Ball State University
5-4
Eastern Illinois
3-7
Softball Ends Tiger Invite With Win Over EIU
February 15, 2015 | Softball
AUBURN, Ala. - - The Ball State softball team closed play in the Tiger Invitational hosted by No. 17 Auburn with a 4-3 win over Eastern Illinois Sunday morning at Jane B. Moore Field.
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 5-4 on the year and conclude the three-day Tiger Invitational with a 2-3 record.
Sophomore center fielder India Steward (Matteson, Ill./Rich South/Western Kentucky) led the Cardinals with a pair of hits in Sunday's win over the Panthers (3-7), but it was her sacrifice bunt attempt in the fifth inning which turned into an in-the-park home run thanks to an EIU error which proved to be her biggest at bat of the game.
In the circle, junior Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) picked up her third win of the season, improving to 3-1, by limiting Eastern Illinois to six hits and three runs (two earned) over 7.0 innings of work. She also stuck out a season-high nine batters.
Steward opened the game with a single to center field and promptly stole second base. Steward then advanced to third on a wild pitch, before scoring the game's first run on a RBI groundout back to the pitcher from senior left fielder Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan).
The score remained 1-0 in favor of the Cardinals until the top of the fifth inning, when Eastern Illinois pushed three runs across the plate.
However, some shaky EIU defense in the bottom of the frame helped the Cardinals counter with three runs of their own. With one out, sophomore designated player Taylor Cooley (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) singled to the third baseman and advanced to second on a throwing error. Steward followed with a sacrifice bunt attempt, but another Panthers error allowed both Cooley and Steward to score.
Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) followed with a single to right field, and after moving to second on a sacrifice bunt, scored the game-winning run on a Stuedemann single up the middle.
Steinbach then retired EIU in order in the sixth, and after allowing a leadoff walk in the seventh, forced the next three batters to groundout to end the game.
Overall, the Cardinals scored four runs on six hits with two errors, while the Panthers tallied three runs on six hits with three errors.
The Ball State softball team returns to action Friday, when it opened play in the South Alabama Invitational with games versus Sam Houston State (2:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. CT) and Chattanooga (4:45 p.m. ET / 3:45 p.m. CT).
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB and @TyraPerry13 / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball
- BallStateSports.com –
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Steinbach, Nicole (3-1)
L: ROGERS, Michelle (3-2)
Batting:
2B: COLE, Hannah 1 ; MARKOWSKI, April 1 ; BECK, Haylee 1
RBI: COLE, Hannah 2
SH: ISAAC, Jennette 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ISAAC, Jennette 1 ; O'DELL, Bailey 1 ; BECK, Haylee 1
Batting:
2B: Craft, Jessica 1
RBI: Stuedemann, Hanne 2
SH: Steward, India 1 ; Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Dabkowski, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Steward, India 2 ; Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Cooley, Taylor 1
SB: Steward, India 1
