Ball State University
Green Bay
Softball Looking to Keep Bats Hot at Western Kentucky
February 20, 2020 | Softball
THIS WEEK
The Ball State softball team returns to action Friday, when it opens play in the Hilltopper Classic hosted by Western Kentucky with games versus Green Bay (11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT) and Indiana State (1:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. CT) ... Saturday, the Cardinals battle the host Hilltoppers for a 1:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. CT first pitch ... The remainder of the weekend schedule will be based on results from the preceding games.
SCHEDULE & LINKS:
Friday, Feb. 21 at WKU Softball Complex (Bowling Green, Ky.)
 - vs. Green Bay (11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT) - Live Stats
 - vs. Indiana State (1:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. CT) - Live Stats
Saturday, Feb. 22 at WKU Softball Complex (Bowling Green, Ky.)
 - at Western Kentucky (1:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. CT) - Live Stats
 - vs. TBA (4/6:30p p.m. ET / 3/5:30 p.m. CT) - Live Stats
Sunday, Feb. 23 at WKU Softball Complex (Bowling Green, Ky.)
 - vs. TBA (Noon/2:30 p.m. ET / 11 a.m./1:30 p.m. CT) - Live Stats
QUICK HITS
» The Ball State softball program will be making its first trip to the state of Kentucky since the 2016 season when it participates in this weekend's Hilltopper Classic hosted by Western Kentucky ... The Cardinals went 4-0 in its last trip to the state for the WKU Holiday Inn Spring Fling (Feb. 26-28, 2016) ... Over the three-day tournament, BSU out-scored the opposition 28-9 ... Ball State's batters posted a .369 average, while its pitching staff held a 1.35 ERA.
» Junior transfer catcher Delanie Johnson enters the Hilltopper Classic leading the Mid-American Conference and ranked 37th nationally with a .500 batting average ... Her .609 on base percentage also tops the league and is 28th among all NCAA Division I players.
» As a team, the Cardinals enter Hilltopper Classic with a .323 batting average to rank 36th among the 268 ranked NCAA Division I programs ... BSU's 22 doubles rank seventh nationally.
» Senior infielder/outfielder Gabby Magnifico enters the week riding a career-best five-game hitting streak ... After going hitless opening weekend, Magnifico led the Ball State offense with nine hits at the Jacksonville/UNF Classic, including a pair of hits in four of the five games.
» Ball State's pitching staff has thrown 13 straight innings without allowing an earned run … Freshman Deborah Jones has pitched 6.0 of the innings, followed by sophomore Tieghan Morio at 4.0 and senior Alyssa Rothwell at 3.0 … Over the three-day Jacksonville/UNF Classic, Ball State's pitchers combined for a 1.87 ERA and held opponents to a .213 average.
ALL-TIME VS. THIS WEEKEND'S OPPONENTS
The Cardinals are 36-30 all-time versus teams it will face in the Hilltopper Classic ... One thing all three all-time series have in common, Ball State has won the last meeting against each opponent ... The Cardinals are 2-1 all-time versus Green Bay, including a 4-1 victory in the latest meeting March 21, 1992 ... Ball State holds a 32-25 edge in the all-time series against Indiana State, including a thrilling 2-1 (8) victory in the latest meeting played March 29, 2017 in Terre Haute, Ind. ... The Cardinals trail Western Kentucky 4-2 in the all-time series despite scoring a 9-1 (5) victory over the Hilltoppers on Feb. 27. 2016 in Bowling Green, Ky.
GETTING THE STARTING NOD
Over the past three seasons, no one in NCAA Division I softball has recorded more saves than senior pitcher Alyssa Rothwell ... She holds the Ball State and Mid-American Conference career records with 28 saves, and is five shy of breaking the NCAA career mark of 32 set by Kellie Wilkerson (1999-02) of Mississippi State ... This season, however, Rothwell has found herself in somewhat unfamiliar territory as she has started five of her six appearances ... Over 20.1 innings of work, Rothwell owns a 2.41 ERA, has limited opponents to a .230 batting average and has stuck out a team-high 28 batters ... Prior to 2020 opening day, when she started both games versus UTSA and No. 8 Louisiana, Rothwell had made 68 consecutive appearances in relief for the Cardinals.
CARDINALS LOVE THE LONG BALL
Last season, 14 different Ball State players hit at least one home run ... Only one team in the nation had more players with a least one home run last year, Virginia Tech at 16 ... So far this season, five different Cardinals have gone yard, starting with Stacy Payton who blasted BSU's first home run of the season in the first inning of the season-opener against UTSA (Feb. 7) ... Payton leads the Ball State offense with three bombs so far this season, while senior infielder Janae Hogg and junior outfielder Kendall Fields each have two.
STRIKING THEM OUT
Led by 28 strikeouts from Alyssa Rothwell, the Ball State pitching staff has struck out a total of 63 batters so far this season ... The total ranks 53rd nationally and is the second-most in the MAC this season ... Freshman Deborah Jones, who fanned a Ball State season-high 10 batters in the second game at Jacksonville (Feb. 14), is second on the squad with 19 strikeouts ... Sophomore Tieghan Morio is third on the squad with 15 strikeouts, while freshman Shelby Westbrook collected her first career strikeout in the win over Prairie View A&M (Feb. 8).
DOMINIQUE AMONG ALL-TIME LEADERS
With her second-inning single in last Sunday's win over Alabama A&M (Feb. 16), senior outfielder Haley Dominique moved into a tie for 20th in program history with 165 career hits ... Over her career, Dominique has proven to be one of the most consistent batters in program history as she also ranks in the top 20 on Ball State's career charts in: on base percentage (.444 / 5th), doubles (41 / 6th), times hit by a pitch (17 / T-7th), walks (85 / 9th), runs scored (115 / 9th), batting average (.331 / T-11th), RBI (90 / 13th), slugging percentage (.496 / 15th), total bases (247 / 15th) and home runs (11 / T-20th).
SCORING BIG
Ball State's 16 runs in the win over Prairie View A&M (Feb. 8) were the most in a game since the team earned a 16-5 (5) win over Akron on March 31, 2018 … The last time the Cardinals scored more than 16 runs in a game was a 17-2 (5) win over Drake on Feb. 17, 2017.
THE HITS KEEP COMING
In last Saturday's 10-1 (6) win at North Florida (Feb. 15), in which the team collected a season-high 18 hits, nine different Cardinals recorded at least one hit … It was the second time this season nine different Ball State players have logged a hit in the same game, with the first coming in a 17-hit performance in the 16-9 win over Prairie View A&M (Feb. 8).
