Softball Set To Fly South For Spring Break

THIS WEEK
Ball State travels back to the state of Florida to open spring break at the UCF Invitational ... The Cardinals start the tournament Friday with games versus Drexel (9:30 a.m.) and Longwood (11:30 a.m.) ... Ball State will take on the Dragons for a second straight 9:30 a.m. first pitch Saturday, while also battling LIU at 1:30 p.m. ... BSU closes the opening leg of its spring break trip with a 12:30 p.m. contest versus Columbia on Sunday.

SCHEDULE & LINKS
Friday, Feb. 28 at UCF Softball Complex (Orlando, Fla.)
- vs. Drexel (9:30 a.m.) - Live Stats
- vs. Longwood (11:30 a.m.) - Live Stats

Saturday, Feb. 29 at UCF Softball Complex (Orlando, Fla.)
- vs. Drexel (9 a.m.) - Live Stats
- vs. LIU (1:30 p.m.) - Live Stats

Sunday, March 1 at UCF Softball Complex (Orlando, Fla.)
- vs. Columbia (12:30 p.m.) - Live Stats

QUICK HITS
» The Ball State softball program returns to The Sunshine State to play 12 games over a 10-day span on its annual spring break trip ... In the team's first trip to Florida this season, the Cardinals went 3-2 in the Jacksonville/UNF Classic (Feb. 14-16).

» Last weekend, the Cardinals captured the Hilltopper Classic championship with a perfect 5-0 record ... Ball State out-scored the opposition 40-20 over the five games, including a pair of run-rule victories to start the tournament.

» Ball State's sluggers have blasted 19 home runs over the first 15 games this season ... The total ties as the 19th-most among all NCAA Division I team so far in 2020 and is only two shy of breaking into the top 10 ... When the Cardinals hit a program-record 70 home runs in 2012, only 13 came over the first 15 games ... In fact, Ball State's 19 home runs this season already rank as the 12th-best single season total in program history.

» Senior infielder/outfielder Gabby Magnifico continued her strong play at the Hilltopper Classic, including blasting the first two home runs of her Cardinals career ... She has reached base safely in each of the last 11 games and has recorded at least one hit in eight of the last 10.

» Affectionately known as the closer, with her 28 career saves ranking second in NCAA Division I history, senior Alyssa Rothwell might be gaining notoriety as a starter as well ... After picking up a pair of wins at the Hilltopper Classic, Rothwell raised her career win total to 19 which moved her into a tie for 19th in program history ... Only 14 players in program history have earned more than 25 wins in a career.

MORE ON 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, seven 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) ... Ball State's 19 home runs so far this season tie with the 2007 squad for the most home runs through the first 15 games in program history.

RAISING THE AVERAGE
The Cardinals enter spring break leading the MAC and ranked 20th nationally with a .332 batting average ... In fact, all nine regular starters for the program are batting at least .304, led by sophomore infielder Amaia Daniel at .457 ... The program record for average in a season is currently .322 set by the 2014 squad.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
In addition to being one of the nation's leaders in home runs, ranking 19th among all NCAA Division I programs entering the week, the Ball State offense is first in the league and eighth nationally with 30 doubles ... The Cardinals have recorded at least one double in 12 of its 15 games this season, including five in wins at Jacksonville (Feb. 14) and at North Florida (Feb. 15) ... Ohio is the next closest team in the MAC with 24 doubles over its first 15 games.

DOUBLING UP THE OPPOSITION
The Ball State defense has also been "doubling" at an increased rate so far this season, leading the league and ranking eighth nationally with eight double plays ... Last Saturday at the Hilltopper Classic, the Cardinals defense recorded double plays in three consecutive innings, starting with a huge game-ending double play in the eighth inning of the 6-5 win over host Western Kentucky (Feb. 22) ... The BSU defense followed with double plays in both the first and second inning of the 9-8 win over Green Bay (Feb. 22) ... The program record for double plays in a season is 33 set by the 2012 squad.

DOMINIQUE AMONG ALL-TIME LEADERS
With her second-inning single in the win over Alabama A&M (Feb. 16), senior outfielder Haley Dominique broke into the top 20th in program history for career hits ... She is currently tied for 18th in the category with 169 hits ... Over her career, Dominique has proven to be one of the program's most consistent batters as she also ranks in the top 20 on Ball State's career charts in: on base percentage (.444 / 5th), doubles (42 / 6th), times hit by a pitch (17 / T-7th), walks (89 / 8th), runs scored (118 / 9th), batting average (.329 / 12th), RBI (93 / 13th), total bases (252 / 14th) and slugging percentage (.491 / 15th).

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 the 10-1 (6) win at North Florida (Feb. 15), in which Ball State 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).

ON THE STREAK
Ball State extended its current winning streak to seven games with its come-from-behind victory over Indiana State (Feb. 23) in the championship game of the Hilltopper Classic … It is the program's longest winning streak since the 2017 season when BSU won eight straight starting with a 2-1 (8) victory at Indiana State (March 29) and ending after a 3-2 (8) win at Ohio (April 8) … The Cardinals also won seven straight games last season, starting with a 10-4 win over South Dakota (March 15) and ending following a 9-1 (6) victory at Akron (March 23).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Amaia Daniel

Haley Dominique

Gabby Magnifico

Stacy Payton

Alyssa Rothwell