Ball State University
6-4
Sam Houston State
5-8
Softball Opens South Alabama Invite With Friday Split
February 21, 2015 | Softball
MOBILE, Ala. - - The Ball State softball team opened play in the South Alabama Invitational with a Friday split, topping Sam Houston State by a score of 8-0 (5 inn.), before falling to Chattanooga, 6-2, in the nightcap at USA's Jaguar Field.
The Cardinals, who move to 6-5 on the year with the split, continue play in the South Alabama Invitational Saturday with games versus Jacksonville (10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT) and the host Jaguars (2:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. CT) who enter the event ranked 22nd in the nation.
Junior shortstop Selena Reyna (Houston, Texas/South Houston) led the Ball State offense by going a perfect 5-for-5 from the plate and adding a walk. She provided Ball State's first runs of the weekend with her third home run of the season, a three-run blast to right-center field in the win over Sam Houston State (5-8).
Junior pitcher Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) also turned in a pair of solid performances in the circle, picking up her first complete game shutout win of the year versus SHSU, while allowing just one earned run in 6.0 innings of work versus Chattanooga (7-4). She finished the day with a 0.64 ERA and 12 strikeouts over 11.0 innings of work.
GAME ONE RECAP: Ball State 8, Sam Houston State 0 in 5 innings.
After three-and-a-half scoreless innings, the Cardinals broke onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth versus the Bearkats courtesy of Reyna's third long ball of the season. Senior right fielder Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) and senior catcher Jessica Craft (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte) were hit by back-to-back pitches to open the inning. After junior first baseman Sammi Cowger (Fenton, Mich./Fenton) reached base on a fielder's choice, which put out the lead runner, Reyna provided a three-run blast to right-center field to give the Cardinals a 3-0 edge.
Ball State followed with five more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the game at 8-0. Senior left fielder Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) reached second on a SHSU error to open the inning, and came around to score on a double by junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam).
Dabkowski advanced to third on a wild pitch, and after a walk to Stuedemann, scored on a successful double steal. Craft followed with a RBI grounder to short, driving in a run while also reaching base on an error. After a fielder's choice gave Ball State its first out of the inning, Reyna doubled down the left field line to put a pair of runners in scoring position.
Freshman third baseman Julia Bailey (Lafayette, La./Teurlings Catholic) followed with a RBI single to make the score 7-0. Sophomore designated player Amanda Arnett (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) then ended the contest with a RBI single up the middle.
In earning her first complete game win of the year, Steinbach limited Sam Houston State to two hits over 5.0 innings of work. She also struck out six batters in the contest.
For the game, the Cardinals logged eight runs on nine hits with one error. The Bearkats tallied no runs on two hits and recorded a pair of defensive miscues.
GAME TWO RECAP: Chattanooga 6, Ball State 2
With Steinbach turning in another solid performance in the circle, the Cardinals jumped out to another early lead versus the Mocs thanks to a leadoff home run from Stuedemann in the bottom of the second inning.
The score remained 1-0 until the top of the fourth, when a RBI groundout from Chattanooga's Criket Blanco evened the score.
Ball State recaptured the lead in the bottom of the fifth thanks to an RBI single to right field from Dabkowski. Sophomore left fielder Taylor Cooley (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) scored on the play after drawing a one-out walk and then stealing second base.
Unfortunately, the Mocs rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh to pull ahead 6-2. The Cardinals managed to get their first two runners on base in the bottom of the frame, only to strand both in scoring position as UTC ended the inning with three straight outs.
In six innings of work versus Chattanooga, Steinbach allowed just six hits and three runs (only one of which was earned), while striking out six more batters.
Overall, UTC scored six runs on nine hits and committed one error. Ball State tallied two runs on eight hits with one error of its own.
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 (4-1)
L: Atkinson, Tayler (1-2)
Batting:
SH: Slater, Jessica 1
Base Running:
SB: Garcia, Alexis 1
CS: Slater, Jessica 1
Batting:
2B: Dabkowski, Emily 1 ; Reyna, Selena 1
HR: Reyna, Selena 1
RBI: Dabkowski, Emily 1 ; Craft, Jessica 1 ; Reyna, Selena 3 ; Bailey, Julia 1 ; Arnett, Amanda 1
SH: Cooley, Taylor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Dabkowski, Emily 1 ; Stuedemann, Hanne 1 ; Craft, Jessica 1 ; Cowger, Sammi 2 ; Reyna, Selena 2
SB: Dabkowski, Emily 1 ; Stuedemann, Hanne 1
HBP: Stuedemann, Hanne 1 ; Craft, Jessica 1
