Ball State University
Stephen F. Austin
Steinbach Ties Record As Softball Splits Saturday Play
March 01, 2015 | Softball
BATON ROUGE, La. - - The Ball State softball team earned a Saturday split in the Purple & Gold Challenge, picking up a hard-fought 3-1 win over Stephen F. Austin before falling 11-10 to Northwestern State at No. 7 LSU's Tiger Park.
The Cardinals, who move to 8-10 with the split, close play in the three-day tournament Sunday with a scheduled 10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT first pitch versus Florida Atlantic.
In Saturday's opening win over Stephen F. Austin , junior pitcher Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) earned her second save of the weekend, and the eighth of her career, to move into a tie for first on Ball State's career charts with Elizabeth Milian (2007-10). Steinbach held the Ladyjacks hitless over 1.1 innings of work and also logged a strikeout.
The morning game also saw freshman pitcher Carolyn Wilmes (Evansville, Ind./Mater Dei) pick up her first career win in the circle, as she limited SFA to two hits and one unearned run over 5.2 innings of work. She also struck out one batter.
On offense, senior left fielder Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) continued her solid play, recording a hit in each game, while finishing the day 2-for-5 with a walk, hit-by-pitch and sacrifice bunt. Cihlar also went 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts to improve her career stolen base percentage to .917 (33-for-36), which is first in program history.
Junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam) also turned in a solid effort, blasting a home run in each game and finishing the day with a team-best five RBI.
GAME ONE RECAP: Ball State 3 – Stephen F. Austin 1
The Ladyjacks (6-9) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, capitalizing on a Ball State error with two runners on to bring home the game's first run.
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Cardinals answered with a RBI single from Shelbie Scamihorn (Terre Haute, Ind./South Vigo) in the top of the second to even the score. Sophomore designated player Amanda Arnett (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) scored on the hit after leading off the inning with a walk and advancing to second on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt from freshman third baseman Julia Bailey (Lafayette, La./Teurlings Catholic).
After two scoreless innings, the Cardinals took the lead thanks to the bats of Cihlar and Dabkowski. With two outs, Cihlar kept the inning alive with a double to left-center field. Dabkowski followed with a two-run blast which ducked under the LSU scoreboard in right field to give Ball State a 3-1 edge.
From there, the duo of Wilmes and Steinbach held the SFA offense off the board to close out the victory.
GAME TWO RECAP: Northwestern State 11 – Ball State 10
Saturday's nightcap was a tale of momentum, starting with a three-run first inning by the Lady Demons (9-10). The Cardinals answered with a leadoff solo home run off the bat of senior right fielder Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) in the top of the second to make the score 3-1.
After NSU reclaimed its three-run lead with another marker in the bottom of the second, the Cardinals rallied for nine straight runs over the next three innings to pull ahead 10-4.
In a five-run third inning, sophomore center fielder India Steward (Matteson, Ill./Rich South/Western Kentucky) led off the frame with a bunt single and advanced to third on a throwing error by the NSU third baseman. After junior shortstop Selena Reyna (Houston, Texas/South Houston) drew a walk to give the Cardinals runners at the corners, the duo pulled of a successful double steal to give Ball State its first run of the inning.
Following a sacrifice bunt from Cihlar which pushed Reyna to third, Dabkowski logged her second home run of the day with a two-run titanic blast to left field to even the score at 4-4. The Cardinals were not done in the inning, as a walk to Stuedemann and a single by Scamihorn gave BSU two more base runners. After sophomore pinch runner Taylor Cooley (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) entered the game for Scamihorn, a groundout by Arnett advanced both runners. Back-to-back NSU errors then allow both runners to score, giving Ball State a 6-4 edge.
The Cardinals added two more runs in the top of the fourth, pushing the score 8-4, in a rally started by a one-out walk to Reyna and Cihlar being hit by a pitch. After a double steal by the pair, the NSU right fielder would drop what should have been a Dabkowski sacrifice fly and allow both runners to score.
Arnett led off the top of the fifth with a walk, and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from junior first baseman Sammi Cowger (Fenton, Mich./Fenton). Senior pinch hitter Jessica Craft (LaPorte, Mich./LaPorte) followed with a RBI double down the left field line to give BSU a 9-4 edge. Steward, who reentered the game for Craft, scored two batters later on a RBI single which Cihlar slashed past the NSU right fielder.
The Cardinals looked poised to continue their fifth-inning rally, going on to load the bases with two outs. Unfortunately, an interference call on the runner at first on a grounder by Stuedemann ended the rally.
From there, the Northwestern State offense took control of the game, scoring six runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the score at 10-10. The big hits were a three-run homer by Brittany Virgoe and a two-run double by Brittany Jones.
After holding Ball State off the board in the top of the seventh, a walk-off, two-out RBI single by Cassandra Barefield allowed the Lady Demons to escape with the victory.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB and @TyraPerry13 / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball
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