Ball State University
14-18, 2-1
Kent State (GM 1)
22-6, 3-0
Softball Suffers 7-3 Setback To Kent State
April 03, 2015 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State softball team opened the home portion of its 2015 Mid-American Conference slate with a 7-3 loss to Kent State on a rainy Friday afternoon at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
Game two of the scheduled doubleheader versus the Golden Flashes (22-6 / 3-0 MAC) was called after half an inning when heavy rained moved into the area.
In addition, the remained of this weekend's schedule has been altered due to the travel restrictions placed on the Buffalo softball team when New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order #144 prohibiting state-funded or state-sponsored travel to the state of Indiana. Instead of hosting the Bulls for single games Saturday and Sunday, Ball State will now host Buffalo in a Saturday doubleheader at Miami University's Softball Diamond in Oxford, Ohio. The twinbill is slated to start at 5 p.m. with game two following approximately 25 minutes later.
In Friday's loss to Kent State, the Cardinals (14-18 / 2-1 MAC) struggled to find their offense, coming up with just three hits against one of the league's top pitchers in Golden Flashes senior Emma Johnson.
Junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam) was the first Ball State player to get a hit, logging a RBI single in the bottom of the third inning. Senior left fielder Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) also extended her streak of reaching base safely to 21 games when she was hit by a pitch in the third inning.
After a pair of scoreless innings, the Golden Flashes broke onto the scoreboard first with a six-run third inning.
The Cardinals responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, cutting the Kent State lead to 6-3. Junior first baseman Sammi Cowger (Fenton, Mich./Fenton) was hit by a pitch to open home half of the third, while one out later, junior shortstop Selena Reyna (Houston, Texas/South Houston) drew a walk and Cihlar was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Dabkowski followed with a single to left-center field to drive in sophomore pinch runner India Steward (Matteson, Ill./Rich South/Western Kentucky) for the Cardinals' first run. Senior right fielder Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) then reached base on a fielder's choice, while an errant throw by the KSU shortstop on the force play at home allowed two more Ball State runs to score. Unfortunately, the Cardinals were not able to extend the rally, stranding the bases loaded.
Kent State managed to score another run in the top of the fourth inning, while limiting the Cardinals to just two hits over the final four frames to win the game 7-3.
Junior Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) went the distance for the Cardinals in the circle, striking out seven batters over seven innings of work.
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: JOHNSON, Emma (11-3)
L: Steinbach, Nicole (7-9)
Batting:
2B: KIRKPATRICK, Kim 1 ; TILTON, Shelbi 1 ; WARREN, Erika 1
RBI: GRIMM, Maddy 1 ; HAYES, Janel 2 ; KIRKPATRICK, Kim 2 ; TILTON, Shelbi 2
Base Running:
RUNS: DUFFY, Michele 1 ; RAMOS, Dani 2 ; GRIMM, Maddy 1 ; KESTERSON, Chloe 1 ; KIRKPATRICK, Kim 1 ; LADINES, Ronnie 1
SB: RAMOS, Dani 2 ; LADINES, Ronnie 1
Batting:
RBI: Dabkowski, Emily 1
SH: Craft, Jessica 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Reyna, Selena 1 ; Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Steward, India 1
HBP: Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Cruthers, Hayley 1 ; Scamihorn, Shelbie 1 ; Cowger, Sammi 1
