Ball State University
12-16
Western Kentucky
14-5
Softball Suffers 5-3 Sunday Loss To Western Kentucky
March 22, 2015 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State softball team closed its three game home series versus Western Kentucky with a 5-3 loss Sunday afternoon at the Softball Field at the First Merchant Ballpark Complex.
The Cardinals (12-16) jumped out to an early 3-1 lead after the first inning, only to see the Hilltoppers (14-5) rally for four un-answered runs over the final six innings to claim the victory.
Senior left fielder Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) continued her strong play at the plate, notching two more hits for the Cardinals to extend her streak of reaching base safely to 17 consecutive games. She also made a spectacular diving grab to end the second inning and keep a couple of WKU runs off the scoreboard.
Senior right fielder Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) also had a strong day at the plate, going 2-for-4, including a RBI single to drive in Ball State's first run of the game in the bottom of the first.
Western Kentucky struck first, using a sacrifice fly from Lexie Norfleet to bring in the game's first run. However, the Ball State defense was able to limit the damage to one run, as a fly out to sophomore Taylor Cooley (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) in center field ended the top half of the first with the bases loaded with Hilltoppers.
The Cardinals then rallied on the momentum provided by the defense, scoring three runs of their own in the home half of the first. Cihlar singled to short with one out to give Ball State its first base runner, while a sacrifice bunt from junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam) moved her into scoring position. Stuedemann followed with a single to center, bringing home Ball State's first run, while advancing to third on a WKU error.
Senior catcher Jessica Craft (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte) gave Ball State a 2-1 lead with a RBI triple to right field in the next at bat. The Cardinals were not done scoring in the inning, however, as sophomore designated player Shelbie Scamihorn (Terre Haute, Ind./South Vigo) sliced a RBI double down the left field line to give Ball State a 3-1 edge.
Western Kentucky countered with two runs in the top of the second to even the score at 3-3. With two on and two outs, Cihlar was able to limit the damage to a pair of runs with her highlight reel diving grab in left field.
Unfortunately, the guest Hilltoppers tallied single runs in both the third and sixth innings to win the game 5-3.
Sophomore Jocelyn Rivera (Brooklyn, Ohio/Brooklyn) suffered the loss in the circle for Ball State, allowing three hits and four runs, only two of which were earned, over 3.0 innings of work. Junior Sammi Cowger (Fenton, Mich./Fenton) turned in a solid performance in relief, holding WKU to three hits and one run over the final four innings.
The Ball State softball team returns to action Tuesday, when it hosts Butler for a 3 p.m. first pitch in a game which was originally scheduled to be played March 9.
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: Janna Scheff (1-0)
L: Rivera, Jocelyn (1-2)
Batting:
RBI: Larissa Franklin 1 ; Brooke Holloway 2 ; Lexie Norfleet 1
SH: Shawna Sadler 1
SF: Larissa Franklin 1 ; Lexie Norfleet 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Larissa Franklin 2 ; Kayla Baker 1 ; Kayti Hanson 2
SB: Shawna Sadler 1
HBP: Shawna Sadler 1
Batting:
2B: Stuedemann, Hanne 1 ; Scamihorn, Shelbie 1
3B: Craft, Jessica 1
RBI: Stuedemann, Hanne 1 ; Craft, Jessica 1 ; Scamihorn, Shelbie 1
SH: Dabkowski, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Stuedemann, Hanne 1 ; Craft, Jessica 1
CS: Reyna, Selena 1
