Ball State University
12-14
Jacksonville
14-12
Softball?s Offense Explodes In 11-0 (5) Victory at Jacksonville
March 13, 2016 | Softball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - - Senior right fielder Selena Reyna opened the game with a single up the middle and the Ball State softball team never looked back in a dominating 11-0 (5) victory over Jacksonville Sunday morning at the Debbie & Fred Pruitt Softball Complex.
In avenging Saturday's 11-3 (6) loss to the Dolphins (14-12), the Cardinals (12-14) pounded out 14 hits in Sunday's win with nine different players recording at least one. Reyna led Ball State with three hits after appearing at the top of the lineup for the first time this season.
Sunday's win also helped Ball State finish its 12-game spring break road trip with a 4-1 record in bounce-back games, as the Cardinals rebounded to avenge losses to four of the five opponents it faced twice on the trip. The only loss came at No. 25 UCF.
Aside from the hard hitting, senior Nicole Steinbach turned in another strong performance in the circle, limiting the Dolphins to four hits and a pair of walks over 5.0 innings to improve to 9-5 on the year. She also struck out four batters in the game, raising her career total to 431 which stands fifth in program history.
After leading off the top of the first with a single, Reyna promptly stole second and advance to third on a single up the middle from freshman catcher Madison Lee, who advanced to second on the throw in. Junior center fielder Rachel Houck then drove Reyna home with a RBI groundout to second, while Lee advanced to third.
Senior shortstop Emily Dabkowski took advantage of the runner at third, laying down a perfect squeeze bunt to give Ball State a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
Lee extended Ball State's advantage to 3-0 in the top of the third thanks to a one-out solo home run into the trees beyond the left field fence. The Cardinals were not done scoring in the inning, however as Dabkowski doubled to center field with two outs and came around to score Ball State's fourth run of the game on a RBI single from junior center fielder India Steward.
The Cardinals then exploded for seven runs on seven hits in the top of the fourth inning to pull away from Jacksonville. Sophomore catcher Leigh McAnally opened the inning with a single to center field, while junior pinch runner Taylor Cooley advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from freshman third baseman Aeshia Miles. Cooley would then come around to score the inning's first run on a single from sophomore pinch hitter Elise Sandberg and a JU error in center field.
After a Jacksonville pitching change, Reyna singled to short and Lee walked to load the bases. Houck and Dabkowski followed with back-to-back two run doubles, extending Ball State's lead to 9-0 with one out in the top of the fourth. Stewart added a third straight double to drive in the Cardinals' 10th run of the game, while Cooley remained in the game two batters later and legged out a two-out infield single which allowed Steward to score from third to give the game its final score of 11-0.
The Ball State softball team will have a couple of days to rest after a busy 12-game spring break trip, before returning to action Friday when it opens play at the Maryland Invitational with a scheduled Noon first pitch versus UMass.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball.
- BallStateSports.com –
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Steinbach, Nicole (9-5)
L: Victoria Brown (9-7)
Batting:
2B: Reyna, Selena 1 ; Houck, Rachel 1 ; Dabkowski, Emily 2 ; Steward, India 1
HR: Lee, Madison 1
RBI: Lee, Madison 1 ; Houck, Rachel 3 ; Dabkowski, Emily 3 ; Steward, India 2 ; COOLEY, Taylor 1
SH: Dabkowski, Emily 1 ; Miles, Aeshia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Reyna, Selena 2 ; Lee, Madison 3 ; Houck, Rachel 1 ; Dabkowski, Emily 2 ; Steward, India 1 ; COOLEY, Taylor 1 ; Sandberg, Elise 1
SB: Reyna, Selena 1
Batting:
SH: Allie McCourt 1
Base Running:
HBP: Danielle Baker 1
