Thursday, May 11
Akron, Ohio (Firestone Stadium)
10:30 a.m.
Ball State University
30-28
0
vs
3
Central Michigan
37-14
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5
6
7
R
H
E
Central Michigan
0
0
0
0
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1
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3
4
0
Ball State
0
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0
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3
0
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Softball Closes Season with 3-0 Loss to Central Michigan
May 11, 2017 | Softball
AKRON, Ohio – The Ball State softball team saw its 2017 season come to a close Thursday afternoon with a 3-0 loss to Central Michigan in Mid-American Conference Softball Championship action at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio.
After waiting out a five-and-a-half hour delay due to poor field conditions caused by overnight rain, the Cardinals (30-28) struggled once again to get into an offensive rhythm against the top pitcher in the league in the Chippewas' (37-14) Rachael Knapp.
The 2017 MAC Pitcher of the Year, Knapp limited Ball State to just three hits over her 7.0 innings of work, while striking out 10 batters.
Two of those hits came off the bat of senior center fielder Rachel Houck (Greenfield, Ind./Louisville) who opened her final collegiate game with a two-out double in the bottom of the first inning. Junior first baseman Danae King (Glendale, Ariz./Phoenix College) followed with a walk to give Ball State a pair of base runners, but a strikeout ended the inning.
In the circle, sophomore Aeshia Miles (Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill) went toe-to-toe with Knapp in her first career postseason start, limiting the Chippewas to just one hit over 3.0 innings of work. In addition to striking out a batter, she also made several strong defensive plays to help keep the reigning MAC Regular Season Championships scoreless through three innings.
Unfortunately, after four scoreless inning, CMU managed to get to freshman relief pitcher Alyssa Rothwell (Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley) as a leadoff walk and two-out home run gave the guests on the scoreboard a 2-0 lead.
Central Michigan added a third run in the sixth inning, extending its lead to 3-0 on a two-out RBI single to right field with runners at second and third. Luckily, the Cardinals were able to stop a second run as freshman right fielder Kennedy Wynn (New Albany, Ind./New Albany) threw a bullet to sophomore catcher Olivia Huffman (Woodbury, Minn./South Dakota) to get the second runner by four steps at the plate.
The Cardinals looked poised to answer in the bottom of the inning, as junior second baseman Maddy Labrador (Lexington, S.C. / Spartanburg Methodist) blasted a one-hop double off the wall to open the inning. Houck, who also singled in the fourth, looked to make it a 3-for-3 day, but was robbed by a spectacular catch from the CMU right fielder.
Ball State freshman pitcher Darcie Huber (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield Central) did her part to keep the Cardinals close in the top of the seventh, striking out the side in the inning.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals were retired in order in the bottom of the inning to end the game 3-0 and Ball State's season.
With the help of her two hits Thursday, Houck finished her career ranked sixth in program history with a .562 career slugging percentage. She also ranks ninth in home runs (20), 15th in runs scored (85), 17th in batting average (.320), 18th in on base percentage (.384), 19th in RBI (67) and 20th in doubles (28) over her three-year playing career for the Cardinals.
Houck also finished her career as the program's all-time leader in career stolen base percentage at .958 (23-for-24). She was a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen base attempts this year, becoming just the third player in program history to finish a season with a perfect stolen base percentage with at least 10 steals.
Also finished her playing career in Thursday's game was senior designated player Amanda Arnett (Monroe, Mich./Monroe). In her four seasons at Ball State, Arnett blasted 15 career home runs which ranks 11th in program history. One of only 28 players in program history to record a pitching save, Arnett was a .236 batter over her career with 59 runs scored and 57 RBI.
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 –
After waiting out a five-and-a-half hour delay due to poor field conditions caused by overnight rain, the Cardinals (30-28) struggled once again to get into an offensive rhythm against the top pitcher in the league in the Chippewas' (37-14) Rachael Knapp.
The 2017 MAC Pitcher of the Year, Knapp limited Ball State to just three hits over her 7.0 innings of work, while striking out 10 batters.
Two of those hits came off the bat of senior center fielder Rachel Houck (Greenfield, Ind./Louisville) who opened her final collegiate game with a two-out double in the bottom of the first inning. Junior first baseman Danae King (Glendale, Ariz./Phoenix College) followed with a walk to give Ball State a pair of base runners, but a strikeout ended the inning.
In the circle, sophomore Aeshia Miles (Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill) went toe-to-toe with Knapp in her first career postseason start, limiting the Chippewas to just one hit over 3.0 innings of work. In addition to striking out a batter, she also made several strong defensive plays to help keep the reigning MAC Regular Season Championships scoreless through three innings.
Unfortunately, after four scoreless inning, CMU managed to get to freshman relief pitcher Alyssa Rothwell (Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley) as a leadoff walk and two-out home run gave the guests on the scoreboard a 2-0 lead.
Central Michigan added a third run in the sixth inning, extending its lead to 3-0 on a two-out RBI single to right field with runners at second and third. Luckily, the Cardinals were able to stop a second run as freshman right fielder Kennedy Wynn (New Albany, Ind./New Albany) threw a bullet to sophomore catcher Olivia Huffman (Woodbury, Minn./South Dakota) to get the second runner by four steps at the plate.
The Cardinals looked poised to answer in the bottom of the inning, as junior second baseman Maddy Labrador (Lexington, S.C. / Spartanburg Methodist) blasted a one-hop double off the wall to open the inning. Houck, who also singled in the fourth, looked to make it a 3-for-3 day, but was robbed by a spectacular catch from the CMU right fielder.
Ball State freshman pitcher Darcie Huber (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield Central) did her part to keep the Cardinals close in the top of the seventh, striking out the side in the inning.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals were retired in order in the bottom of the inning to end the game 3-0 and Ball State's season.
With the help of her two hits Thursday, Houck finished her career ranked sixth in program history with a .562 career slugging percentage. She also ranks ninth in home runs (20), 15th in runs scored (85), 17th in batting average (.320), 18th in on base percentage (.384), 19th in RBI (67) and 20th in doubles (28) over her three-year playing career for the Cardinals.
Houck also finished her career as the program's all-time leader in career stolen base percentage at .958 (23-for-24). She was a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen base attempts this year, becoming just the third player in program history to finish a season with a perfect stolen base percentage with at least 10 steals.
Also finished her playing career in Thursday's game was senior designated player Amanda Arnett (Monroe, Mich./Monroe). In her four seasons at Ball State, Arnett blasted 15 career home runs which ranks 11th in program history. One of only 28 players in program history to record a pitching save, Arnett was a .236 batter over her career with 59 runs scored and 57 RBI.
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 –
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: KNAPP, Rachael (22-9)
L: Rothwell, Alyssa (5-5)
Batting:
2B: TOLFREE, Lacy 1
HR: HEATH, Sydney 1
RBI: GARDNER, Morgan 1 ; HEATH, Sydney 2
SH: CURTIS, Allison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: VIEIRA, Rachel 1 ; PERLBERG, Andrea 1 ; HEATH, Sydney 1
SB: PERLBERG, Andrea 1
CS: TOLFREE, Lacy 1
HBP: VIEIRA, Rachel 1
Batting:
2B: Labrador, Maddy 1 ; Houck, Rachel 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
UTIL
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF/OF
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