The bottom of a lineup is usually supposed to be easier for a pitcher, but Ball State's 11-10 win over Northern Illinois on Sunday was never ordinary.
The Cardinals (20-10) survived a disastrous four-error inning that led to seven Husky runs. The resulting 8-6 deficit for Ball State lasted until the top of the seventh inning.
In the seventh, sophomore Taylor Rager walked to lead off and was eventually replaced by sophomore pinch runner Julie Cortez after two quick outs.
Two singles later, Ball State had senior Alison Mercado up to bat, who was already 2-2 in the game from the final spot in the batting order. The Cardinals were down 8-7 with runners on second and third when Mercado added her third hit to tie the game with two outs.
"You know exactly what you're going to get [from Mercado]," coach Craig Nicholson said. "She's going to get in there and fight and battle for everything she can get."
Despite the two outs and the zero runs produced by the Huskies since the second inning, Mercado said she felt confident when she stepped up to the plate.
Senior Kim Mazzapica (10-3) was able to hold off the Huskies in the bottom of the seventh, giving the Cardinals bottom of the order another chance to shine. After two quick outs, sophomore Audrey Bickel hammered a home run to right-center to give them a 9-8 lead.
The scoring didn't end there. An error, walk and a triple plated two more runs that proved to be crucial. Northern Illinois scored two quick runs in the final frame before Ball State ended the rally.
Bickel was impressed by the hitters behind her.
"That's huge," Bickel said. "A lot of times the bottom of the order is sometimes the weaker part but for us that's not the case at all. One through nine can get the job done at anytime. When they had their opportunities today, they took advantage of it."
Though Nicholson was disappointed in the defensive play in the bottom of the third, he was impressed by Mazzapica, who after surrendering seven runs, shut down Northern Illinois until the end of the game. Nicholson said he had someone warmed up but was confident with Mazzapica to finish it out.
Sophomore Jennifer Gilbert had a solid weekend at the plate, going 4-for-8 with a walk and adding her fifth home run of the year.
Ball State travels to Wright State for a game at 3 p.m. on Wednesday before continuing conference play on Friday in their first home weekend with Ohio and Akron.
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