Ball State University
Indiana (DH)
Softball Cruises Past Indiana In Wednesday?s Doubleheader
April 15, 2010 | Softball
Game 1 - Ball State 5, Indiana 2
Under a cloudless sky with nearly no wind, Elizabeth Milian (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) pitched the first game for the Cardinals and struck out eight batters. On her seventh strikeout of the day, Milian broke a 21-year-old record held by Bernie Coffman (1986-89) to become Ball State's all-time career strikeout leader amassing 630 to date.
While Ball State came out on top in the end, Indiana was the first to the scoreboard scoring its opening run in the first inning when Jennifer Glueckert singled up the middle to drive in Breanna Saucedo. Both Glueckert and Saucedo stole bases in this inning, but the Hoosiers would be kept in check by the Cardinals' defense for the remainder of the game.
The Hoosiers first inning ended with two strikeouts pitched by Milian and they left one player on base.
Ball State battled back in the second inning beginning with Jessie Ware (Phoenix, Ariz./Hamilton) reaching first on an error by Indiana's second baseman Madison Diederich. Lisa Rozanski (Tampa, Fla./Alonso) continued the play by hitting a single to advance Ware. Ware continued to third on another error by Diederich. Then, with Alicia Barkley (Oklahoma City, Okla./Putnam City) at bat, Rozanski stole second to tally her 19th steal of the season.
Both Rozanski and Ware were kept in position until Alyssa Collins (Fortville, Ind./Mt. Vernon) singled up the middle and notched two RBI on the hit. The Cardinals loaded the bases before the end of the inning, but all would be left on base after Alyssa Freiling (Bixby, Okla./Sequoyah) flied out to right field.
Indiana was kept to their solo run in the second after Kristin King hit into a double play initiated by Freiling and a Milian strikeout in the top of the second..
The Cardinals extended their lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the second when a string of three singles loaded the bases with Ware, Rozanski and Barkley. Not missing a beat, Amanda Carpenter (Santee, Calif./Santana) hit her sixth double of the season for two RBI and was followed by Collins who reached on a fielder's choice that also drove in Barkley.
Ball State's defense held the Hoosiers to just one run until the fifth inning when Saucedo scored on a single hit by Cassie Gogreve.
Milian's record-breaking strikeout was pitched in the seventh inning when Saucedo struck out swinging. She now has 174 strikeouts this season and maintains a nearly perfect record at 19-2.
The Cardinals amassed nine hits in the game and remained perfect in the field, while the Hoosiers tallied seven hits and two errors.
Game 2 - Ball State 9, Indiana 1
Posting two runs in the first inning, the Cardinals were the first to the scoreboard in game two against the Hoosiers and maintained this dominance throughout the five-inning game. The first two runs were scored by Ware and Rozanski who were driven in by a single from Carpenter, now second on the team with 24 RBI this season. Carpenter notched her single off Monica Wright, who had just replaced Indiana's starting pitcher Jessica Dobson in the circle. Dobson was removed after walking Ware, giving up a hit to Rozanski and hitting Barkley.
Ball State was credited with two hits, two runs and left one runner on base at the end of the first.
The Cardinals offense showed their muscle at bat in the third inning by scoring six runs and racking up five hits. The drive began when Rozanski was called safe on first base due to an umpire ruling that the foot of the first baseman, Gogreve, left the bag. The contested decision was followed by a string of three singles by Ball State's Barkley, Carpenter and Collins. Collins' hit drove home both Barkley and Carpenter for her fourth and fifth RBI of the day. Collins has 19 RBI this season and is batting at a .322 clip.
Then, with runners on second and third Kate Wilczynski (Tucson, Ariz./Canyon Del Oro) placed a clutch sacrifice bunt that gave Carpenter just enough room to slide safely across home plate. The next batter up, Freiling, was walked and initiated a pitching change by the Hoosiers.
With Cassie Loweth in for Monica Wright, Sadie Robertson (Fenton, Mo./Rockwood Summit) singled and advanced to second on an error by leftfield while also driving in Hannah Zimmerman (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina Memorial), pinch running for Amanda Montalto (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) who reached on a fielder's choice, Wilczynski and Freiling. The inning ended when Ware lined into a double play by the shortstop.
With Audra Sanders (Lynnville, Ind./Tecumseh) on the mound for the Cardinals, Indiana scored their sole run of the game on a home run by Madison Diederich in the fourth inning. Sanders gave up just four hits, struck out two batters and saw three Hoosiers left on base through her stay on the mound.
While the Cardinals saw three of Indiana's pitchers in the five-inning game, only one Ball State batter struck out and three runners were left on base.
Ball State resumes its Mid-American Conference schedule Friday in a doubleheader at Buffalo. Following the trek to New York, the Cardinals head to Kent, Ohio to take on Kent State Saturday and Sunday. Live stats will be available on www.ballstatesports.com and inning-by-inning updates will be provided courtesy of @BallStSoftball on Twitter.
