Ball State University
20-19, 6-2
Bowling Green
13-18, 4-5
Softball Blanks BGSU Thanks To Another Steinbach Gem
April 11, 2015 | Softball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - - Junior Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) picked up her second complete game shutout win of the weekend by guiding the Ball State softball team to a 5-0 victory over Bowling Green Saturday afternoon at Meserve Field.
After the Falcons (13-18 / 4-5 Mid-American Conference) started the game with three straight singles in the bottom of the first inning, Steinbach buckled down and held the hosts to just one hit the rest of the way. She also tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts, while not allowing a walk to help the Cardinals improved to 20-19 (6-2 MAC).
“We played team ball today, with a lot of positive energy and had a great result,” Ball State head coach Tyra Perry said. “We were definitely driven by Nicole's pitching performance. She did an excellent job on the mound, posting 10 strikeouts and keeping Bowling Green off balance the entire day. On offense, we were able to put together timely hits throughout the lineup. I am really excited about Julia Bailey's first career home run, as she battled hard in the at bat and it paid off in a big way.”
Junior shortstop Selena Reyna (Houston, Texas/South Houston) opened the game with her 16th double of the season to right-center field, and came around to score the first run of the contest after back-to-back Bowling Green errors. The first was on a grounder to short from senior left fielder Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North), while the second came on the throw to second on a stolen base by Cihlar.
Bowling Green looked poised to respond in the bottom of the first, as three straight singles loaded the bases. However, Steinbach found her groove with a pair of strikeouts surrounding a foul fly to freshman third baseman Julia Bailey (Lafayette, La./Teurlings Catholic) to end the inning.
The score remained 1-0 until the top of the fifth when sophomore center fielder Taylor Cooley (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) almost single-handedly manufactured a run. Cooley opened the inning with a single to left field, and following a BGSU pitching change, stole second after the third pitch when no one was covering the bag on the throw back to the pitcher. Cooley also managed to steal third before scoring on a RBI groundout from Cihlar.
Bailey would double the Cardinals lead once again in the top of the sixth, blasting her first career home run over the left field wall to push the score to 4-0. After working the count to 3-2, Bailey fouled off four consecutive pitches before going yard. Junior first baseman Sammi Cowger (Fenton, Mich./Fenton) also scored on the play after reaching base on a fielder's choice.
Ball State struck for one more run in the top of the seventh inning, capitalizing on another BGSU error to pull ahead 5-0. Reyna reached base on the defensive miscue to open the frame, and advanced to second on a single from junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam). After a groundout advanced both runners, senior designated player Jessica Craft (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte) blasted a single off the BGSU third baseman's glove to plate the final run of the game.
Steinbach then completed her second straight complete game shutout by striking out the side in the bottom of the seventh.
The Ball State softball team closes out the two-game weekend series with Bowling Green Sunday, with a scheduled 1 p.m. first pitch at Meserve Field.
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 (11-10)
L: Kertes, Jamie (7-8)
Batting:
2B: Reyna, Selena 1
HR: Bailey, Julia 1
RBI: Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Craft, Jessica 1 ; Bailey, Julia 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Reyna, Selena 2 ; Cowger, Sammi 1 ; Bailey, Julia 1 ; Cooley, Taylor 1
SB: Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Cooley, Taylor 2
HBP: Craft, Jessica 1
