Softball Closes Non-Conference Play Wednesday at Indiana State

LINKS: ESPN3 - Ball State at ISU | Ball State vs. Miami Live Video | Live Stats All Four Games

- The Ball State softball team wraps up the non-conference portion of its 2017 schedule Wednesday, when it travels to Indiana State for a 5 p.m. first pitch ... The Cardinals then return to the Softball Field at the First Merchants Ballpark Complex for a three-game Mid-American Conference series versus Miami ... The teams are scheduled to play a single game Friday (3 p.m.) and a doubleheader Saturday (1 p.m.).

- Ball State enters Wednesday's contest at Indiana State with a 15-16 record in non-conference play in 2017 ... A win versus the Sycamores would allow the Cardinals to finish non-conference play with a .500 record ... The last time Ball State finished the regular season with a .500-or-better non-conference record was 2014 when the squad went 20-13.

- Over the past nine seasons, Ball State has proven to be the MAC's premier program by compiling a 119-48 (.713) league record ... Kent State is second on the list over the past nine seasons at 113-56 (.669), while Miami is third at 108-67 (.617) ... Ball State boasts a 391-401-1 (.494) all-time MAC record in 35 years.

- The Cardinals enter Wednesday's game versus Butler with a 960-1008-4 (.488) all-time record ... Established as a varsity program in 1975, Ball State has won five Mid-American Conference regular season titles (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014), six MAC West Division crowns (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015), three MAC Tournament championships (1998, 2010 and 2015) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times (1998, 2010 and 2015).

- ALL-TIME VS. INDIANA STATE: Ball State holds a 31-25 edge in the all-time series versus Indiana State despite suffering a 6-5 loss to the Sycamores in the most recent meeting Feb. 7, 2015 ... The last four meetings between the two teams have been played at neutral sites ... The last time out in Terre Haute, the teams split an April 20, 2006 doubleheader with Ball State winning the opener 3-0 and ISU taking the nightcap 4-2 ... Overall, the Sycamores hold a 9-6 edge in games played on its home field.

- ALL-TIME VS. MIAMI: While Ball State holds a 54-46 lead in the all-time series versus Miami, the RedHawks swept the three-game series last season in Oxford ... Miami opened with a 4-3 victory March 25, before taking both ends of a March 26 doubleheader by scores of 5-3 and 5-2 ... Ball State holds a 27-22 advantage in games played in Muncie, including a pair of wins in 2014 ... The Cardinals scored a 2-1 win April 26 and a 9-1 (5 inn.) victory April 27.

PLAYER / TEAM NOTES
- Ball State finished its 13-game spring break trip with an 8-5 record, doubling its win total from last season's stay in the Sunshine State which saw the Cardinals go 4-8 ... In fact, the eight wins are the most for Ball State on spring break since the 2012 squad went 8-2.

- Ball State's run of 30 consecutive road games to open the 2017 season is the third-longest in program history ... The Cardinals played a program-record 32 straight road games to open last season, while starting the 2012 campaign with 31 straight road games.

- From Feb. 24 through March 11, the Ball State softball team played 17 straight games in the state of Florida ... It's the longest streak of games played in the same state in program history ... The previous record was 16 games played in the state of Indiana to end the 2007 season.

- Junior second baseman Maddy Labrador started MAC play with a statement, blasting a 1-2 pitch deep over the fence in center field for her fifth home run of the season in Friday's league-opener at Buffalo (March 24) ... She added an RBI double later in the game and finished the three-game series versus the Bulls with three doubles ... Labrador's eight hits and four multi-base hits were the most in the MAC last weekend, while her .667 (8-for-12) batting average is third in league-only contests.

- Including last Wednesday's home opener versus Butler (March 22), Labrador finished the week with a .571 batting average to earn MAC West Division Player of the Week ... She reached base safely in all four games and scored seven of the team's 29 runs ... Her home run in the series opener at Buffalo drove in what proved to be the game-winning run, and she ranked second on the team with four RBI last week ... Labrador had at least one RBI in every game of the Buffalo series.

- In the circle, freshman pitcher Alyssa Rothwell led the Ball State staff with a 0.78 ERA over 9.0 innings of work last week ... She earned her first career save versus Butler (March 22), allowing just one hit over 3.0 innings of work ... She followed with her first career complete game victory in the nightcap at Buffalo (March 24), limiting the Bulls to three hits and one run over 6.0 innings of work.

-Rothwell also led the Ball State pitching staff with 13 strikeouts last week, starting with four in her relief appearance versus Butler (March 22) ... She followed with a career-high nine strikeouts at Buffalo (March 24) ... Her nine strikeouts are the most for a Ball State pitcher since Nicole Steinbach struck out 10 at Bowling Green (April 11, 2015) ... Rothwell's nine strikeouts are also the most for a Ball State freshman pitcher since Steinbach struck out 10 batters versus Creighton (Feb. 22, 2013).

- Junior pitcher Carolyn Wilmes opened league play with another dominating performance, picking up her third consecutive complete game shutout victory by limiting Buffalo (March 24) to six hits over 7.0 innings of work ... With the effort, Wilmes extended her shutout streak to 21.2 innings ... Wilmes also held Buffalo scoreless in the first inning last Sunday (March 26), extending her streak to 22.2 innings without surrendering a run ... Unfortunately, the Bulls snapped the streak with a run in the second inning of the contest.

- Over the last 10 games, Wilmes leads the Cardinals pitching staff with a 1.52 ERA over 23.0 innings of work ... She has a 4-1 record in six appearances and has surrendered just five earned runs over the span ... She is also holding opposing batters to a .185 average, allowing just 15 total hits (13 singles and two doubles) ... She has also struck out 19 batters and thrown three complete game shutouts during the run.

- Senior outfielder Rachel Houck enters the week as one of the nation's top sluggers, ranking 16th among all NCAA Division I players in doubles (11) and 18th in home runs (9) ... Her nine home runs are also first in the Mid-American Conference, while her 11 doubles are tied for second ... Houck also ranks 17th nationally in runs per game, with her 1.12 average topping the MAC.

- Houck enters Wednesday's game at Indiana State ranked sixth in program history with a .580 career slugging percentage ... She is also ninth in batting average (.336), 10th in home runs (16) and 10th in on base percentage (.401) over her three-year playing career for the Cardinals ... Houck played the 2014 season at Louisville before transferring to Ball State for the 2015 campaign.

- Houck also enters the week tied for fourth in the MAC with a team-leading 11 stolen bases ... Houck is a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts this year and is the first Ball State player to steal at least 11 bases over the first 34 games of the season since Alicia Barkley went 15-for-17 in 2011.

- Ball State has had a knack for earning free bases this season, as the Cardinals lead the MAC and rank 13th nationally with 127 walks ... In fact, seven of Ball State's nine starting batters rank in the top 15 in the MAC in walks, led by sophomore catcher Olivia Huffman who has a league-high 21 free passes.

- Huffman has also been hit by a pitch a league-leading eight times, which has helped her earn a .424 on base percentage ... Overall, Ball State's batters have been hit by a pitch 18 times, giving the Cardinals a total of 145 free bases so far this season.

- Freshman third baseman Janae Hogg has proven to be one of the nation's toughest batters to strike out, fanning just four times in 106 at bats ... Her average of 26.5 at bats per strikeout ranks Hogg as the second-toughest player in the MAC and the 48th-toughest in the nation to strikeout.

- Ball State's pitching staff enters the week ranked fifth in the MAC with a 3.01 ERA ... It's the program's best ERA through the first 34 games of the season since the 2013 squad had a 2.81 ERA ... In addition, Ball State's pitchers have combined to strike out 168 batters so far this season which ranks third in the conference and is the best start to a season since the 2011 squad struck out 171 batters over the first 34 games.

- Freshman Darcie Huber enters the week with a team-leading 2.33 ERA which ranks sixth in the MAC ... Over 66.0 innings of work, Huber has held opponents to just 63 hits for a .248 batting average against which is 10th in the MAC ... She has also struck out 46 batters, including a career-high seven in her first career one-hitter versus Oakland (Feb. 24).

- Huber's one-hitter versus Oakland (Feb. 24) was the first one-hitter for a Ball State pitcher since a 4-1 win at Bowling Green March 29, 2013 ... In the game, Nicole Steinbach limited the Falcons to just one hit over 7.0 innings of work ... She did not issue a walk or hit a batter, while the Cardinals' defense committed three errors.

- Ball State's last no-hitter came in a 7-0 win versus Buffalo May 12, 2010 in the MAC Tournament ... Elizabeth Milian threw for the Cardinals, striking out 10 of the 22 batters she faced ... The lone blemish was a one-out error in the second inning, spoiling a perfect game.

- In her first career pitching appearance versus DePaul (Feb. 10), sophomore Aeshia Miles became the 27th different Ball State player to earn a save when she limited the Blue Demons to no runs and two hits over 2.0 innings of work ... Miles added her second career save versus Holy Cross (March 8), entering with a runner at first in the top of the seventh and getting the force play at second for the game's final out.

- Miles earned her first career pitching victory in her next outing, picking up a complete game win at FAU (March 9) ... Over 7.0 innings of work, she held the Owls to six hits and four runs while striking out a career-high six batters in the 9-4 win ... Her second win came last Saturday versus Butler, when she held the Bulldogs to five hits and one earned run, while tying her career high with six strikeouts in a 7-1 victory.

- The Ball State offense exploded for 17 runs to open play in the Wildcat Invitational with a 17-2 (5 inn.) victory over Drake (Feb. 17) ... It was the team's largest offensive output since a 19-9 home win over Indiana April 21, 2015 ... Ball State's largest run total in a game was a 24-0 victory over St. Leo March 2, 1987.

Softball Closes Non-Conference Play Wednesday at Indiana State

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Players Mentioned

Janae Hogg

Rachel Houck

Darcie Huber

Olivia Huffman

Maddy Labrador

Aeshia Miles

Alyssa Rothwell

Nicole Steinbach

Carolyn Wilmes