An RBI by junior left fielder Jennifer Gilbert in the top of the fifth was the insurance Ball State (12-10) needed to come out with a win against No. 24 North Carolina on Saturday in the second game of the Louisville Classics in Louisville, Ky.
The Cardinals finished the game with three runs and held the Tar Heels to a single run.
“We pitched well and played good defense,” coach Craig Nicholson said. “When you can put those aspects of the game together you’ve got a great shot to win and it doesn’t really matter who you’re playing against.”
Sophomore Taylor Cox led the Cardinals’ offense as the first batter in the lineup.
Gilbert extended her home run total on the season to 41.
The Cardinals hit two doubles over the weekend taking their Mid-American Conference total for doubles in the season to 44.
“First and foremost we had a plan going into the game of what we wanted to do against their pitcher who is very good,” Nicholson said. “I thought we did a very good job of executing our game plan offensively.”
Despite going into eight innings against Wisconsin and missing opportunities to score runs late in the game due to some bat at bats, Nicholson is pleased with the performance of his team.
“I really felt like all day [Saturday] we played really well and if we continue to play at that level and improve on that level then we are going to have a really good year,” he said.
After a decent performance in the circle against Wisconsin on Saturday morning, freshman pitcher Nicole Steinbach came back in the afternoon to help lead the team to victory. She held the Badgers to six hits, one earned run and three strikeouts throughout seven innings of work.
“[Steinbach is] still in that process of being a freshman and learning and figuring some things out,” Nicholson said. “She’s definitely had some moments that have been very positive.”
The Sunday afternoon game scheduled against Iowa was cancelled due to uncooperative weather, though the Cardinals and the Hawkeyes will face each other this afternoon if the weather permits.
Nicholson suspects Iowa’s pitching to match that of Wisconsin as he prepared his team for the last game of the tournament today.
“Another chance against a quality opponent to get a win that will matter down the road,” he said.
