Softball Earns Pair of 3-2 Wins Saturday at Ohio

ATHENS, Ohio – The Ball State softball team ran its winning streak to eight games with a pair of 3-2 victories over Mid-American Conference East Division leader Ohio Saturday afternoon at the Ohio Softball Field.

The Cardinals, who have won 14 of their last 15 games overall, improved to 25-17 on the year and are now 9-1 in MAC play. The Bobcats, who entered the day with a perfect 7-0 record at home, fall to 25-10 (6-4 MAC) with the losses.

In Saturday's series opener, junior Carolyn Wilmes (Evansville, Ind./Matre Dei) surrendered a pair of first inning runs, only to respond with six scoreless innings and a career-high nine strikeouts to earn her 11th win of the season. Wilmes limited the Bobcats to just two baserunners after the first inning, one of which was doubled up to end the fourth, and also struck out the side in the third.

Freshman left fielder Haley Dominique (Oregon, Ohio/Clay) was the offensive hero of the first game, with a sacrifice fly in the third and a game-tying RBI single in the fifth.

In the second game, Ohio looked to have a walk-off victory in the bottom of the seventh after a RBI double from Morgan Geno followed by a single from Mikayla Cooper. However, Ball State senior center fielder Rachel Houck (Greenfield, Ind./Louisville) threw a bullet to sophomore catcher Olivia Huffman (Woodbury, Minn./South Dakota) who tagged Geno short of the plate to help force extra innings.

Freshman right fielder Kennedy Wynn (New Albany, Ind./New Albany) then came up big in the top of the eighth, slicing a 0-2 pitch up the middle to drive in what proved to be the game-winning run. Freshman pitcher Alyssa Rothwell (Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley) entered the game in relief in the bottom of the eighth, striking out the first two batters she faced before inducing a fly to Wynn in right field to end the game with her second save of the year.

The other big hit of the second game came from junior first baseman Danae King (Glendale, Ariz./Phoneix College) who blasted a two-run home run off the top of the roof of Ohio's batting facility in left field to give Ball State a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth inning.

Ball State and Ohio will conclude their three-game series Sunday with a scheduled noon first pitch at the Ohio Softball Field.

GAME 1 RECAP: Ball State 3 – Ohio 2
It would take a little more come-from-behind magic for the Cardinals to win Saturday's opener as the Bobcats used a single and pair of walks to load the bases with two outs in the bottom of the first. Ohio's Alexa Holland followed with a two-run single, giving the home squad a 2-0 lead.

However, the comeback kids were up to the task, starting with a sacrifice fly from Dominique in the third. Junior shortstop Brittany Hopper (Scottsdale, Ariz./Phoenix College) opened the inning with a double off the wall in left field and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Huffman. Two batters later, Dominique's sacrifice fly cut the Ohio lead to 2-1.

After a scoreless fourth inning, the Cardinals got two more runs off one of the league's most dominating pitchers in Savannah Jo Dorsey in the top of the fifth. Huffman was hit by a pitch with one out to give Ball State its first base runner, while a single from junior second baseman Maddy Labrador (Lexington, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) gave the Cardinals runners on the corners.

Dominique followed with a RBI single to right-center field to tie the score and give Ball State back-to-back hits off of Dorsey for the first time on the day. Houck followed with a third consecutive single to give the Cardinals runners on the corners once again. Houck followed with her 12th stolen base of the season, which also allowed Labrador to score the game-winning run from third when the throw to second got away from the Ohio shortstop for an error.

Wilmes controlled play from there, retiring six of the final seven batters she faced to improve to 11-9 on the year.

GAME 2 RECAP: Ball State 3 – Ohio 2 (8 innings)
Ohio jumped out to another early lead in the second game, courtesy of a third-inning RBI double from Geno. However, the Cardinals quickly responded with a two-run blast from King in the top of the fourth. Houck opened the inning with her league-leading 15th double of the season, and two batters later, King launched a two-run bomb to left field to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.

The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the seventh, when back-to-back one out doubles helped the Bobcats tie the score at 2-2. Ohio looked to win the game on a single from Cooper, however, Houck threw a laser to Huffman who tagged Geno short of the plate to help force extra innings.

Wynn then came up big in the top of the eighth, slicing a 0-2 pitch up the middle to drive in what proved to be the game-winning run. Dominique walked to open the inning, while sophomore pinch runner Aeshia Miles (Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill) advanced to second on a passed ball. Following a two-out walk to King, Wynn came through with the game-winning RBI.

Freshman pitcher Alyssa Rothwell (Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley) entered the game in relief in the bottom of the eighth, striking out the first two batters she faced before inducing a fly to Wynn in right field to end the game with her second save of the year.

Freshman pitcher Darcie Huber (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield Central) earned the win in the circle by holding the Bobcats to a pair of runs while scattering 11 hits over 7.0 innings of work. Overall, Ohio stranded 10 runners in the contest.

For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball.

- BallStateSports.com –

Players Mentioned

Haley Dominique

Brittany Hopper

Rachel Houck

Darcie Huber

Olivia Huffman

Danae King

Maddy Labrador

Aeshia Miles

Alyssa Rothwell

Carolyn Wilmes

Kennedy Wynn