Ball State University
34-25
Notre Dame
42-14
Softball?s Regional Run Comes To An End With Loss To Notre Dame
May 17, 2015 | Softball
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - - The Ball State softball team saw its 2015 NCAA South Bend Regional run come to an end with a 15-4 (5) loss to regional host and 16-seeded Notre Dame Saturday evening at Melissa Cook Stadium.
After opening regional play with a 6-3 win over the host Irish (42-14) Friday, marking the first NCAA regional win in program history, the Cardinals end the 2015 season with a pair of Saturday losses to finish the year with a 34-25 overall record.
“I am extremely proud of my team,” Ball State head coach Tyra Perry said. “We came in as a four seed and made a lot of noise on Friday. We just had a hard time sustaining it. We lost a game against a very good Kentucky team and Notre Dame, as I said Friday, is a very strong program with strong tradition and well coached. They got hot at the right time and we were not able to keep up with them.”
Unlike Friday's contest, which saw the Cardinals pound out 10 hits including a pair of home runs against the Irish, the Ball State offense never found its rhythm in Saturday's rematch with the exception of a two-out, four-run rally in the bottom of the fourth inning. Notre Dame, on the other hand, carried over its hot hitting from the day's first elimination game when it knocked out Northwestern by a score of 14-5 (5).
Like Ball State one day earlier, the Fighting Irish got off to a hot start Saturday posting four runs in the first and three more in the second to pull ahead 7-0. After a scoreless third inning, the Fighting Irish added one more run to their total in the fourth to extend their lead to 8-0.
The Cardinals finally broke onto the Melissa Cook Stadium scoreboard with a four-run, two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore third baseman Amanda Arnett (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) started the rally with a walk and sophomore center fielder Taylor Cooley (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) followed with a soft slapper in front of the UND pitcher.
Junior shortstop Selena Reyna (Houston, Texas, South Houston) drove in the Cardinals' first two runs with a triple down the right field line. Senior left fielder Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) continued Ball State's offensive barrage with a RBI single up the middle, while junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski (Plainfield, Ill./South Putnam) ended the rally with a RBI triple of her own down the right field line, cutting the Notre Dame lead in half at 8-4.
Unfortunately, the Irish fought back with seven runs in the top of the fifth, pulling ahead 15-4, and ended the game by retiring the Cardinals in order in the bottom of the fifth.
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: Allie Rhodes (20-5)
L: Steinbach, Nicole (19-14)
Batting:
2B: Emilee Koerner 3 ; Micaela Arizmendi 1
3B: Karley Wester 1 ; Micaela Arizmendi 1
HR: Cassidy Whidden 1
RBI: Karley Wester 1 ; Emilee Koerner 2 ; Katey Haus 2 ; Micaela Arizmendi 3 ; Cassidy Whidden 3 ; Morgan Reed 1
SF: Micaela Arizmendi 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Karley Wester 3 ; Emilee Koerner 4 ; Katey Haus 2 ; Micaela Arizmendi 1 ; Cassidy Whidden 1 ; Kimmy Sullivan 1 ; Megan Sorlie 2 ; Jenna Simon 1
SB: Katey Haus 1 ; Morgan Reed 1
Batting:
3B: Reyna, Selena 1 ; Dabkowski, Emily 1
RBI: Reyna, Selena 2 ; Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Dabkowski, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Reyna, Selena 1 ; Cihlar, Loren 1 ; Arnett, Amanda 1 ; Cooley, Taylor 1
SB: Cihlar, Loren 1
HBP: Stuedemann, Hanne 1
