Ball State softball closed out the ECU Pirate Invitational this morning with a 11-4 victory over Canisius to mark the team's fourth win of the tournament.
The Cardinals (9-3, 0-0 MAC) win over the Golden Griffins (3-11, 0-0 NEC) was their second win over them in this tournament, after beating them 2-0 on Friday to open the tournament.
Sophomore Morgan Altman started off today's game for the Golden Griffins with an RBI triple and then scored on a wild pitch to give them a quick 2-0 lead. However Ball State senior Maddy Labrador picked up an RBI to allow freshman Hailey Demnianiuk to reach the plate, followed by a home run by senior Danae King in the second inning that would tie the game at two.
Later in the second inning, freshman Stacy Payton scored off a single from sophomore Haley Dominique to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. However, it wasn't long until the Golden Griffins tied the game back up at three after a Ball State fielding error.
Following the theme of yesterday's game against East Carolina, Ball State exploded on offense in the fourth inning. Dominique led off with a double that brought in Payton. Sophomore Janae Hogg hit another double that brought in Dominique and Demnianiuk. Labrador and King produced a pair of RBI singles and Payton closed out the inning with a RBI double to make it 11-3.
Canisius junior Molly Hennessy's home run in the fifth inning was not enough as Ball State walked away with the win, 11-4. This game was the most the Cardinals have scored in almost a year as the last time they broke 11 runs was in a 12-4 win over Rutgers in the Florida Athletic Tournament in March of 2017.
Besides at the plate, Ball State saw promise on the mound as well. Senior Carolyn Wilmes pitched 1.5 innings allowing two runs on four hits and had two strikeouts. However, sophomore Alyssa Rothwell came into to pick her up and pitch the majority of the game. She recorded four strikeouts and allowed just two hits in three innings of work as junior Aeshia Miles closed out the game.
The Cardinals wrapped up the ECU Pirate Invitational with a 4-1 record with wins over East Carolina and Canisius. With just one loss to Saint Francis, Ball State will head south to Florida March 2 to start off a long spring break stretch. Ball State will compete in the Citrus Classic and the FAU Parents Weekend Tournament. In this stretch, the team will meet 12 teams, including No. 20 Michigan and the Czech Republic national team.
Ball State will play its first game of the Citrus Classic March 2 against Fordham at 12 p.m.
Contact Jack Williams with comments at jgwilliams@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @JackWilliamsBSU.
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