Softball Swept in Saturday Doubleheader at Western Michigan

2017 MAC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET (PDF)

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Ball State softball team jumped out to a pair of early leads courtesy of the long ball, but could not hold on in 8-2 and 2-1 losses to Mid-American Conference rival Western Michigan Saturday afternoon at Ebert Field.

The Cardinals (30-26; 14-10 MAC) enter next week's MAC Tournament at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio, as the No. 5 seed and will play No. 4 seed Kent State in Wednesday's 10:30 a.m. Game 1.

With the pair of wins, the Broncos improved to 23-27 (11-13 MAC) and earned the No. 8 seed in the MAC Tournament and will play No. 1 seed Central Michigan in Wednesday's 1 p.m. Game 2. The winners of Game 1 & Game 2 will square off in Game 6 at 1 p.m. Thursday, while the losers of Game 1 & Game 2 will play in Thursday's 10:30 a.m. elimination game (Game 5).

In Saturday's first game, senior center fielder Rachel Houck (Greenfield, Ind./Louisville) opened the game in similar fashion to Friday by blasting her 13th home run of the season to give the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, the Broncos countered with a two-run shot of their own in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead.

Ball State capitalized on a pair of two-out hits in the top of the third to even the score, as Houck started a rally with a single to right center and moved to second on a wild pitch. Junior second baseman Maddy Labrador (Lexington, S.C. / Spartanburg Methodist) followed with a double to left field tying the score at 2-2.

The tie was short-lived, however, as WMU rallied for five runs in the bottom of the inning and added one more in the sixth to earn the 8-2 victory.

In the nightcap, Labrador gave Ball State a brief 1-0 advantage after leading off the top of the fourth with her seventh home run of the season.

WMU answered with a one-out solo shot of their own in the bottom of the fourth, before scoring the go-ahead run on a two-out, RBI bases loaded walk in the bottom of the sixth.

The Cardinals managed to out-hit the Broncos six to three in Saturday's second game, with two of the hits coming from freshman third baseman Janae Hogg (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral).

Despite limiting the Broncos to three hits and striking out seven batters in Saturday's second game, freshman pitcher Alyssa Rothwell (Ashville, Ohio/Teays Valley) suffered the loss, falling to 5-4 on the year.

Junior pitcher Carolyn Wilmes (Evansville, Ind./Matre Dei) took the loss in the opener, falling to 13-12 on the year after allowing seven hits and six earned runs over 2.0 innings of work. She also struck out one batter.

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 –

Softball Swept in Saturday Doubleheader at Western Michigan

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Team Stats

Rachel Houck

Maddy Labrador

Brittany Hopper

Haley Dominique

Players Mentioned

Janae Hogg

Rachel Houck

Maddy Labrador

Alyssa Rothwell

Carolyn Wilmes

Players Mentioned

Janae Hogg

Rachel Houck

Maddy Labrador

Alyssa Rothwell

Carolyn Wilmes