Saturday, March 7
Miami, FL
10 a.m. ET
Ball State University
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Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Softball Scores Saturday Split, Starting with a 2-1 Win over Tulsa
March 07, 2020 | Softball
MIAMI, Fla. - - The Ball State softball team opened the second day of the Panther Invitational with a thrilling 2-1 (9) victory over Tulsa Saturday morning at Felsberg Field.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals (17-9) fell a run shy in another nail-biter later in the day, suffering a 10-9 setback to Samford.
GAME 1 RECAP: Ball State 2 - Tulsa 1 (9)
In the win over the Golden Hurricanes (13-11), freshman pitcher Deborah Jones dominated in the circle by limiting Tulsa to just three hits and one unearned run over 8.0 innings of work. The only blemish on her stat line, which included three strikeouts, came in the eighth inning. That is when Tulsa took advantage of the tiebreaker rule by using a sac bunt and a single up the middle to score the runner placed on second.
The Cardinals countered, however, with a run of their own in the bottom of the eighth as junior first baseman Stacy Payton smashed the third pitch she saw into left field to drive in sophomore shortstop Amaia Daniel who was placed on second.
Entering the ninth, sophomore Tieghan Morio took over in the circle and picked up right where Jones left off, holding Tulsa scoreless in the frame.
Ball State followed by quickly loading the bases in the bottom of the inning, as senior right fielder Gabby Magnifico was placed on second, senior left fielder Haley Dominique walked and an error on a grounder from senior center fielder Kennedy Wynn allowed the Cardinals to load the bases.
Tulsa looked to get out of the inning unscathed, however, on a force play at home in the next at bat and a squeeze bunt attempt from redshirt freshman second baseman Jazmyne Armendariz which looked to be an inning-ending double play.
After the Golden Hurricanes got the force at home however, there was no one covering first base. With Armendariz recovered from falling after running into the first baseman, there was a mad scramble to first and a wild throw by the catcher went into right field and allowed Wynn to cross home plate for the game-winning run.
Morio ultimately picked up the pitching win for her inning of work, improving to 4-2 on the year. Offensively, six Cardinals finished the game with a hit, including freshman pinch hitter Faith Hensley and junior catcher Delanie Johnson.
GAME 2 RECAP: Samford 10 - Ball State 9
Compared to the opener, the Cardinals jumped out to a fast start in the nightcap as first-inning singles from Payton and Magnifico set up Hensley for her first RBI of the season on a single up the middle.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs (9-12) were able to answer with five unearned runs in the bottom of the inning.
The Cardinals would battle back, however, starting with an RBI single from senior first baseman Janae Hogg in the second. Trailing by three, the Cardinals were once again sparked by Hensley in the third, as she led off the inning with a double to center field. Wynn followed with a single to center, putting runners on the corners with no outs.
After a wild pitch moved Wynn to second, Armendariz followed with an RBI groundout, while junior right fielder Kendall Fields singled up the middle to cut the Bulldogs lead to one.
The bottom of the third was once again unkind to the Cardinals, as Samford rallied for four more unearned runs to pull ahead 9-4.
Ball State was able to get one run back in the fourth after Armendariz was hit by a two-out pitch with bases loaded. Unfortunately, Samford was able to add one more unearned run in the fifth, which ultimately proved to be the game-winner.
The Cardinals tried to mount another comeback in the top of the sixth, scoring four runs to pull back within one. Hensley's third hit of the game opened the inning, while Armendariz walked and Fields was hit by a pitch with one out to load the bases.
Dominique was able to pick up her 100th career RBI with a walk in the next at bat, while an error on a Daniel fielder's choice brought in the second run. Payton then made it a one-run game with a two-run double to left-center field.
Unfortunately, the Samford defense would come up with a huge double play in the next at bat, ending the rally a run short.
Samford then retired the Cardinals in order in the seventh to win the game, despite being out-hit 12 to 10. Hensley was the top batter for Ball State, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. It was her first career multi-hit game.
UP NEXT
The Ball State softball team will look to avenge Saturday evening's loss to Samford with a 9:30 a.m. rematch Sunday morning to close its 12-game spring break trip.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSB.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals (17-9) fell a run shy in another nail-biter later in the day, suffering a 10-9 setback to Samford.
GAME 1 RECAP: Ball State 2 - Tulsa 1 (9)
In the win over the Golden Hurricanes (13-11), freshman pitcher Deborah Jones dominated in the circle by limiting Tulsa to just three hits and one unearned run over 8.0 innings of work. The only blemish on her stat line, which included three strikeouts, came in the eighth inning. That is when Tulsa took advantage of the tiebreaker rule by using a sac bunt and a single up the middle to score the runner placed on second.
The Cardinals countered, however, with a run of their own in the bottom of the eighth as junior first baseman Stacy Payton smashed the third pitch she saw into left field to drive in sophomore shortstop Amaia Daniel who was placed on second.
Entering the ninth, sophomore Tieghan Morio took over in the circle and picked up right where Jones left off, holding Tulsa scoreless in the frame.
Ball State followed by quickly loading the bases in the bottom of the inning, as senior right fielder Gabby Magnifico was placed on second, senior left fielder Haley Dominique walked and an error on a grounder from senior center fielder Kennedy Wynn allowed the Cardinals to load the bases.
Tulsa looked to get out of the inning unscathed, however, on a force play at home in the next at bat and a squeeze bunt attempt from redshirt freshman second baseman Jazmyne Armendariz which looked to be an inning-ending double play.
After the Golden Hurricanes got the force at home however, there was no one covering first base. With Armendariz recovered from falling after running into the first baseman, there was a mad scramble to first and a wild throw by the catcher went into right field and allowed Wynn to cross home plate for the game-winning run.
Morio ultimately picked up the pitching win for her inning of work, improving to 4-2 on the year. Offensively, six Cardinals finished the game with a hit, including freshman pinch hitter Faith Hensley and junior catcher Delanie Johnson.
GAME 2 RECAP: Samford 10 - Ball State 9
Compared to the opener, the Cardinals jumped out to a fast start in the nightcap as first-inning singles from Payton and Magnifico set up Hensley for her first RBI of the season on a single up the middle.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs (9-12) were able to answer with five unearned runs in the bottom of the inning.
The Cardinals would battle back, however, starting with an RBI single from senior first baseman Janae Hogg in the second. Trailing by three, the Cardinals were once again sparked by Hensley in the third, as she led off the inning with a double to center field. Wynn followed with a single to center, putting runners on the corners with no outs.
After a wild pitch moved Wynn to second, Armendariz followed with an RBI groundout, while junior right fielder Kendall Fields singled up the middle to cut the Bulldogs lead to one.
The bottom of the third was once again unkind to the Cardinals, as Samford rallied for four more unearned runs to pull ahead 9-4.
Ball State was able to get one run back in the fourth after Armendariz was hit by a two-out pitch with bases loaded. Unfortunately, Samford was able to add one more unearned run in the fifth, which ultimately proved to be the game-winner.
The Cardinals tried to mount another comeback in the top of the sixth, scoring four runs to pull back within one. Hensley's third hit of the game opened the inning, while Armendariz walked and Fields was hit by a pitch with one out to load the bases.
Dominique was able to pick up her 100th career RBI with a walk in the next at bat, while an error on a Daniel fielder's choice brought in the second run. Payton then made it a one-run game with a two-run double to left-center field.
Unfortunately, the Samford defense would come up with a huge double play in the next at bat, ending the rally a run short.
Samford then retired the Cardinals in order in the seventh to win the game, despite being out-hit 12 to 10. Hensley was the top batter for Ball State, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. It was her first career multi-hit game.
UP NEXT
The Ball State softball team will look to avenge Saturday evening's loss to Samford with a 9:30 a.m. rematch Sunday morning to close its 12-game spring break trip.
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: Morio, Tieghan (4-2)
L: SCOTT, K. (2-4)
Batting:
2B: PERRY, A. 1
RBI: BRIGGS, K. 1
SH: WHITTEN, M. 1 ; SEANEY, A. 1 ; ELLISON, T. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: JONES, A. 1
CS: ELLISON, T. 1
HBP: DELCE, C. 1 ; BRIERS, S. 1
Batting:
2B: Johnson, Delanie 1
RBI: Payton, Stacy 1
SH: Johnson, Delanie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Daniel, Amaia 1 ; Wynn, Kennedy 1
CS: Janiga, Katie 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C/Uti
/ SoftballUti
/ Softball
OF
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INF
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OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/Uti
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballINF/OF
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RHP
/ SoftballC/INF
/ SoftballINF/OF
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