Thursday, May 11
Oxford, OH
3:30 p.m.
Ball State University
27-25, 0
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at
8
Miami
35-18, 0
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7
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E
Ball State
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Miami
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8
6
2
Softball Falls In MAC Championship Opener At Top-Seeded Miami
May 11, 2023 | Softball
OXFORD, Ohio - - Despite scoring the game's first four runs, the fourth-seeded Ball State softball team opened play at the 2023 Mid-American Conference Championship with an 8-4 loss to top-seeded Miami Thursday afternoon at the Miami Softball Stadium.
After a pair of scoreless innings, a one-out single up the middle from junior center fielder Remington Ross sparked the Cardinals (27-25) offense. BSU would go on to load the bases before redshirt freshman McKenna Mulholland was hit by a 3-2 pitch to bring in the first run of the contest.
After the second out of the inning, back-to-back RBI singles to the right side of the field by junior first baseman Samantha-Jo Mata and junior left fielder Kaitlyn Mathews made it a three-run game. Junior right fielder Hannah Dukeman followed with a bases loaded walk to bring home the Cardinals' fourth run of the inning.
HIGHLIGHTS
Ball State will battle third-seeded Central Michigan in Friday's first elimination game currently scheduled for noon at the Miami Softball Stadium.
Stay tuned to BallStateSports.com or follow @BallStateSB on Twitter for any potential schedule updates due to weather.
After a pair of scoreless innings, a one-out single up the middle from junior center fielder Remington Ross sparked the Cardinals (27-25) offense. BSU would go on to load the bases before redshirt freshman McKenna Mulholland was hit by a 3-2 pitch to bring in the first run of the contest.
After the second out of the inning, back-to-back RBI singles to the right side of the field by junior first baseman Samantha-Jo Mata and junior left fielder Kaitlyn Mathews made it a three-run game. Junior right fielder Hannah Dukeman followed with a bases loaded walk to bring home the Cardinals' fourth run of the inning.
Unfortunately, the RedHawks (35-18) countered with a three-run blast in the bottom of the inning and never looked back, scoring eight unanswered runs to win the game.WHAT A THIRD INNING!!!
— Ball State Softball (@BallStateSB) May 11, 2023
Here's a quick look at all 4?? of our 3??rd inning runs#ChirpChirp x #WeFly x #MACtion pic.twitter.com/1ePHAJTBTU
HIGHLIGHTS
- With her two-out single down the left field line in the top of the first, senior shortstop Amaia Daniel became the ninth player in program history to reach 200 career hits.
- Six different Cardinals recorded at least one hit in the game, led by two hits apiece from Mata and Mathews
- Sophomore Angelina Russo turned in a solid effort in relief, holding Miami hitless over the final 2.0 innings. She also struck out four of the eight batters she faced.
- T3 | Mulholland was hit by a 3-2 pitch with bases loaded to bring home Ross. (1-0)
- T3 | Mata's second hit of the game is a hard-hit single stopped by the diving Miami second baseman, but it scored Daniel from third. (2-0)
- T3 | Mathews followed with a RBI single to right, bringing home redshirt sophomore catcher McKayla Timmons. (3-0)
- T3 | Dukeman draws a bases loaded walk to make it a four-run game. (4-0)
- B3 | A three-run blast from Karli Spade cuts the Ball State lead to one run. (4-3)
- B4 | Miami ties the score on a Ball State throwing error trying to get the lead runner out at third after the out at first. (4-4)
- B5 | Another Ball State throwing error, this one on a Miami double, allows another run to score. (4-5)
- B5 | A single through the left side by Spaid brings in another run. (4-6)
- B5 | A two-run single through the left side by Riley Coyne extends Miami's lead to four. (4-8)
Ball State will battle third-seeded Central Michigan in Friday's first elimination game currently scheduled for noon at the Miami Softball Stadium.
Stay tuned to BallStateSports.com or follow @BallStateSB on Twitter for any potential schedule updates due to weather.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brianna Pratt (28-10)
L: Eubank, Emma (2-3)
Batting:
RBI: Mulholland, McKenna 1 ; Mata, Samantha-Jo 1 ; Mathews, Kaitlyn 1 ; Dukeman, Hannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ross, Remington 1 ; Daniel, Amaia 1 ; Timmons, McKayla 1 ; Mulholland, McKenna 1
HBP: Mulholland, McKenna 1
Batting:
2B: Allie Cummins 1 ; Jenna Golembiewski 1
HR: Karli Spaid 1
RBI: Karli Spaid 4 ; Riley Coyne 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Allie Cummins 2 ; Holly Blaska 1 ; Karli Spaid 2 ; Jenna Golembiewski 1 ; Maddi Banks 2
SB: Karli Spaid 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
Uti
/ Softball
OF/C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UT
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