Softball Opens MAC Play 2-0 at Ohio

Friday, April 1

Athens, Ohio

1:00 p.m.

Ball State University

20-13, 0

Ohio (DH)

11-14, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Ball State	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	4	7	7	0
Ohio University	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	3	6	9	2

April 01, 2011 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Ball State Athletics

ATHENS, Ohio - The Ball State University softball team improved to 21-13 overall and 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference after taking both games of the doubleheader at Ohio University (11-15, 0-2 MAC) Friday afternoon at the Ohio Softball Field.

The Cardinals won the first game, 7-6, in extra innings then went on to defeat the Bobcats, 12-3, in the second contest.

In the first game, senior shortstop Alicia Barkley (Oklahoma City, Okla./Putnam City) led the Cardinals in the top of the fourth after she singled to left field to get on base. Freshman first baseman Taylor Rager Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) was then patient at the plate, advancing to first on a walk.

The Cardinals had one out when junior catcher Amanda Montalto (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) brought Barkley home off of a sacrifice fly, giving Ball State the 1-0 edge over the Bobcats after three scoreless innings. Freshman Katrina Morales (Whittier, Calif./St. Paul) added another run off an Ohio error before the end of the inning, putting the Cardinals up 2-0.

The Bobcats put a run on the board in the bottom of the fourth after a solo home run from Alexis Joseph. With two outs and the tying run in scoring position, sophomore pitcher Audra Sanders (Lynnville, Ind./Tecumseh) got the Cardinals out of the inning, striking out the last batter.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Bobcats knotted the game at 2-2 after an RBI-single from Joseph.

Ball State added a run in the top of the sixth after Rager scored off a sacrifice fly from senior center fielder Lisa Rozanski (Tampa, Fla./Daytona Beach CC), but the Bobcats answered back in their at-bat leading off the inning with a solo homerun.

Tied 3-3, the Cardinals headed into extra innings with sophomore left fielder Amanda Carpenter's (Santee, Calif./Santana) single up the middle, followed by a Montalto double to left center, which brought Carpenter home.

Some Ohio errors accompanied by another single from senior right fielder Alyssa Collins (Fortville, Ind./Mt. Vernon) allowed the Cardinals to cross the plate three more times.

The Bobcats had a three run homer to start the bottom of the inning,but with two outs Sanders was able to strike out the last batter to win the game for the Cardinals.

Sanders recorded the win for BSU after 8.0 innings of work. The pre-medicine major gave up six runs while striking out eight batters, improving to 12-7 on the season. Melissa Bonner suffered the loss for Ohio on the mound after 0.2 innings of work.

In the second game with bases loaded, in the top of the first Rager hit a grand slam followed by back-to-back doubles from Montalto and Carpenter to put the Cardinals up 5-0. The home run marked Rager's fourth of the season.

BSU added two more in the second inning after Rager singled up the middle, bringing home Barkley who reached on a fielders' choice and Collins who had got on base due to a single at the start of the inning.

The hot bats kept coming in the third after a single from Collins, a double from Mercado and a two-run homer from Barkley, which resulted in BSU taking a 10-0 advantage over OU. Barkley's homerun stood as the first of her career for the exercise science major.

The Cardinals scored two more in the fourth to secure the run rule after the fifth inning winning the game 12-3. Junior hurler Kim Mazzapica (Palm Harbor, Fla./East Lake) improved to 3-1 on the mound with the win after 5.0 innings of work.

The Ball State softball team continues MAC action when it travels to Akron Saturday. First pitch is at 2 p.m.