Top 10 Stories of 2017-18: Softball Earns Program's 1,000th Win

MUNCIE, Ind. -- Another athletic year is in the books for the Cardinals. Ball State student-athletes, coaches and teams accomplished several notable feats in 2017-18.

Through much discussion, BallStateSports.com has identified the top 10 storylines of the year. We are revealing the storylines one-by-one each week over a period of 10 weeks.

The stories are being revealed in chronological order, beginning with the fall season and running through the spring. We continue this week with a look back at some of the year's biggest academic achievements.

Softball Earns Program's 1,000th Win

Ball State softball earned the 1,000th win in program history with a 7-6 victory over Western Michigan in the second game of an April 13, 2018, doubleheader.

After WMU rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth to tie the score at 6-6, sophomore left fielder Haley Dominique drove in what proved to be the game-winning run in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double to left-center field.

Freshman pinch runner Taylor Castleberry crossed the plate for the winning tally, scoring from first on Dominique's two-out double.

Another key player in the program's 1,000th win was sophomore closer Alyssa Rothwell. By striking out all three batters she faced in the seventh inning, Rothwell picked up her seventh save of the season and became the first player in program history to reach 10 career saves.

The Cardinals finished the 2018 season with a 37-19 overall record and won the Mid-American Conference West Division championship with a 16-7 league ledger.

The 37 wins ranked as the fourth-best single season total in program history and marked the 14th season the Cardinals have reached the 30-win plateau.

In the 44-year history of the program, which was established as a varsity team in 1975, Ball State has tallied a 1010-1038-4 (.493) all-time record.

The program has won five MAC regular season titles (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014), seven MAC West Division crowns (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018), three MAC Tournament championships (1998, 2010 and 2015) and advanced to the NCAA Regionals three times (1998, 2010 and 2015).

Previous Storylines
June 6: Soccer's MAC West Three-Peat
June 11: Persons Beats Buzzer to Stun Top-10 Notre Dame
June 18: Women's Basketball Best Start in Program History
June 27: Academic All-Americans & Postgraduate Scholars
July 5: Softball Earns Program's 1,000th Win

Top 10 Stories of 2017-18: Softball Earns Program's 1,000th Win

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Castleberry

Haley Dominique

Alyssa Rothwell

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