Ball State University
St. Francis
Softball Finishes Weekend 4-1
February 25, 2008 | Softball
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? The Ball State softball team defeated Lipscomb 5-3 on Sunday, and finished the Panera Bread Tournament with a 2-1 victory over St. Francis.
The Cardinals finished the tournament 4-1 improving their overall record to 5-5. Ball State played Lipscomb twice in the tournament because the Bradley Braves were unable to travel due to icy weather conditions in the Peoria, Ill. area.
Abby Gross gave the Cardinals an early lead against the Bucs with a two RBI single. The game would stay locked at 2-0 until the top of the fifth inning.
In the fifth, Lauren Dortwegt hit a one out triple to the gap in right centerfield. She went on to score off a sacrifice bunt by Sara Simons. Lipscomb was able to put another run on the scoreboard with an RBI single by Christen Campbell.
Ball State answered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
With one out and two Cardinals on base, Amanda Pick blasted a home run over the leftfield wall giving the Cardinals a 5-2 advantage.
Pick led BSU against Lipscomb finishing the game 2-3 with 3 RBI.
Lipscomb tried to make a comeback in the top of the sixth as they recorded two doubles in the inning closing the gap to 5-3.
Laura Masch proved to be too much for the Bucs. Masch threw deep into the sixth inning and recorded eight strikeouts while only walking two batters.
Masch found herself in a jam in the fourth inning with the bases loaded. She got out of the inning by recording her sixth strikeout of the game.
Masch struck out five of the eight batters she faced between the second and third inning. She improves to 1-1 on the year.
Elizabeth Milian came in to earn the save for Ball State. This was the first career save for Milian.
In game two, Gross hit a triple to right field in the second inning, and Pick followed with a double to centerfield to put the Cardinals ahead early 1-0.
Tiffany Garofano had a great day on the mound for Ball State. Garofano had a no-hitter through four innings of play. She threw seven strikeouts in the first four innings and ended the game with a career high 12.
Nicole Bender hit a two out single to centerfield allowing Christina Aulbach to score the first run of the game for the Red Flash in the fifth inning. Janelle McCoy tried to score from second on the play but was thrown out on a great throw from Lisa Rozanski.
Ball State regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning as Jen Moore was able to score off an error by Kelly Slingwine.
Garofano stuck out the side in the sixth inning, but in the seventh the Red Flash loaded the bases with a walk and two singles. Garofano went deep into the count, and recorded her team-high 12th strikeout to earn the win for Ball State.
The Cardinals will return to action March 1-2 to compete in the UT-Martin Tournament.
