in the second game. She struck out a season-high 10 batters in seven innings while limiting base runners with five hits and four walks allowed.
Workman was able to keep Eastern Michigan's top hitter coming in, Jessica Richards, off base. Richards has stolen 34 bases this season but didn't have any chances against the Ball State staff on the day.
"I really worked on the outside corner and she tended to chase so I could just keep working out[side] on her," Workman said. "I just stayed there the whole game."
Workman said with the wind blowing out and with the offense she had behind her she was confident in attacking an Eastern Michigan team that relies more on speed and slap hitting rather than power.
"That really helps me and my confidence to go right at them every time," she said.
The senior pitcher couldn't give any advice for opposing teams when handling the Ball State lineup.
"Good luck against our offense," Workman said confidently.
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