A rematch of the 2024 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Softball Championship game took place in Muncie as Ball State softball hosted Miami (OH) for a three-game weekend series. In the end, it was the Cardinals taking the series 2-1.
“I feel like we made our adjustments, and we just got back to playing us and not making the game too big,” Ball State head coach Helen Peña said. “We really took advantage of what they gave us and we're able to just handle the ball well on defense and in the circle.”
Friday
Junior Ella Whitney opened the series in the circle for Ball State (26-11, 11-5 MAC). It didn’t take long for the Redhawks (25-18, 14-3 MAC) to find momentum on offense as they took a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-RBI single.
The score stayed the same until the bottom of the third when redshirt junior Hayley Urban ripped an RBI-single to center field. In the top of the fourth, the Redhawks added two more runs to their lead on a fielder’s choice play and a sacrifice fly.
However, the Cardinals didn’t give in as redshirt junior McKenna Mulholland scored on an RBI triple from senior Kara Gunter. After Gunter scored a few batters later, the Cardinals only trailed 4-3 at the end of the fourth inning.
Going into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Cardinals needed to tie the game to advance the contest. The final effort kicked off as senior Kaitlyn Gibson singled to reach first base. After redshirt freshman Allee Noble replaced Gibson as a pinch runner, she took second base on a wild pitch.
But then the Redhawks made a mistake as the throw to second base sailed into the outfield. This allowed Noble to score from second base, tying the game 4-4.
However, the Redhawks didn’t let that falter their momentum on offense. In the top of the eighth inning, Whitney’s 121st pitch of the contest was launched for a three-run home run, giving Miami a 7-4 lead.
Though the Cardinals had a baserunner in the bottom of the eighth, they could not get the offense rolling, falling in game one. Peña said she liked the fight the team displayed, but was disappointed with not capitalizing when they had runners in scoring position.
“I feel like we had a lot of chances to pull ahead and put them away, especially after they made those errors,” Peña said. “I feel like if we just execute us and our approach a bit better, then we put them away early.”
Saturday
After losing game one of the series in extra innings, the Cardinals took the field yet again on Saturday for a doubleheader against the Redhawks.
In the first game, freshman pitcher Breanna Severino got the start in the circle for Ball State.
The Cardinals showed off their defense quickly on day two as redshirt senior catcher McKayla Timmons picked off a runner trying to steal second right before Severino struck out a batter to end the top of the first inning.
Sophomore infielder Maia Pietrzak got the hitting started when she knocked a ball to right field for a single in the bottom of the first.
The next at-bat, Pietrzak took advantage of a wild pitch and stole second base before a walk to Whitney allowed Pietrzak to advance to third. However, the Cardinals could not score either runner.
The second and third innings were just the same as both teams finished with zero runs.
The Cardinals were able to find productivity in the fourth inning when Pietrzak singled to right center, allowing two players in sophomore Mandy Lauth and junior Ashlee Lovett, to score.
As the fourth kept going, the Cardinals weren’t quite done scoring as they added one more run thanks to an RBI-double to center field by Timmons. Ball State led the RedHawks 3-0 at the end of the inning.
Miami looked to respond in the top of the fifth but weren’t able to capitalize as they left a runner stranded on base.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Cardinals were able to put players on base due to three batters being hit by a pitch, loading the bases. However, Ball State couldn’t find the pitch to drive home the runners.
The two teams battled defensively in the final two innings, but the Cardinals didn’t budge. Ball State won game two of the series, knotting the series record at 1-1.
“It was just great to come out and be able to trust my defense and trust the offense,” Severino said. “I knew they were gonna do their job, so it made it a lot easier to do mine. It was just really nice to bounce back.”
Around 30 minutes after the conclusion of game two in the series, the two MAC teams headed back out to the diamond for the final game of the weekend. Whitney got the start in the circle for the Cardinals.
Whitney recorded multiple strikeouts at the top of the first inning. Yet, Ball State also came out of the first inning empty. But in the second inning, that changed.
Whitney started the scoring for the Cardinals when she blasted a solo home run in the bottom of the second to give Ball State an early 1-0 lead.
The top of the third was a productive defensive inning for the Cardinals when Mulholland tracked down a fly ball for the first out, tossed a ground ball to first for the second out, and Lovett capped off the top half of the defensive inning with a caught pop fly in right field.
The third inning ended up being Ball State’s most productive inning of the day, starting with an RBI from Gunter, which allowed Pietrzak to score. Gunter then scored when Mulholland singled down the left field line for an RBI base hit.
The Cardinals led 3-0 at the end of the inning.
Later in the bottom of the fifth inning, Lovett doubled down the left field line and drove in both Timmons and redshirt freshman Payton Fox.
The RBI from Ashlee Lovett was the last scoring play of the day for either team as the Cardinals hung on and won game two 5-0, taking the series 2-1.
“I wouldn't be able to do it without my teammates,” Whitney said. “They just kept me calm, cool and collected throughout the whole game. It's so much fun playing with this defense behind me.”
The Cardinals head on the road as they face Western Michigan in a three-game MAC series. The first game is scheduled for April 15 with the first pitch at 1 p.m.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85. Contact Rylan Crum via email at rylan.crum@bsu.edu or via X @RylanCrum.
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