Saturday, April 29
Akron, OH
1 p.m.
Ball State University
26-23, 16-11
6
at
1
Akron (Game 1)
25-21, 13-11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Ball State
2
0
1
2
0
0
1
6
8
0
Akron
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
5
0
Long Ball Leads Softball Past Akron In Series Opener
April 29, 2023 | Softball
AKRON, Ohio - - Senior third baseman Haley Wynn opened the weekend with a bang, blasting the first of a program record six home runs as the Ball State softball team opened its three-game series at Akron with a 6-1 win Saturday afternoon at Lee R. Jackson Field.
Prior to Saturday, the most home runs in a single game for the Cardinals (26-24; 16-12 Mid-American Conference) was five in an 11-2 (5) win over Butler on April 9, 2013.
Two batters after Wynn started the game with a blast, redshirt sophomore catcher McKayla Timmons added her team leading 12th home of the season. Wynn followed with a second solo shot in the third, upping her season total to 10 and giving her three two home run games on the year.
The fourth inning saw redshirt freshman shortstop McKenna Mulholland and junior first baseman Samantha-Jo Mata go back-to-back, extending Ball State's lead to five. After the Zips (25-22, 14-11 MAC) tallied their first run of the series in the bottom of the fourth, sophomore pinch hitter Kaitlyn Gibson provided the record-setting shot, with a seventh inning blast to left field.
Along with the record-setting game at the plate, the Cardinals received some strong pitching, limiting Akron five hits and one run in the game. Junior transfer Francys King was credited with the win in relief, throwing the middle 2.1 innings and holding the Zips to one hit.
Sophomore Angelina Russo closed the game, also allowing just one hit over 1.2 innings of work while striking out a team-high three batters. Redshirt sophomore Emma Eubank started the game, pitching 3.0 innings and allowing three hits and one run. Both King and Eubank tallied a pair of strikeouts on the day.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals could not hold onto the momentum in the nightcap, suffering a 2-1 setback. Akron scored runs in the third and fourth innings to take a 2-0 edge.
Ball State did attempt to mount a seventh-inning comeback starting with a one-out double from junior left fielder Kaitlyn Mathews and followed by an RBI single from senior designated player Amaia Daniel. BSU would go on to get runners at first and second with two outs but could not capitalize.
HIGHLIGHTS
SCORING SUMMARY: GAME 1 - Ball State 6 – Akron 1
SCORING SUMMARY: GAME 2 - Ball State 1 – Akron 2
UP NEXT
Ball State and Akron close their three-game series Sunday with a currently scheduled 2 p.m. first pitch back at Lee R. Jackson field.
Prior to Saturday, the most home runs in a single game for the Cardinals (26-24; 16-12 Mid-American Conference) was five in an 11-2 (5) win over Butler on April 9, 2013.
Two batters after Wynn started the game with a blast, redshirt sophomore catcher McKayla Timmons added her team leading 12th home of the season. Wynn followed with a second solo shot in the third, upping her season total to 10 and giving her three two home run games on the year.
The fourth inning saw redshirt freshman shortstop McKenna Mulholland and junior first baseman Samantha-Jo Mata go back-to-back, extending Ball State's lead to five. After the Zips (25-22, 14-11 MAC) tallied their first run of the series in the bottom of the fourth, sophomore pinch hitter Kaitlyn Gibson provided the record-setting shot, with a seventh inning blast to left field.
Along with the record-setting game at the plate, the Cardinals received some strong pitching, limiting Akron five hits and one run in the game. Junior transfer Francys King was credited with the win in relief, throwing the middle 2.1 innings and holding the Zips to one hit.
Sophomore Angelina Russo closed the game, also allowing just one hit over 1.2 innings of work while striking out a team-high three batters. Redshirt sophomore Emma Eubank started the game, pitching 3.0 innings and allowing three hits and one run. Both King and Eubank tallied a pair of strikeouts on the day.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals could not hold onto the momentum in the nightcap, suffering a 2-1 setback. Akron scored runs in the third and fourth innings to take a 2-0 edge.
Ball State did attempt to mount a seventh-inning comeback starting with a one-out double from junior left fielder Kaitlyn Mathews and followed by an RBI single from senior designated player Amaia Daniel. BSU would go on to get runners at first and second with two outs but could not capitalize.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Ball State's six home runs in the opening game were its most in a game in program history, with the previous best being five in an 11-2 (5) win over Butler on April 9, 2013.
- Junior center fielder Remington Ross picked up her 23rd stolen base of the season in the opening game, improving to a perfect 23-for-23 on the year.
- The Cardinals also used a three-pitcher rotation in the nightcap, with freshman Bridie Murphy earning the start. Despite holding the Zips to three hits and one unearned run over 3.0 innings of work, Murphy picked up the loss.
- With her RBI single in the nightcap, Daniel raised her career hit total to 198. She is now just two hits shy of becoming the ninth player in program history to reach 200 career hits.
SCORING SUMMARY: GAME 1 - Ball State 6 – Akron 1
- T1 | Wynn opens the series with a solo blast to center on a 3-2 pitch. (1-0)
- T1 | Timmons adds a solo shot of her own two batters later. (2-0)
- T3 | Wynn's second blast of the game pushes the lead to three. (3-0)
- T4 | Mulholland smashes the first of back-to-back blasts. (4-0)
- T4 | Mata follows with the second. (5-0)
- B4 | Akron gets a sacrifice fly from Alexis Campbell to drive in Molly McChesney from third. (5-1)
- T7 | Gibson caps the scoring with Ball State's sixth solo home run of the game. (6-1)
SCORING SUMMARY: GAME 2 - Ball State 1 – Akron 2
- B1 | A Ball State error on an infield single allows the runner at second to score. (1-0)
- B4 | A solo home run from Laurel Devoe doubles Akron's lead. (2-0)
- T7 | A one-out double from Mathews was followed by an RBI single from Daniel. (2-1)
UP NEXT
Ball State and Akron close their three-game series Sunday with a currently scheduled 2 p.m. first pitch back at Lee R. Jackson field.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: King, Francys (3-9)
L: DIFEO, Alexa (9-9)
Batting:
2B: Mulholland, McKenna 1
HR: Wynn, Haley 2 ; Timmons, McKayla 1 ; Mulholland, McKenna 1 ; Mata, Samantha-Jo 1 ; Gibson, Kaitlyn 1
RBI: Wynn, Haley 2 ; Timmons, McKayla 1 ; Mulholland, McKenna 1 ; Mata, Samantha-Jo 1 ; Gibson, Kaitlyn 1
SH: Mata, Samantha-Jo 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wynn, Haley 2 ; Timmons, McKayla 1 ; Mulholland, McKenna 1 ; Mata, Samantha-Jo 1 ; Gibson, Kaitlyn 1
SB: Wynn, Haley 1 ; Ross, Remington 1
Batting:
RBI: CAMPBELL, Alexis 1
SF: CAMPBELL, Alexis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MCCHESNEY, Molly 1
HBP: MACINTOSH-HOULDER, K 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
Uti
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
INF/OF
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Sports Link: Kaitlyn Gibson (Softball)
Wednesday, May 07