Ball State Softball (18-8) hosted a season series for the first time as the Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponent Toledo Rockets (7-18) made the trip to Muncie for the weekend. The Cardinals showed off in front of the home crowd for the first time this season, winning the series 2-1.
Friday
The Cardinals had their first home game of the season on Friday. Ella Whitney (11-1) got the start in the circle for Ball State.
After Toledo scored three runs in the top of the first, Ball State redshirt senior catcher McKayla Timmons hit her 11th home run of the season on her first pitch of the day. The two-run shot from Timmons brought the Cardinals within one at the end of the first inning.
With no runs scored in the second, redshirt junior McKenna Mulholland got the scoring going again in the third as she hit a two-run homer to left field, lifting the Cardinals on top 4-3. As the Rockets struggled to score runs, Ball State added more on in the fourth inning when sophomore Maia Pietrzak stole home, adding one more on to the Cardinals’ lead.
Toledo responded in the top of the fifth inning as they led 6-5, but that lead only lasted for a half inning as Pietrzak homered to left field in the bottom of the inning to give the Cardinals the lead again at 7-6.
As the bottom of the sixth came around, Ball State found themselves down by one run. But that changed as Mulholland brought in two runs to put the Cardinals back up by one.
Later in the sixth inning, senior Kaitlyn Gibson hit Ball State’s third home run of game one when she drove in three runs. Shortly after that, Whitney hit a single, driving in the last run of the game and helping the Cardinals win the first game in the series 13-8.
“We want to be consistent with our approach in the box, and the players did a phenomenal job of being able to stick to the plan, trust the process and being able to hunt what they wanted to hit,” Ball State head coach Helen Peña said.
30 minutes after game one, the second game in the three-game series kicked off in Muncie.
The first half of the game was all Toledo as the Rockets flew out to an early 8-0 lead in the second inning before extending it to 9-0 lead in the top of the fourth.
As the bottom of the fourth came around, the Cardinals got into a rhythm as sophomore Mandy Lauth doubled to right center, driving Mulholland home to put Ball State on the board.
Ball State rallied back in the bottom of the fifth inning where they added on 12 runs thanks to RBIs from Whitney, Gibson, and Lauth. Another home run — a grand slam — by Mulholland, helped the Cardinals take a 13-9 at the end of the fifth inning.
Toledo had a response of their own in the top of the sixth inning which put them back on top 14-13.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ball State tied it back up after an error which allowed Lauth to score. With no runs scored in the seventh, the extra innings were delayed until Saturday due to darkness.
Saturday
After waiting to finish extra innings, the two teams headed back out to the field Saturday afternoon to finish their second matchup of the weekend.
The Rockets quickly added on three runs to put them up 17-14. The Cardinals had no response in the bottom half of the inning, ultimately losing game two of the series which had the series score knotted up at 1-1.
About 20 minutes after the conclusion of the extra innings, the two MAC teams faced off once more to decide the winner of the series.
Mulholland’s productive weekend continued in game three as she doubled into left center and drove Whitney in for a run in the bottom of the first.
As the second rolled aroun,d the Cardinals hit another bomb as Lauth knocked out a two-run homer to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead in the second.
The third and fourth innings were just as productive for Ball State as they scored six more runs. The scoring started after red-shirt junior Hayley Urban doubled to left center and drove in two runs.
Lauth then hit a double of her own before Mulholland and Gibson both scored on wild pitches. The Cardinals led 9-0 at the end of the fourth.
The Toledo Rockets looked like they had a comeback in their hands as they outscored Ball State 8-0 in the last three innings, but that wasn’t enough to put them on top. This led to the Cardinals taking their first home series of the year.
“[Playing in front of the fans] was honestly amazing,” senior Kaitlyn Gibson said. We have been working so hard on our culture and just this family [aspect] we’ve created. I think the number one thing about this win is that we did it together and it took every single one of us.”
Ball State’s next game is scheduled for March 25 against Indiana State in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Contact Rylan Crum at rylan.crum@bsu.edu or on X @RylanCrum.
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