Friday, March 24
Buffalo, NY
1pm
Ball State University
16-16, 1-0
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4-23, 0-1
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Ball State
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Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Softball Outscores Buffalo 15-1 in Doubleheader Sweep
March 24, 2017 | Softball
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Junior second baseman Maddy Labrador (Lexington, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) opened the 2017 Mid-American Conference season with a home run and the Ball State softball team never looked back in a doubleheader sweep of Buffalo Friday afternoon at D'Youville College's Dobson Field.
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By virtue of 6-0 and 9-1 (6 inn.) victories over the Bulls (4-24 / 0-2 MAC), the Cardinals extended their winning streak to six games and improved to 17-16 (2-0 MAC) on the year.
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While Labrador made a statement to open the first league game of the season, it was junior pitcher Carolyn Wilmes (Evansville, Ind./Matre Dei) who controlled it. In another dominating performance, Wilmes extended her shutout streak to 21.2 innings by limiting the Buffalo offense to just six hits over 7.0 innings of work. In improving to 6-8 on the year, Wilmes also collected her third consecutive complete game shutout victory.
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In the day's second game, freshman pitcher Alyssa Rothwell (Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley) carried over the momentum in the circle, striking out a career-high nine batters and limiting the Bulls to three hits and one run over 6.0 innings of work. Her nine strikeouts are the most for a Ball State pitcher since Nicole Steinbach struck out 10 at Bowling Green on April 11, 2015. Rothwell also improved to 3-1 with the win.
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On offense, the Cardinals combined for 19 hits over the two games with Labrador leading the charge at five. Labrador had a home run and double in the opener, while adding a double and two singles in the nightcap. She also drove in three of Ball State's 15 runs on the day.
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Freshman third baseman Janae Hogg (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) led the Ball State offense with four RBI, while junior first baseman Danae King (Glendale, Ariz./Phoneix College) added her third home run of the season.
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Sophomore catcher Olivia Huffman (Woodbury, Minn./South Dakota) also had a great day at the plate in her MAC debut, walking in all three plate appearances in the opener, while adding a pair of RBI hits in the nightcap. She finished the day with two RBI and a team-leading .833 on base percentage. Huffman also stole a base and threw out a runner trying to steal in the opener.
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Ball State and Buffalo are scheduled to close their three-game series Saturday with a 9 a.m. first pitch at D'Youville College's Dobson Field.
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GAME 1 RECAP: Ball State 6 – Buffalo 0
Labrador opened her first MAC weekend with a solo home run, her fifth long ball of the season, in the top of the first to give Ball State starter Wilmes all the run support she needed.
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Ball State added its second run in the top of the fifth, courtesy of a two-out RBI single from Hogg. Huffman scored on the play after reaching base on her second walk and stealing second with two outs.
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The Cardinals added four more insurance runs in the top of the sixth to give the game its final margin of 6-0. Freshman left fielder Haley Dominique (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) opened the inning with a single and junior pinch runner Cadie O'Donnell (Salina, Kan./Barton CC) advanced to third on a double from freshman right fielder Kennedy Wynn (New Albany, Ind./New Albany).
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Junior shortstop Brittany Hopper (Scottsdale, Ariz./Phoenix College) followed with a two-run double to left-center field to give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead. After Huffman's third walk of the game, Labrador added an RBI double of her own with a liner down the right field line to plate Hopper. Huffman later scored the game's final run on a wild pitch.
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GAME 2 RECAP: Ball State 9 – Buffalo 1 (6 inn.)
Labrador started the second game right where she left off, doubling down the right field line. Senior center fielder Rachel Houck (Greenfield, Ind./Louisville) followed with single up the middle to give the Cardinals runners on the corners. The pair then combined for a double steal, allowing Labrador to score the first run of the game. Hogg followed with her second RBI single of the day to drive in Houck from second and make the score 2-0.
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The Bulls cut the Ball State lead in half in the bottom of the first, scoring their only run of the day on a two-out RBI single from Jessica Goldyn. However, Rothwell would recover and strand a pair of Bulls runners with her second strikeout of the inning.
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Ball State managed to get the run back in the top of the second, as Huffman singled up the middle to drive in Hopper who opened the frame with a single.
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From there, Rothwell took charge in the circle, striking out the side in the second and holding the Bulls to just two hits the rest of the game.
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After being held scoreless for a pair of innings, the Cardinals put a four-spot on the board in the top of the fifth, starting with a leadoff home run from King. The rally continued when Labrador singled up the middle and Houck reached on an error to give Ball State a pair of runners in scoring position. Hogg drove them both home with a single to right field, making the score 6-1. Freshman pinch runner Tara Morey (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine) came around to score the fourth and final run of the inning on a Dominique RBI double.
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King opened the top of the sixth with a double and was replaced by freshman pinch runner Caitlyn Robinson (Clarksville, Ohio/Clinton-Massie) who advanced to third on a wild pitch. Huffman followed with her first career double to extend Ball State's lead to 8-1. Huffman then came around to score the final run of the game on a RBI single to right center from Labrador.
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Buffalo threatened to extend the game with a leadoff ground rule double in the bottom of the sixth, but a lineout and a pair of foul outs sealed the doubleheader sweep for the Cardinals.
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For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball.
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- BallStateSports.com –
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By virtue of 6-0 and 9-1 (6 inn.) victories over the Bulls (4-24 / 0-2 MAC), the Cardinals extended their winning streak to six games and improved to 17-16 (2-0 MAC) on the year.
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While Labrador made a statement to open the first league game of the season, it was junior pitcher Carolyn Wilmes (Evansville, Ind./Matre Dei) who controlled it. In another dominating performance, Wilmes extended her shutout streak to 21.2 innings by limiting the Buffalo offense to just six hits over 7.0 innings of work. In improving to 6-8 on the year, Wilmes also collected her third consecutive complete game shutout victory.
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In the day's second game, freshman pitcher Alyssa Rothwell (Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley) carried over the momentum in the circle, striking out a career-high nine batters and limiting the Bulls to three hits and one run over 6.0 innings of work. Her nine strikeouts are the most for a Ball State pitcher since Nicole Steinbach struck out 10 at Bowling Green on April 11, 2015. Rothwell also improved to 3-1 with the win.
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On offense, the Cardinals combined for 19 hits over the two games with Labrador leading the charge at five. Labrador had a home run and double in the opener, while adding a double and two singles in the nightcap. She also drove in three of Ball State's 15 runs on the day.
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Freshman third baseman Janae Hogg (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) led the Ball State offense with four RBI, while junior first baseman Danae King (Glendale, Ariz./Phoneix College) added her third home run of the season.
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Sophomore catcher Olivia Huffman (Woodbury, Minn./South Dakota) also had a great day at the plate in her MAC debut, walking in all three plate appearances in the opener, while adding a pair of RBI hits in the nightcap. She finished the day with two RBI and a team-leading .833 on base percentage. Huffman also stole a base and threw out a runner trying to steal in the opener.
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Ball State and Buffalo are scheduled to close their three-game series Saturday with a 9 a.m. first pitch at D'Youville College's Dobson Field.
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GAME 1 RECAP: Ball State 6 – Buffalo 0
Labrador opened her first MAC weekend with a solo home run, her fifth long ball of the season, in the top of the first to give Ball State starter Wilmes all the run support she needed.
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Ball State added its second run in the top of the fifth, courtesy of a two-out RBI single from Hogg. Huffman scored on the play after reaching base on her second walk and stealing second with two outs.
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The Cardinals added four more insurance runs in the top of the sixth to give the game its final margin of 6-0. Freshman left fielder Haley Dominique (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) opened the inning with a single and junior pinch runner Cadie O'Donnell (Salina, Kan./Barton CC) advanced to third on a double from freshman right fielder Kennedy Wynn (New Albany, Ind./New Albany).
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Junior shortstop Brittany Hopper (Scottsdale, Ariz./Phoenix College) followed with a two-run double to left-center field to give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead. After Huffman's third walk of the game, Labrador added an RBI double of her own with a liner down the right field line to plate Hopper. Huffman later scored the game's final run on a wild pitch.
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GAME 2 RECAP: Ball State 9 – Buffalo 1 (6 inn.)
Labrador started the second game right where she left off, doubling down the right field line. Senior center fielder Rachel Houck (Greenfield, Ind./Louisville) followed with single up the middle to give the Cardinals runners on the corners. The pair then combined for a double steal, allowing Labrador to score the first run of the game. Hogg followed with her second RBI single of the day to drive in Houck from second and make the score 2-0.
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The Bulls cut the Ball State lead in half in the bottom of the first, scoring their only run of the day on a two-out RBI single from Jessica Goldyn. However, Rothwell would recover and strand a pair of Bulls runners with her second strikeout of the inning.
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Ball State managed to get the run back in the top of the second, as Huffman singled up the middle to drive in Hopper who opened the frame with a single.
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From there, Rothwell took charge in the circle, striking out the side in the second and holding the Bulls to just two hits the rest of the game.
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After being held scoreless for a pair of innings, the Cardinals put a four-spot on the board in the top of the fifth, starting with a leadoff home run from King. The rally continued when Labrador singled up the middle and Houck reached on an error to give Ball State a pair of runners in scoring position. Hogg drove them both home with a single to right field, making the score 6-1. Freshman pinch runner Tara Morey (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine) came around to score the fourth and final run of the inning on a Dominique RBI double.
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King opened the top of the sixth with a double and was replaced by freshman pinch runner Caitlyn Robinson (Clarksville, Ohio/Clinton-Massie) who advanced to third on a wild pitch. Huffman followed with her first career double to extend Ball State's lead to 8-1. Huffman then came around to score the final run of the game on a RBI single to right center from Labrador.
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Buffalo threatened to extend the game with a leadoff ground rule double in the bottom of the sixth, but a lineout and a pair of foul outs sealed the doubleheader sweep for the Cardinals.
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For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball.
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- BallStateSports.com –
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wilmes, Carolyn (6-8)
L: POWER, Ally (2-7)
Batting:
2B: Labrador, Maddy 1 ; Wynn, Kennedy 1 ; Hopper, Brittany 1
HR: Labrador, Maddy 1
RBI: Labrador, Maddy 2 ; Hogg, Janae 1 ; Hopper, Brittany 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Labrador, Maddy 1 ; O'Donnell, Cadie 1 ; Wynn, Kennedy 1 ; Hopper, Brittany 1 ; Huffman, Olivia 2
SB: Morey, Tara 1 ; Huffman, Olivia 1
Batting:
2B: LALLOS, Danielle 1
Base Running:
SB: GOLDYN, Jessica 1
CS: OGAGAN, Ufuoma 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ SoftballINF/C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF/OF
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