Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
4-2
Tennessee State
5-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 1 |
| Tennessee State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
Softball Takes Two on Second Day of Phyllis Rafter
February 27, 2011 | Softball
WOODSTOCK, Ga. - Ball State Softball tallied two victories on the second day of the Phyllis Rafter Memorial with defeats against Tennessee State (13-5) and Mercer (8-1) at the Twin Creeks Softball Complex.
"We did a much better job offensively than the first few games and I feel as though we fixed some struggles that we had last weekend," head coach Craig Nicholson said. "The top three hitters in our lineup are all table-setters and that really makes our offense go. They have really had a good weekend and are a huge reason of why we are 3-0 so far in this tournament."
Ball State outhit Tennessee State, 17-7, and went only one inning without a run. Barkley started things off for the Cardinals in the top of the first inning with a single to third base and advanced to second from a wild pitch. Senior right fielder Alyssa Collins (Fortville, Ind./Mt. Vernon) also set up another base-hit for the Cardinals to third.
Barkley scored the first run of the contest for the Cardinals after she advanced to third base on a passed ball. Freshman Jennifer Gilbert (McKinney, Texas/McKinney) then singled through the right side and brought Collins around to home plate to end Ball State's scoring opportunities in the first inning.
Ball State had a big fourth inning as sophomore Amanda Carpenter (Santee, Calif./Santana) started a seven-run streak with a base-hit up the middle. Junior catcher Amanda Montalto (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) pounded out her second home run of the young season into right center field to drive in Carpenter, followed by freshman Taylor Rager's (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southern) single through the right side. Sophomore Hannah Zimmerman (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina Memorial) was sent in to pinch run for Rager, and she quickly stole second base.
Junior Alison Mercado (Perris, Calif./Arizona Western) bunted and a throwing error from Tennessee State's catcher, freshman Ashley Heinaman, allowed her to reach base and Zimmerman came around to home plate. Senior Lisa Rozanski's (Tampa, Fla./Daytona Beach CC) RBI-single up the middle drove Mercado home to score then Barkley singled through the left side and Rozanski advanced to second base. This was quickly followed by a Collins' RBI-single up the middle which sent Rozanski home. With Gilbert next at the plate, a 2-RBI double to left center was all that was needed to send Collins and Barkley back around to home plate.
Tennessee State would not respond until the bottom of the fourth inning when senior Caitlin Eaton smacked a home run down the left field line. Seconds later, senior Jill Gardner blasted the Tigers' second home run of the game into center field, driving in senior Brittany Webb.
Tennessee State narrowed the margin to 7-5 by the top of the fifth inning, in which Ball State hammered out four runs to complete the scoring for the contest. After two base hits from Mercado and Rozanski to begin the inning, Barkley smacked a 2-RBI double to left center. Then, Collins singled to left center field and Gilbert whacked a home run to center field, the first in her career with the Cardinals, to close the contest.
Barkley went a perfect 4-for-4 from the plate versus the Tigers, while Collins and Gilbert each accumulated three hits in four appearances. Junior Audrey Workman (Wickenburg, Ariz./Wickenburg) paced the Cardinals from inside the circle as she allowed for seven hits and walked one, in addition to collecting five strikeouts in five innings.
Ball State outhit Mercer 12-8 and committed no errors in the 8-1 victory. Barkley once again got the game started for the Cardinals as she singled to center field and advanced to second after a Collins base-hit. Carpenter singled to Mercer's pitcher, senior Kari Chambers, and brought Barkley back home.
In the bottom of the second inning and the Cardinals in trouble with two outs, Mercado doubled down the left field line and Rozanski reached on a fielding error by Mercer's third baseman, freshman Randi Rea. Barkley then smashed the season's first triple down the right field line to score Rozanski and Mercado.
Gilbert scored in the third inning after advancing to third base on a throwing error by Mercer's second baseman, senior Amanda Santa Maria.
Ball State continued its hot hitting in the bottom of the fifth inning when Carpenter's single through the left side ignited a three run spark for the Cardinals. Pinch hitting for sophomore catcher Sadie Robertson (Fenton, Mo./Rockwood Summit), senior Kristy Stratton (Paw Paw, Mich./Paw Paw) had an RBI-single through the left side to bring Carpenter home. A Rozanski 2-RBI single to second base brought Zimmerman, pinch running for senior first baseman Kate Wilczynski (Tucson, Ariz./Canyon Del Oro), and freshman Katrina Morales (Whittier, Calif./St. Paul), pinch running for freshman third baseman Audrey Bickel (Munster, Ind./Andrean), back around to score.
Mercer would not respond until the top of the sixth inning as Rea blasted a home run to left center field. Bickel scored the final run of the contest after Mercado drove her in on an RBI-single through the left side.
Against the Bears, Carpenter went 3-for-4 at the plate, while Barkley and Mercado finished the day at 2-for-4 and 2-for-3, respectively. Rozanski also joined Barkley and Carpenter with a stolen base apiece, in addition to collecting one hit in three appearances.
Sophomore Audra Sanders (Lynnville, Ind./Tecumseh) had a phenomenal showing from inside the circle as she dished up three innings of no-hit pitching, in addition to fanning 10 Mercer batters.
Ball State will complete play in the tournament Sunday with contests against Bowling Green at 10:30 a.m. and Georgia State at 1 p.m.
Live stats will be provided both games on BallStateSports.com and updates can be found by following @BallStSoftball on Twitter.
Nicholson and the team open the home portion of the 2011 season in a doubleheader versus Dayton at the BSU Softball Complex, beginning at 3 p.m. on March 24.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Workman, Audrey (2-0)
L: GAMACHE,O. (0-4)
Batting:
2B: Barkley, Alicia 1 ; Gilbert, Jenny 1
HR: Gilbert, Jenny 1 ; Montalto, Amanda 1
RBI: Rozanski, Lisa 1 ; Barkley, Alicia 2 ; Collins, Alyssa 1 ; Gilbert, Jenny 5 ; Montalto, Amanda 2
SH: Mercado, Alison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rozanski, Lisa 2 ; Barkley, Alicia 2 ; Collins, Alyssa 3 ; Gilbert, Jenny 1 ; Carpenter, Amanda 1 ; Montalto, Amanda 1 ; Zimmerman, Hannah 1 ; Mercado, Alison 2
SB: Barkley, Alicia 1 ; Collins, Alyssa 1 ; Zimmerman, Hannah 1 ; Mercado, Alison 1
Batting:
HR: EATON,C. 1 ; GARDNER,J. 1
RBI: EATON,C. 2 ; GARDNER,J. 2 ; GAMACHE,O. 1
SH: ALFORD,T. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: EATON,C. 1 ; WEBB,B. 1 ; GARDNER,J. 1 ; HAYES,A. 1 ; BROWN,K. 1
HBP: GARDNER,J. 1
