Ball State University
31-23
No. 3 Miami
32-23
Hot Hitting Continues As Softball Tops Miami
May 07, 2015 | Softball
AKRON, Ohio - - The Ball State softball team's bats stayed hot Thursday at the Mid-American Conference Softball Championship, as back-to-back first inning home runs helped lead the Cardinals to an 8-5 victory over Miami at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio.
With the win over the RedHawks (32-23), the second-seeded Cardinals (31-23) advance to face No. 4 Central Michigan at 3:30 p.m. Friday in the final game of the winner's bracket. The victor will advance to Saturday's 1 p.m. championship game.
“Today's win was very important,” Ball State head coach Tyra Perry said. “As it gets hotter outside, it's especially important to stay in the winner's bracket. I am really excited about the way our team is hitting right now. Even with Miami's great defense coming up with some solid plays, we were able to stay focused, have quality at bats and stringing hits together. Tomorrow is going to be tough, as Central Michigan is also hot right now and plays well in the tournament. We are going to have to stick together, stay confident and strong, and play our best game.”
Miami looked poised to take an early lead in the top of the first, as a walk and Ball State error put a pair of runners on base. However, the Cardinals defense was able to come up with three straight outs, including a tag on a runner coming home, to end the inning and keep the game scoreless.
Ball State's offense carried over the momentum into the bottom of the frame, starting with senior left fielder Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) legging out an infield single and advancing to second on a Miami error. Junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam) took advantage, blasting her second home run of the tournament, and the 22nd of her career, over the wall in left-center field to give the Cardinals a 2-0 edge.
Senior right fielder Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan), Ball State's active career home run leader at 26, would not be out-done as she followed with a solo blast of her own to give the Cardinals a 3-0 edge.
After Miami tallied a run in the top of the third, the Ball State offense once again found its grove with a five-run bottom of the frame. Cihlar walked to open the inning, while a Dabkowski single to right-center gave the Cardinals runners at the corners. After Dabkowski stole second, Stuedemann was intentionally walked to load the bases with no outs.
The ploy did not work out for the RedHawks, however, as senior designated player Jessica Craft (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte) sliced a two-run single into center field to push the Ball State lead to 5-1. After a pop fly for the first out of the inning, junior first baseman Sammi Cowger (Fenton, Mich./Fenton) deposited an RBI double into left-center field to extend the lead to 6-1.
The Cardinals were not done scoring, as a walk to sophomore third baseman Amanda Arnett (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) loaded the bases. After logging her first career grand slam yesterday, sophomore pinch hitter Rachel Houck (Greenfield, Ind./ Mt. Vernon/Louisville) smashed a two-run single to center field to give Ball State an 8-1 edge.
Miami would attempt to mount a comeback, cutting the Ball State lead to 8-4 with a run in the fourth and a two-run home run in the fifth. After a scoreless sixth, the RedHawks managed one more run in the seventh and even brought the tying run to the plate with runners on the corners and two outs. However, a diving grab on a short fly to right field by Stuedemann ended the game.
In another strong outing in the circle, junior Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) limited the RedHawks to just eight hits and five runs, only three of which were earned. She also struck out three batters in the game.
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 (16-13)
L: LOGEMANN, Amber (27-10)
Batting:
HR: SHUEY, Taylor 1
RBI: SHUEY, Taylor 3 ; GLIHA, Kaitlyn 1
SH: BUSBY, Tanya 1 ; McCARVER, Eryn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: BUSBY, Tanya 1 ; McINTYRE, Shanyn 1 ; SHUEY, Taylor 1 ; EDWARDS, Remy 1 ; McCHESNEY, Kylie 1
Batting:
2B: Cowger, Sammi 1
HR: Dabkowski, Emily 1 ; Stuedemann, Hanne 1
RBI: Dabkowski, Emily 2 ; Stuedemann, Hanne 1 ; Craft, Jessica 2 ; Cowger, Sammi 1 ; Houck, Rachel 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Cihlar, Loren 2 ; Dabkowski, Emily 2 ; Stuedemann, Hanne 2 ; Craft, Jessica 1 ; Cowger, Sammi 1
SB: Reyna, Selena 1 ; Dabkowski, Emily 1 ; Steward, India 1
HBP: Cowger, Sammi 1
