Friday, May 4
Toledo, OHIO
3:00 PM
Ball State University
33-16, 15-6
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Toledo
31-18, 15-6
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Photo by: Michael Hickey
Robinson’s Home Run & Strong Pitching Lead Softball to 1-0 Win at Toledo
May 04, 2018 | Softball
TOLEDO, Ohio. - - Junior designated player Annie Robinson provided all the run support Ball State softball's pitchers needed, as her leadoff home run in the second inning guided the team to a 1-0 victory over Toledo Friday afternoon at Scott Park.
"Annie is one of the most powerful hitters I have ever coached, and she came up with a really big hit today," head coach Megan Ciolli Bartlett said. "She has a wealth of experience under her belt, and as she continues to get healthy and see more at bats, she is going to be a force to be reckoned with."
With only tomorrow's 1 p.m. doubleheader remaining in the regular season, the Cardinals (33-16) and Rockets (31-18) are tied in the race for the No. 2 seed in next weekend's MAC Tournament with identical 15-6 MAC records. The winner of this weekend's series will take the higher seed.
Aside from Robinson's seventh home run of the season, the story of Friday's series opener was once again Ball State's strong pitching. It started with junior Aeshia Miles who limited the Rockets to just three hits over her 6.0 innings of work. She also struck out three batters while earning her ninth MAC win and 18th overall victory of the year.
"The Toledo hitters are very good, disciplined at the plate and take big hacks," Bartlett said. "Aeshia did a great job spinning the ball when she had to come in the zone. We were trying to keep the hitters off balance, and between some tremendous pitch calling from Coach Johnson and great execution from Aeshia, we were able to come up with some magic today."
For the final inning, enter sophomore closer Alyssa Rothwell who retired the side in order, including a strikeout to end the game. With the effort, she became the first player in both Ball State and MAC history to reach 10 career saves. She also becomes just the 20th player in NCAA Division I history to lock down 10 saves in a single season, with the NCAA record being 15 set by Canisius' Mallory Aldred in 2008 and tied by FGCU's Taylor Bauman this season.
"Alyssa is so tough to hit, I am really glad she is a Cardinal," Bartlett said. "I am very proud of her, being the first player in both program and MAC history to reach 10 saves in a season. She is tremendously talented and a mentally tough pitcher."
Aside from the tremendous pitching, junior catcher Olivia Huffman also made a game-changing play early in Friday's contest, catching UT's Kylie Norwood trying to steal for the second out of the inning. The Rockets, who entered the game ranked second in the league with 51 stolen bases on the year, did not attempt another stolen base the remainder of the game.
"Olivia shut down Toledo's run game early, throwing out Norwood trying to steal second in the first inning," Bartlett said. "She took away another piece of their offense, which ended up being a really big deal."
In addition to Robinson's home run, the Cardinals received singles from senior second baseman Maddy Labrador, sophomore left fielder Haley Dominique and sophomore center fielder Kennedy Wynn.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSB.
"Annie is one of the most powerful hitters I have ever coached, and she came up with a really big hit today," head coach Megan Ciolli Bartlett said. "She has a wealth of experience under her belt, and as she continues to get healthy and see more at bats, she is going to be a force to be reckoned with."
With only tomorrow's 1 p.m. doubleheader remaining in the regular season, the Cardinals (33-16) and Rockets (31-18) are tied in the race for the No. 2 seed in next weekend's MAC Tournament with identical 15-6 MAC records. The winner of this weekend's series will take the higher seed.
Aside from Robinson's seventh home run of the season, the story of Friday's series opener was once again Ball State's strong pitching. It started with junior Aeshia Miles who limited the Rockets to just three hits over her 6.0 innings of work. She also struck out three batters while earning her ninth MAC win and 18th overall victory of the year.
"The Toledo hitters are very good, disciplined at the plate and take big hacks," Bartlett said. "Aeshia did a great job spinning the ball when she had to come in the zone. We were trying to keep the hitters off balance, and between some tremendous pitch calling from Coach Johnson and great execution from Aeshia, we were able to come up with some magic today."
For the final inning, enter sophomore closer Alyssa Rothwell who retired the side in order, including a strikeout to end the game. With the effort, she became the first player in both Ball State and MAC history to reach 10 career saves. She also becomes just the 20th player in NCAA Division I history to lock down 10 saves in a single season, with the NCAA record being 15 set by Canisius' Mallory Aldred in 2008 and tied by FGCU's Taylor Bauman this season.
"Alyssa is so tough to hit, I am really glad she is a Cardinal," Bartlett said. "I am very proud of her, being the first player in both program and MAC history to reach 10 saves in a season. She is tremendously talented and a mentally tough pitcher."
Aside from the tremendous pitching, junior catcher Olivia Huffman also made a game-changing play early in Friday's contest, catching UT's Kylie Norwood trying to steal for the second out of the inning. The Rockets, who entered the game ranked second in the league with 51 stolen bases on the year, did not attempt another stolen base the remainder of the game.
"Olivia shut down Toledo's run game early, throwing out Norwood trying to steal second in the first inning," Bartlett said. "She took away another piece of their offense, which ended up being a really big deal."
In addition to Robinson's home run, the Cardinals received singles from senior second baseman Maddy Labrador, sophomore left fielder Haley Dominique and sophomore center fielder Kennedy Wynn.
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 (18-8)
L: MINARCHICK, Kailey (17-5)
S: Rothwell, Alyssa (10)
Batting:
HR: Robinson, Annie 1
RBI: Robinson, Annie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Robinson, Annie 1
HBP: Huffman, Olivia 1
Batting:
2B: COZY, Katie 1
Base Running:
CS: NORWOOD, Kylie 1
HBP: YENRICK, Bekah 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
cf/rf
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballINF/OF
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