INDIANAPOLIS — Ball State softball (16-7) faced off against an in-state squad today in the Butler Bulldogs Tuesday afternoon (16-8) at the Bulldogs’ home field in Indianapolis. Though the blue and white hadn’t lost at home this season, the Cardinals ended that streak with a 7-0 victory.
Leading the Cardinals on the mound was freshman pitcher Breanna Severino. She pitched a complete game, giving up zero runs, seven hits and had a strikeout. To Peńa, keeping the game simple was the key factor to the Cardinals’ solid performance on defense.
“It's really just keeping the game simple and understanding what your job is, and then being able to adjust a pitch to pitch,” Peńa said. “Breanna (Severino) did a tremendous job of not letting things get to her, but also adjusting where she wanted the pitch to end.”
But while the Bulldogs struggled to score runs, the Cardinals found multiple ways to hit the scoreboard. Junior Ella Whitney led the black and red with three hits on the day while sophomore Maia Pietrzak had two hits and led Ball State with two RBI. Redshirt junior Haley Urban also had two RBI.
“Our plan is really just to have high energy and swing at good pitches and you know, hit the ball hard,” Pietrzak added.
To the Cardinals, the early-season success has happened because of one thing. Their love for each other.
“We play for who's on the field, who's not on the field, who's injured, who’s not injured. I feel like they're buying into one another and each other's capabilities and that's truly where all this excitement comes from,” Peńa said.
Ball State will return to Muncie for the first time this season as Toledo visits for a three-game weekend series. The first game will be played Friday, March 21 at 1 p.m.
The Cardinals are ready to play in front of their fans.
“We’re so excited to play in front of our home crowd and really get conference going, and start off with a conference win,” Whitney said.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85. Contact Rylan Crum with comments at rylan.crum@bsu.edu or on X @RylanCrum.
Read More
Ball State’s Student Government Association elected a new chief administrator and treasurer for Fall 2025
By Shelby Anderson / 3 hours agoSen. Philena Evett and Sen. Caroline Emerick were elected to the executive board for the upcoming school year.
Delaware County under hazardous weather watch
By Staff Reports / 3 hours agoThe National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm watch
Major cooldown after storms move through tonight
By Joseph Sawicki / 4 hours agoAssistant Chief Weather Forecaster Joseph Sawicki is tracking a cooldown with wind chills dipping below freezing this week.
