Ball State University
16-18, 2-3
Ohio - GM 1
20-12, 2-3
Softball Completes Series Sweep of Ohio with Pair of Saturday Wins
April 02, 2016 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - On a cold, blustery day at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex, the Ball State softball team completed a Mid-American Conference series sweep over visiting Ohio with a pair of Saturday wins by scores of 3-2 and 8-6.
“We turned in a pair of great team wins today,” head coach Megan Ciolli Bartlett said. “This weekend was incredibly important for us and is a momentum builder heading into the remainder of MAC play. We can take so much good from this weekend. Nicole was very good on the mound today in some extremely adverse weather conditions. What I love about Nicole is she is more tough than anything. She is dynamic, gets excited on the mound and is tough to beat when she is on.”
Senior pitcher Nicole Steinbach carried over the momentum from her strong performance in Friday's win, surrendering just five hits and a pair of earned runs to help the Cardinals (17-18 / 3-3 MAC) grit out a hard-fought, 3-2 victory in the opener. She then closed the day by earning her program-record ninth career save to help the hosts hold on for an 8-6 victory in the nightcap. Steinbach entered the game with a pair of runners on base and no outs in the top of the seventh, and bookended a RBI squeeze play with a pair of strikeouts to lockdown the win.
On the offensive side, junior starting pitcher/first baseman Amanda Arnett was the hero of the second game, blasting a pair of home runs to guide the team to victory. She launched a two-run blast in the second inning, and followed with her second career grand slam in the third to drive in six of Ball State's eight runs. Arnett now leads the Ball State offense with eight home runs this season.
“We spent a lot of time this week preparing for a very good curve ball and a very good rise ball,” Bartlett added. “For the most part, our players did a very good job picking out low pitches. They were not trying to do too much, just trying to make good, hard, solid contact with line drives and ground balls. Of course in the second game this afternoon, Amanda came up with a pair of big home runs. While we don't work on hitting the home run, Amanda did a great job today. We had a plan in place this weekend, stuck to it and executed well to come up with three important wins.”
In the first game, freshman designated player Madison Lee opened both the first and third innings with doubles off the wall and came around to score both times, including what proved to be the game-winning run in the third. She scored her first run on a wild pitch and the eventual game-winning run on an Ohio error on a sacrifice bunt attempt by India Steward.
After sweeping its first three-game home series of the 2016 season, the Ball State softball team returns to the road for a pair of pivotal league games Tuesday at Northern Illinois. The Cardinals and MAC West Division-leading Huskies square off in a 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT doubleheader at Mary M. Bell Field.
GAME 1 RECAP: Ball State 3 – Ohio 2
After Steinbach held the Bobcats off the board in the top of the first, Lee opened the home half of the frame with a double off the top of the fence in center field. With the blustery winds playing havoc on the rise ball of Ohio starter Savannah Jo Dorsey, the first of three wild pitches in the inning moved Lee to third. A second wild pitch on a walk to Steward brought home the game's first run, and helped Steward advance to second. A third wild pitch moved Steward to third and set up a sacrifice fly from senior shortstop Emily Dabkowski to give Ball State a 2-0 lead.
The Bobcats countered with single runs in the second and third innings, tying the score at 2-2. However, Lee opened the bottom of the third with her second double of the game and scored what proved to be the game-winning run on an errant throw to first on a sacrifice bunt attempt from Steward.
Steinbach controlled the next three innings, holding Ohio to just a pair of base runners in the fifth inning, one of which was thrown out attempting to steal second by Ball State sophomore catcher Leigh McAnally.
The Bobcats had one last chance to even the score in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with one out. However, freshman third baseman Aeshia Miles made a spectacular diving stop and completed the throw home just in time for a force play at the plate. Steinbach then closed the game with her fourth strikeout of the contest.
In picking up her 61st career pitching victory, Steinbach held Ohio to five hits and two earned runs over 7.0 innings of work. She also logged four strikeouts.
GAME 2 RECAP: Ball State 8 – Ohio 6
Following a scoreless first, the Bobcats looked poised for a big inning in the top of the second as a leadoff walk and a pair of Ball State errors helped Ohio score the game's first run two batters in. The guests would go on to load the bases with two outs before Cardinals sophomore reliever Carolyn Wilmes was able to get out of the jam on a soft grounder McAnally collected and touched home plate for the final out of the inning.
Ball State retaliated with three runs of its own in the bottom of the inning to take control of the game. Junior left fielder Rachel Houck drew a walk to get things started, and after advancing to second on a passed ball, scored on a RBI double to right field from senior right fielder Selena Reyna. Arnett followed with her first of two home runs in the game, a two-run no-doubter to dead-center field.
After Wilmes retired the Bobcats in order in the top of the third, more heroics from Arnett gave Ball State a 7-1 lead in the bottom of the inning. Lee opened the inning with a wind-aided infield single, and was able to reach second on an Ohio error on a Steward fielder's choice back to the pitcher. After Lee was called out on an interference call on a Dabkowski fielder's choice, the Cardinals went on to load the bases on a Houck single to right field. Following a force play at home for the second out of the inning, Arnett smashed an 0-1 pitch over the fence and underneath the scoreboard in left-center field for her second career grand slam.
The already bad weather took a quick turn for the worse entering the top of the fourth, as the umpires halted the game for several minutes for a brief ice storm. After the worst of the ice passed, however, the game resumed and Wilmes once again retired Ohio in order in the top of the fourth and struck out three of the four batters she faced in the fifth.
Leading 7-1, the Cardinals had a chance to end the game early in the bottom of the fifth, as back-to-back walks to Dabkowski and Houck gave the hosts a pair of base runners. A wild pitch gave Ball State runners at second and third, while a passed ball pushed the Cardinals ahead 8-1 and put the game-ending run at third. Unfortunately, Ball State was unable to close the game there, stranding the runner at third.
With renewed life, the Bobcats offense took advantage of the gusty winds, rain and snow in the top of the sixth, scoring four runs on six hits and one Ball State error to cut the lead to 8-5.
Ohio then opened the seventh inning with a pair of singles to force Ball State into a pitching change, as Steinbach entered the contest in relief. After a passed ball put the Ohio runners at second and third, Steinbach collected the first out of the inning via a strikeout. Ohio attempted a squeeze play next, bringing the runner home from third to cut the Cardinals lead to 8-6. However, the out a first proved costly for the guests, as Steinbach ended the game with her second strikeout of the inning.
In collecting her first save of the season, the program-record ninth save of her career, Steinbach was able to retire all three batters she faced in the game. Wilmes earned the pitching victory, surrendering nine hits and five runs, only three of which were earned, over 4.1 innings of work. She also struck out four batters in improving to 2-6 on the year.
Arnett started the game in the circle, allowing just one hit and one run over 1.2 innings of work, while striking out one batter. However, her contributions at the plate guided Ball State to victory as she went 2-for-2 with two home runs, six RBIs and a pair of runs scored. She also drew a walk.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Steinbach, Nicole (13-7)
L: DORSEY, Savannah Jo (14-8)
Batting:
2B: CLAYTOR, Madison 1
RBI: COOPER, Mikayla 1 ; HUTCHINSON, Casie 1
SH: WALKER, Sloan 1
SF: COOPER, Mikayla 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SAXTON, Taylor 1 ; CLAYTOR, Madison 1
SB: SAXTON, Taylor 2 ; DAY, Alex 1
CS: HUTCHINSON, Casie 1
Batting:
2B: Lee, Madison 2 ; Reyna, Selena 1
RBI: Dabkowski, Emily 1
SH: Steward, India 1
SF: Dabkowski, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lee, Madison 2 ; Steward, India 1
SB: Steward, India 1
