Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
20-10, 1-1
Northern Illinois
13-19, 1-3
Softball Rallies Past Northern Illinois, 11-10
April 01, 2012 | Softball
DEKALB, Ill. - - Trailing 8-6 with two outs in the top of the seventh, the Ball State softball team rallied to even the score and eventually pull out an 11-10, eight-inning victory over Northern Illinois Sunday afternoon at NIU's Mary M. Bell Field.
The Cardinals improve to 20-10 (1-1 Mid-American Conference) with the victory, while the Huskies fall to 13-19 (1-3 MAC).
Senior shortstop Alison Mercado (Perris, Calif./Arizona Western) led Ball State at the plate with a 3-for-4 effort, including a game-tying RBI single with two outs in the top of the seventh. She would drive in two runs, while also scoring a one.
The Cardinals continued their hard-hitting, with both sophomore left fielder Jennifer Gilbert (McKinney ,Texas/McKinney) and sophomore third baseman Audrey Bickel (Munster, Ind./Andrean) hitting their fifth home runs of the season. Gilbert's three-run blast in the second was the 20th of her career and moves her into sole possession of second on BSU's career chart.
Both Gilbert and Bickel finished the game with two hits, as did freshman second baseman Taylor Cox (Garden Grove, Calif./Pacifica) who drove in the eventual game-winning run with a two-out, two-run triple in the eighth.
NIU opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, on an RBI groundout from Shelby Miller which drove in Dani Parrish who doubled to reach base.
The Cardinals responded with a six-run second inning, which saw BSU score six runs on three hits. Junior center fielder Amanda Carpenter (Santee, Calif./Santana) walked to lead off the inning, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Cox followed with a single to put runners at the corners before she stole second base, one of BSU's seven steals in the game.
Mercado followed with an RBI fielder's choice on a sacrifice bunt attempt which brought home Carpenter. Gilbert then blasted her three-run homer to make the score 4-1. Freshman designated player Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) was then hit by a pitch and senior catcher Amanda Montalto (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) drew a walk to put a pair of runners on and force an NIU pitching change.
After a strikeout, Bickel blasted a two-run triple down the right field line to plate the two runners and give Ball State a 6-1 lead.
Unfortunately, the lead would not last long, as Northern Illinois capitalized on four BSU errors in the bottom of the third to bring home seven runs and pull ahead 8-6.
The score remained 8-6 until a two-out, seventh inning rally from the Cardinals. Sophomore first baseman Taylor Rager (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) opened the inning with a walk, but two quick outs threatened to give Ball State its second league loss of the weekend.
However, sophomore pinch hitter Lauren Schroeder (Greenfield, Ind./New Palestine) kept BSU alive with a single to center field. With runners at first and third, freshman pinch hitter Haley Smith (Baytown, Texas/Lee) drove a two-out RBI single to right field, cutting the NIU edge to 8-7. Mercado followed with BSU's biggest hit of the game, driving a RBI single through the left side to bring home the game-tying run.
The Cardinals rallied again with two outs in the top of the eighth, starting with a solo home run from Bickel. Carpenter then reached on an error and freshman right fielder Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) drew a walk to set-up Cox's two-run triple.
NIU would rally for two runs in the bottom of the eighth, on a double and a pair of singles, before back-to-back fielder's choices gave Ball State the 11-10 victory.
Senior pitcher Kim Mazzapica (Palm Harbor, Fla./East Lake) picked up the win in the circle, improving to 10-3 on the season. She would tie her career-high with six strikeouts, while allowing 12 hits and 10 runs, only five of which were earned.
Jessica Sturm suffered the loss for NIU, falling to 4-5 after pitching the final 6.2 innings. She allowed eight hits and five runs (three earned), while striking out five batters. Megan Dortch started the game on the mound, giving up six runs and three hits over 1.1 innings of work.
The Ball State softball team returns to action Wednesday, when it travels to Wright State for a 3 p.m. non-conference showdown.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mazzapica, Kim (10-3)
L: STURM, Jessica (4-5)
Batting:
3B: Bickel, Audrey 1 ; Cox, Taylor 1
HR: Gilbert, Jenny 1 ; Bickel, Audrey 1
RBI: Gilbert, Jenny 3 ; Bickel, Audrey 3 ; Cox, Taylor 2 ; Smith, Haley 1 ; Mercado, Alison 2
SH: Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Mercado, Alison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gilbert, Jenny 1 ; Stuedemann, Hanne 1 ; Montalto, Amanda 1 ; Cortez, Julie 1 ; Bickel, Audrey 1 ; Carpenter, Amanda 2 ; Cihlar, Loren 2 ; Cox, Taylor 1 ; Mercado, Alison 1
SB: Carpenter, Amanda 2 ; Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Cox, Taylor 2 ; Mercado, Alison 2
HBP: Stuedemann, Hanne 1
Batting:
2B: GREMILLION, Nicole 1 ; PARRISH, Dani 1 ; SHEPPARD, Amanda 1
RBI: PARRISH, Dani 1 ; TOFFT, Stephanie 1 ; MILLER, Shelby 2 ; BARNETT, Jennifer 2 ; KOPP, Ashley 1 ; SHEPPARD, Amanda 1
Base Running:
RUNS: GREMILLION, Nicole 1 ; PARRISH, Dani 3 ; TOFFT, Stephanie 1 ; MILLER, Shelby 1 ; STURM, Jessica 1 ; OSWALD, Erika 1 ; KOPP, Ashley 1 ; SHEPPARD, Amanda 1
SB: TOFFT, Stephanie 1 ; STURM, Jessica 1 ; OSWALD, Erika 1
