Ball State University
10-9
Notre Dame
16-3
Softball Ends FGCU Spring Break Classic with Loss to No. 21 Notre Dame
March 06, 2016 | Softball
FT. MYERS, Fla. - - The Ball State softball team closed play in the FGCU/Four Points Spring Break Classic with a 7-1 loss to 21st-ranked Notre Dame Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Softball Complex.
“Notre Dame is a very good team,” Ball State head coach Megan Ciolli Bartlett said. “I think the speed of the game just got away from us today. We will make some adjustments heading into this coming week, as we will face some similar teams during the rest of our time in Florida.”
Senior shortstop Emily Dabkowski provided the Cardinals (10-9) biggest hit of the day, leading off the bottom of the second inning by taking a 3-2 pitch deep over the fence in left-center field for her sixth home run of the season and the 28th of her career. In raising her Mid-American Conference leading RBI total to 23, Dabkowski also extended her current hitting streak to seven games and has now reached base safely in each of the past 11 games.
Over the course of the three-day FGCU Spring Break Classic, Dabkowski hit .333 (5-for-15), with two home runs and a double. She drove in seven of Ball State's 21 runs and accounted for nine overall as she crossed the plate four times. Junior center fielder Rachel Houck led the Ball State offense with a .438 (7-for-16) average over the tournament, scoring five runs and driving in one.
The Fighting Irish (16-3) benefited from a couple of lucky bounces in the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. With one out, a grounder to second looked to provide the second out of the inning, but the ball bounced out of the first baseman's glove on the throw to keep the batter alive. The next Irish batter hit a hard grounder to short which took a bad bounce over the Cardinals shortstop and went into the outfield to give ND runners at second and third with one out.
After a sacrifice fly drove in the game's first run, Ball State senior pitcher Nicole Steinbach answered with an inning-ending strikeout to keep the damage to one run. Dabkowski then continued the Cardinals momentum with a game-tying solo blast to even the score at 1-1.
The game remained tied until the top of the fourth inning, when the Irish struck for four runs to pull ahead 5-1. Notre Dame added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to give the game its final score of 7-1.
Ball State attempted a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth inning, as freshman designated player Madison Lee drew a walk and Houck dropped a blooper between three Irish players in shallow left-center field. Unfortunately, a groundout to second base ended the inning and the Cardinals best chance at a comeback.
In the circle, Steinbach finished the game with a pair of strikeouts over 4.0 innings of work, as she caught the Irish batters swinging to end both the first and third innings.
The Ball State softball team returns to action Tuesday, when it plays Illinois State (1 p.m.) and UCF (3:30 p.m.) in the UCF Round Robin in Orlando, Fla.
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: Rachel Nasland (5-0)
L: Steinbach, Nicole (7-4)
Batting:
2B: Morgan Reed 1
RBI: Karley Wester 1 ; Melissa Rochford 1 ; Caitlyn Brooks 1 ; Kimmy Sullivan 1 ; Megan Sorlie 1 ; Bailey Bigler 1
SF: Caitlyn Brooks 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ali Wester 2 ; Morgan Reed 2 ; Maddie McCracken 1 ; Megan Sorlie 1 ; Bailey Bigler 1
SB: Ali Wester 2 ; Bailey Bigler 1
Batting:
HR: Dabkowski, Emily 1
RBI: Dabkowski, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dabkowski, Emily 1
