Wednesday, April 11
DeKalb, ILL.
2:00 PM
Ball State University
25-12, 7-3
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Northern Illinois (GM1)
14-23, 5-5
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Northern Illinois
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Ball State
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6
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Photo by: Robert Goldberg
Rothwell Breaks Save Record in Softball’s Sweep at NIU
April 11, 2018 | Softball
DEKALB, Ill.- - Sophomore reliever Alyssa Rothwell earned her program-record sixth save of the season to help lead the Ball State softball team to doubleheader sweep of Northern Illinois Wednesday afternoon in Mid-American Conference play at Mary M. Bell Field.
The Cardinals (26-12; 8-3 MAC) opened the day with a 1-0 victory which was capped by the record-setting performance from Rothwell.
In a back-and-forth battle in the nightcap, Ball State found itself trailing 5-4 entering the top of the seventh. However, a critical Huskies (14-24; 5-6 MAC) error allowed a pair of runs to score and gave the Cardinals a 6-5 victory.
The highlight of the day, however, was the performance of Ball State's pitchers in the opener. Senior Carolyn Wilmes started off the game by holding the Huskies to just a leadoff double in the top of the sixth inning. She also struck out four batters to raise her season total to 68.
She was followed by Rothwell, who retired all six batters she faced to take sole possession of the Ball State single season saves record at six. With the save, she also tied the Cardinals career saves record of nine set by Nicole Steinbach (2013-16).
FROM COACH BARTLETT:
"Our players did a great job battling in all three facets of the game. We pitched pretty well, with Carolyn and Alyssa combining for a gem in game one. We also did a nice job defending the ball and came up with some big hits when it mattered.
"Alyssa does a tremendous job as a closer. Coach Johnson has done a great job getting her mentally and physically prepared to throw in big-time situations, and she handles the pressure really well. We are thrilled to have a pitcher of her caliber who still has the second half of her career left as a Cardinal.
"As a coach, it's an exciting thing to see us pull out each game the way we did today. We are becoming tougher, a little bit more confident and showing more maturity with every outing. That is how you are going to win post-season softball games.
"You have to great on the mound, and you need to be able to clutch up and come up big in tight situations. If you can couple some of those things with rock-solid defense, you are going to have a shot when it comes to the MAC Tournament."
BREAKING DOWN GAME 1: Ball State 1 - NIU 0
• Senior pitcher Carolyn Wilmes retired the first nine batters she faced in Wednesday's opener which saw the Cardinals designated as the home team after last Tuesday's games in Muncie were rained out forcing today's originally scheduled single game to become a doubleheader.
• Ball State's first hit of the game proved to be the most important, as a one-out double to right-center field from senior center fielder Maddy Labrador drove in what proved to be the only run of the game.
• Sophomore left fielder Haley Dominique scored from first on the shot to the wall after reaching base courtesy of a one-out walk.
• NIU would get its first baserunner of the day with a leadoff walk in the fourth, but Wilmes answered with three straight outs.
• Wilmes did not give up her first hit until a leadoff single in the sixth and went on to earn her ninth win of the season (9-4) by holding the Huskies to the one hit, while striking out four and walking two over her 5.0 innings of work.
• Enter Rothwell, who then successfully retired all six batters she faced, including a strikeout, to earn her record-setting sixth save of the season.
• Offensively, Labrador and junior designated player Annie Robinson each blasted a pair of hits in the game, while freshman shortstop Stacy Payton and senior first baseman Danae King each added one.
BREAKING DOWN GAME 2: Ball State 6 - NIU 5
• After being held scoreless in the first game, the Huskies took control of the scoreboard as the home team in the bottom of the first with their first two runs of the day.
• Ball State countered in the top of the third with a two-run blast from sophomore third baseman Janae Hogg, her league-leading 12th home run of the season. Haley Dominique also scored on the blast after reaching on a one-out single.
• For there, the score remained tied at 2-2 until the top of the sixth.
• Junior catcher Olivia Huffman started a one-out rally with her second single of the game, while senior first baseman Danae King added a new dent to the NIU scoreboard with a titanic two-run blast to give Ball State a brief 4-2 edge.
• Unfortunately, the Huskies were able to load the bases with two outs in the bottom half of the inning and came up with a bases-clearing double to center field.
• The inning could have been worse, however, but two great throws from senior center fielder Maddy Labrador led to a pair of outs.
• The first came on a one-out single to center when the runner at second tried to make it home. Labrador's throw was on the money, forcing the runner to stop just before the plate and try to head back to third leading to an out.
• The second came on the three-run double, when her throw in helped get the batter out a third when she tried to sneak an extra base on a close play at the plate.
• Trailing 5-4, the Cardinals put a pair of runners in scoring position after a one-out walk to Dominique and another double by Labrador.
• After Hogg was intentionally walked to load the bases, a hard grounder to short from Robinson went right between the fielder's legs allowing both Dominique and Labrador to score the tying and eventual game-winning runs, respectively.
• Once again it was the Rothwell show in the seventh, as she struck out back-to-back batters to open the inning, before Hogg snagged a hard liner at third to end the game and complete the doubleheader sweep.
• Junior Aeshia Miles started the game in the circle for Ball Sate, allowing eight hits and three runs (two earned) over 5.1 innings. She also raised her strikeout total to 115 on the year with four on the day.
• Rothwell, who unfortunately gave up the three-run double in the sixth, responded with a perfect seventh to get her fourth win of the year (4-2). Over 1.2 innings, she allowed two hits and two earned runs, while also collecting a pair of strikeouts.
• Huffman and Labrador led the Ball State offense with two hits apiece, while four other players logged one, including home runs from Hogg and King.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Haley Dominique drew a pair of walks in the opener, while going 1-for-2 with a walk in the nightcap to extend her streak of reaching base safely to a career-long 17 games.
• She also scored one run in the opener and two in the nightcap to raise her league-leading run total to 38 on the year.
• Annie Robinson, who 2-for-3 in the opener, saw her eight-game hitting streak come to an end in the nightcap. However, it was her grounder through the legs of the NIU shortstop for an error in the seventh that helped account for what proved to be the game-winning runs.
• Ball State drew seven more walks over the two games, raising its season total to 159. The Cardinals entered the day ranked first in the conference and 10th nationally with 152 walks on the year.
NEXT UP
The Ball State softball team returns home Friday and Saturday for another three-game MAC series as Western Michigan visits the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex. The teams are currently scheduled to play a single game Friday (3 p.m.) and a doubleheader Saturday (3 p.m.).
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.
The Cardinals (26-12; 8-3 MAC) opened the day with a 1-0 victory which was capped by the record-setting performance from Rothwell.
In a back-and-forth battle in the nightcap, Ball State found itself trailing 5-4 entering the top of the seventh. However, a critical Huskies (14-24; 5-6 MAC) error allowed a pair of runs to score and gave the Cardinals a 6-5 victory.
The highlight of the day, however, was the performance of Ball State's pitchers in the opener. Senior Carolyn Wilmes started off the game by holding the Huskies to just a leadoff double in the top of the sixth inning. She also struck out four batters to raise her season total to 68.
She was followed by Rothwell, who retired all six batters she faced to take sole possession of the Ball State single season saves record at six. With the save, she also tied the Cardinals career saves record of nine set by Nicole Steinbach (2013-16).
FROM COACH BARTLETT:
"Our players did a great job battling in all three facets of the game. We pitched pretty well, with Carolyn and Alyssa combining for a gem in game one. We also did a nice job defending the ball and came up with some big hits when it mattered.
"Alyssa does a tremendous job as a closer. Coach Johnson has done a great job getting her mentally and physically prepared to throw in big-time situations, and she handles the pressure really well. We are thrilled to have a pitcher of her caliber who still has the second half of her career left as a Cardinal.
"As a coach, it's an exciting thing to see us pull out each game the way we did today. We are becoming tougher, a little bit more confident and showing more maturity with every outing. That is how you are going to win post-season softball games.
"You have to great on the mound, and you need to be able to clutch up and come up big in tight situations. If you can couple some of those things with rock-solid defense, you are going to have a shot when it comes to the MAC Tournament."
BREAKING DOWN GAME 1: Ball State 1 - NIU 0
• Senior pitcher Carolyn Wilmes retired the first nine batters she faced in Wednesday's opener which saw the Cardinals designated as the home team after last Tuesday's games in Muncie were rained out forcing today's originally scheduled single game to become a doubleheader.
• Ball State's first hit of the game proved to be the most important, as a one-out double to right-center field from senior center fielder Maddy Labrador drove in what proved to be the only run of the game.
• Sophomore left fielder Haley Dominique scored from first on the shot to the wall after reaching base courtesy of a one-out walk.
• NIU would get its first baserunner of the day with a leadoff walk in the fourth, but Wilmes answered with three straight outs.
• Wilmes did not give up her first hit until a leadoff single in the sixth and went on to earn her ninth win of the season (9-4) by holding the Huskies to the one hit, while striking out four and walking two over her 5.0 innings of work.
• Enter Rothwell, who then successfully retired all six batters she faced, including a strikeout, to earn her record-setting sixth save of the season.
• Offensively, Labrador and junior designated player Annie Robinson each blasted a pair of hits in the game, while freshman shortstop Stacy Payton and senior first baseman Danae King each added one.
BREAKING DOWN GAME 2: Ball State 6 - NIU 5
• After being held scoreless in the first game, the Huskies took control of the scoreboard as the home team in the bottom of the first with their first two runs of the day.
• Ball State countered in the top of the third with a two-run blast from sophomore third baseman Janae Hogg, her league-leading 12th home run of the season. Haley Dominique also scored on the blast after reaching on a one-out single.
• For there, the score remained tied at 2-2 until the top of the sixth.
• Junior catcher Olivia Huffman started a one-out rally with her second single of the game, while senior first baseman Danae King added a new dent to the NIU scoreboard with a titanic two-run blast to give Ball State a brief 4-2 edge.
• Unfortunately, the Huskies were able to load the bases with two outs in the bottom half of the inning and came up with a bases-clearing double to center field.
• The inning could have been worse, however, but two great throws from senior center fielder Maddy Labrador led to a pair of outs.
• The first came on a one-out single to center when the runner at second tried to make it home. Labrador's throw was on the money, forcing the runner to stop just before the plate and try to head back to third leading to an out.
• The second came on the three-run double, when her throw in helped get the batter out a third when she tried to sneak an extra base on a close play at the plate.
• Trailing 5-4, the Cardinals put a pair of runners in scoring position after a one-out walk to Dominique and another double by Labrador.
• After Hogg was intentionally walked to load the bases, a hard grounder to short from Robinson went right between the fielder's legs allowing both Dominique and Labrador to score the tying and eventual game-winning runs, respectively.
• Once again it was the Rothwell show in the seventh, as she struck out back-to-back batters to open the inning, before Hogg snagged a hard liner at third to end the game and complete the doubleheader sweep.
• Junior Aeshia Miles started the game in the circle for Ball Sate, allowing eight hits and three runs (two earned) over 5.1 innings. She also raised her strikeout total to 115 on the year with four on the day.
• Rothwell, who unfortunately gave up the three-run double in the sixth, responded with a perfect seventh to get her fourth win of the year (4-2). Over 1.2 innings, she allowed two hits and two earned runs, while also collecting a pair of strikeouts.
• Huffman and Labrador led the Ball State offense with two hits apiece, while four other players logged one, including home runs from Hogg and King.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Haley Dominique drew a pair of walks in the opener, while going 1-for-2 with a walk in the nightcap to extend her streak of reaching base safely to a career-long 17 games.
• She also scored one run in the opener and two in the nightcap to raise her league-leading run total to 38 on the year.
• Annie Robinson, who 2-for-3 in the opener, saw her eight-game hitting streak come to an end in the nightcap. However, it was her grounder through the legs of the NIU shortstop for an error in the seventh that helped account for what proved to be the game-winning runs.
• Ball State drew seven more walks over the two games, raising its season total to 159. The Cardinals entered the day ranked first in the conference and 10th nationally with 152 walks on the year.
NEXT UP
The Ball State softball team returns home Friday and Saturday for another three-game MAC series as Western Michigan visits the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex. The teams are currently scheduled to play a single game Friday (3 p.m.) and a doubleheader Saturday (3 p.m.).
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.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wilmes, Carolyn (9-4)
L: FRENZ, Alex (6-6)
S: Rothwell, Alyssa (6)
Batting:
2B: LAMICH, Katie 1
SH: GREENO, Dominique 1
Batting:
2B: Labrador, Maddy 1 ; Payton, Stacy 1
RBI: Labrador, Maddy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dominique, Haley 1
SB: Labrador, Maddy 1
HBP: Huffman, Olivia 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
RHP
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