Stepping out of Mid-American Conference play for a game against in-state opponent Butler, Ball State softball didn’t slow down on scoring runs.
The bottom of the fifth, the biggest inning for the Cardinals, started off with the second solo home run of the game by senior center fielder Amanda Carpenter and ended with a walk-off grand slam by junior pinch hitter Lauren Schroeder.
Ball State’s offense proved to be a game-winner once again as it defeated Butler 11-2 in five innings.
Junior left fielder Jennifer Gilbert set the tone at the plate in the first inning as she also added a pair of home runs, each with two RBI.
After Carpenter’s home run to lead off the fifth inning, freshman third baseman Emily Dabkowski walked to first, leading to a Butler pitching change.
Butler’s freshman pitcher Taylor Lockwood would start off sending sophomore Jessica Craft to first on a hit-by-pitch. Craft was also hit by a wild pitch to leadoff the bottom of the second.
Freshman pitcher Kelsey Schifferdecker improved her record to 9-2 on the reason by allowing just two runs off of four hits in the first four innings. She also struck out a pair of batters.
Redshirt junior Audra Sanders pitched the final inning and allowed no hits, runs or walks and recorded one strikeout.
The only runs Butler scored in the game came in the fourth inning. The runs came when Butler’s Maria Leichty and Krista Hakola hit RBI doubles, which cut the Ball State lead to 4-2.
The win is the 13th out of the last 14 games for Ball State. The team’s record has also been improved to 24-11 with the win.
Ball State continues the break from the MAC schedule as the team will travel to West Lafayette for a doubleheader against Purdue today.
