Saturday, March 24
Bowling Green, OHIO
1:00 PM
Ball State University
20-10, 2-1
12
at
0
Bowling Green
17-12, 1-2
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Ball State
1
0
3
6
2
12
11
1
Bowling Green
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
4
Photo by: Robert Goldberg
Labrador’s Seven RBIs Leads Softball to Series Win at BGSU
March 24, 2018 | Softball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - - On a cold and windy Saturday afternoon, the Ball State softball team used two home runs and seven RBIs from senior second baseman Maddy Labrador to power its way to a 12-0 (5) victory over Bowling Green in Mid-American Conference play at Meserve Field.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 20-10 on the year and opened league play with a 2-1 series victory over the Falcons (17-12; 1-2 MAC).
FROM COACH BARTLETT:
"Aeshia followed a strong performance Friday with another gem today. She continues to have complete command of her pitches and did another great job keeping Bowling Green off balance throughout the game.
"Overall, the offense made some great adjustments today. It was nice to see the bats come alive. Both Maddy Labrador and Janae Hogg were incredibly tough at the plate, and any time the middle of your lineup hits three home runs in a game, you are going to be hard to beat."
BREAKING DOWN THE GAME: Ball State 12 - Bowling Green 0 (5)
• Ball State pounded out 11 hits, including three home runs, a double and a triple in Saturday's win over the Falcons.
• The Cardinals' first hit came off the bat of sophomore first baseman Janae Hogg when she blasted her MAC-leading 11th home run of the season over the fence and onto the tennis courts in left field with two outs and a 3-2 count in the first inning.
• Labrador extended Ball State's lead to 4-0 in the top of the third with a two-out, three-run shot deep over the fence in left field. Sophomore left fielder Haley Dominique doubled to left with one out to start the rally, while Hogg drew an intentional walk with two outs to set up Labrador's three-run blast.
• Ball State's success in the fourth continued Saturday, when the Cardinals tacked on six more runs in the inning. Of Ball State's 173 runs this season, 53 have come in the fourth inning, including six games with four-or-more runs in the frame.
• Freshman third baseman Stacy Payton opened the fourth inning with a single, while another single from freshman right fielder Kendall Fields and a BGSU error on the play put a pair of runners in scoring position. Junior pinch hitter Annie Robinson then drove in the first run of the inning on a RBI bloop single to left-center field.
• After junior catcher Olivia Huffman was hit by a pitch to load the bases, a one-out single to left by freshman shortstop Hailey Demnianiuk gave Ball State a 6-0 advantage.
• Two batters later, Labrador produced her second home run of the game, a grand slam to left field upping the Ball State advantage to 10-0. It was Labrador's first career grand slam with the Cardinals.
• Ball State added two more runs in the fifth, with the first coming on a RBI triple from senior left fielder Cadie O'Donnell. Fields scored on the play after reaching base on a BGSU error. Two batters later, the Falcons' second error of the inning on soft line drive to second allowed O'Donnell to score the final run of the game.
• In the circle, the Cardinals got another strong performance from junior pitcher Aeshia Miles who improved to 11-4 on the year with her fourth complete game shutout victory of the year.
• In earning her second shutout win of the series, Miles limited the Falcons to four hits while recording three strikeouts and issuing no walks.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Ball State's 12 runs in Saturday's win over Bowling Green are the most runs in a league game for the Cardinals since a 12-4 (6) victory over Buffalo April 4, 2015. That game was played at the Miami Softball Stadium in Oxford, Ohio.
• Ball State's 23 total runs in the series versus Bowling Green are the program's most in a MAC series under the league's current three-game format which began in 2016. The previous best was 21 runs in a three-game set versus Western Michigan April 29-30, 2016 at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
• Led by a pair of complete game shutouts from Aeshia Miles, Ball State's pitching staff opened league play with a combined 1.65 ERA. In addition, the Cardinals limited Bowling Green to a .169 team batting average after the Falcons entered the series as the league's top batting team at .323.
• Offensively, the Cardinals produced a .288 batting average on the weekend, with 12 of the 13 players who recorded an at bat producing a hit.
• With her first inning home run, Janae Hogg extended her career-best hitting streak to 10 games. She has also reached base safely in each of the past 13 games, the second-longest streak of her career.
• Haley Dominique also had a hit Saturday, raising her current hitting streak to a career-high seven games. She has also reached base safely in each of the last nine games, which is her second-longest streak of the season.
NEXT UP
The Ball State softball team returns to action Friday (March 30), when it opens a three-game MAC series at Akron with a schedule 3 p.m. first pitch. The teams will also play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday (March 31).
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSB.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 20-10 on the year and opened league play with a 2-1 series victory over the Falcons (17-12; 1-2 MAC).
FROM COACH BARTLETT:
"Aeshia followed a strong performance Friday with another gem today. She continues to have complete command of her pitches and did another great job keeping Bowling Green off balance throughout the game.
"Overall, the offense made some great adjustments today. It was nice to see the bats come alive. Both Maddy Labrador and Janae Hogg were incredibly tough at the plate, and any time the middle of your lineup hits three home runs in a game, you are going to be hard to beat."
BREAKING DOWN THE GAME: Ball State 12 - Bowling Green 0 (5)
• Ball State pounded out 11 hits, including three home runs, a double and a triple in Saturday's win over the Falcons.
• The Cardinals' first hit came off the bat of sophomore first baseman Janae Hogg when she blasted her MAC-leading 11th home run of the season over the fence and onto the tennis courts in left field with two outs and a 3-2 count in the first inning.
• Labrador extended Ball State's lead to 4-0 in the top of the third with a two-out, three-run shot deep over the fence in left field. Sophomore left fielder Haley Dominique doubled to left with one out to start the rally, while Hogg drew an intentional walk with two outs to set up Labrador's three-run blast.
• Ball State's success in the fourth continued Saturday, when the Cardinals tacked on six more runs in the inning. Of Ball State's 173 runs this season, 53 have come in the fourth inning, including six games with four-or-more runs in the frame.
• Freshman third baseman Stacy Payton opened the fourth inning with a single, while another single from freshman right fielder Kendall Fields and a BGSU error on the play put a pair of runners in scoring position. Junior pinch hitter Annie Robinson then drove in the first run of the inning on a RBI bloop single to left-center field.
• After junior catcher Olivia Huffman was hit by a pitch to load the bases, a one-out single to left by freshman shortstop Hailey Demnianiuk gave Ball State a 6-0 advantage.
• Two batters later, Labrador produced her second home run of the game, a grand slam to left field upping the Ball State advantage to 10-0. It was Labrador's first career grand slam with the Cardinals.
• Ball State added two more runs in the fifth, with the first coming on a RBI triple from senior left fielder Cadie O'Donnell. Fields scored on the play after reaching base on a BGSU error. Two batters later, the Falcons' second error of the inning on soft line drive to second allowed O'Donnell to score the final run of the game.
• In the circle, the Cardinals got another strong performance from junior pitcher Aeshia Miles who improved to 11-4 on the year with her fourth complete game shutout victory of the year.
• In earning her second shutout win of the series, Miles limited the Falcons to four hits while recording three strikeouts and issuing no walks.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Ball State's 12 runs in Saturday's win over Bowling Green are the most runs in a league game for the Cardinals since a 12-4 (6) victory over Buffalo April 4, 2015. That game was played at the Miami Softball Stadium in Oxford, Ohio.
• Ball State's 23 total runs in the series versus Bowling Green are the program's most in a MAC series under the league's current three-game format which began in 2016. The previous best was 21 runs in a three-game set versus Western Michigan April 29-30, 2016 at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
• Led by a pair of complete game shutouts from Aeshia Miles, Ball State's pitching staff opened league play with a combined 1.65 ERA. In addition, the Cardinals limited Bowling Green to a .169 team batting average after the Falcons entered the series as the league's top batting team at .323.
• Offensively, the Cardinals produced a .288 batting average on the weekend, with 12 of the 13 players who recorded an at bat producing a hit.
• With her first inning home run, Janae Hogg extended her career-best hitting streak to 10 games. She has also reached base safely in each of the past 13 games, the second-longest streak of her career.
• Haley Dominique also had a hit Saturday, raising her current hitting streak to a career-high seven games. She has also reached base safely in each of the last nine games, which is her second-longest streak of the season.
NEXT UP
The Ball State softball team returns to action Friday (March 30), when it opens a three-game MAC series at Akron with a schedule 3 p.m. first pitch. The teams will also play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday (March 31).
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSB.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Miles, Aeshia (11-4)
L: MILLER, Meredith (8-6)
Batting:
2B: Dominique, Haley 1
3B: O'Donnell, Cadie 1
HR: Hogg, Janae 1 ; Labrador, Maddy 2
RBI: Demnianiuk, Hailey 1 ; Hogg, Janae 1 ; Labrador, Maddy 7 ; Robinson, Annie 1 ; O'Donnell, Cadie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dominique, Haley 2 ; Demnianiuk, Hailey 1 ; Hogg, Janae 2 ; Labrador, Maddy 2 ; Castleberry, Taylor 1 ; Fields, Kendall 1 ; O'Donnell, Cadie 2 ; Huffman, Olivia 1
HBP: Huffman, Olivia 1
Base Running:
SB: SORGI, Alex 1
HBP: HOLCOMB, Kali 1 ; GONZALEZ, Sarah 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
7
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
lf/dp
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballSoftball // Workouts
Wednesday, September 17
Ball State Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell discusses the NCAA vs. House Settlement
Tuesday, July 01
Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell discusses NCAA vs. House Settlement & Bill Richards Thank You
Friday, June 27
Sports Link: Katie Van Der Mark (Softball)
Wednesday, May 21