Saturday, March 27
Muncie, IN
1 p.m.
Ball State University
8-9, 2-0
7
vs
5
Bowling Green
10-11, 2-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Bowling Green
1
0
1
0
0
0
3
5
9
0
Ball State
1
0
3
0
2
1
X
7
9
2
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Softball Gets Doubleheader Sweep, Goes for Series Sweep Sunday
March 27, 2021 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State softball team continued its opening weekend of Mid-American Conference play Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Bowling Green at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
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The Cardinals held off a late rally from the Falcons in game one for a 7-5 win and then rolled to a 9-1 victory in five innings to cap the day.
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It was a balanced effort throughout the lineup Saturday with nine different BSU players recording hits and nine driving in runs over the two games. Haley Dominique and Faith Hensley each had three hits on the day, while Stacy Payton reached in all six of her plate appearances and Janae Hogg reached in five of her six.
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Ball State now leads this weekend's series 3-0. The Cardinals will go for the series sweep Sunday when the teams meet one more time for a noon first pitch.
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Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting department of health guidance, there is no general public attendance at Ball State softball home games this spring.
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GAME 1 RECAP: Ball State 7 – Bowling Green 5
Hogg's three-run homer in the third inning put Ball State ahead for good in Saturday's first victory.
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The teams had traded single runs back-and-forth in the early innings, including one on an inside-the-park home run by BSU's Kayla Lissy. Then with one swing, Hogg turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead for the Cardinals.
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Ball State tacked on two more runs in the fifth on an RBI single from Delanie Johnson and a sacrifice fly from Amaia Daniel and then added another in the sixth on an RBI single from Payton.
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That was enough to withstand Sammy Dees' three-run home run for Bowling Green in the seventh inning. The homer cut Ball State's lead to 7-5 with no outs, but Tieghan Morio retired three of the next four batters to finish off a complete game and earn the win.
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GAME 2 RECAP: Ball State 9 – Bowling Green 1 (5 innings)
The big inning did it for Ball State in game two. The Cardinals batted around and then some in the third, sending 11 hitters to the plate and racking up seven runs.
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Eight consecutive batters reached at one point with four singles and four walks. The Cardinals went station to station, forcing both Bowling Green starter Harlie Vannatter and reliever Madison French from the game in the inning.
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When the dust settled, a 1-1 game had turned into an 8-1 Ball State lead. The Cardinals then finished it off early when Trinity Eckerty's fifth-inning single scored Hensley to push the lead to eight and secure a run-rule victory.
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Hensley went 2-for-2 in the game and drove in two runs. Deborah Jones worked all five innings in the circle, surrendering just one run on three hits to earn the win.
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The Cardinals held off a late rally from the Falcons in game one for a 7-5 win and then rolled to a 9-1 victory in five innings to cap the day.
Â
It was a balanced effort throughout the lineup Saturday with nine different BSU players recording hits and nine driving in runs over the two games. Haley Dominique and Faith Hensley each had three hits on the day, while Stacy Payton reached in all six of her plate appearances and Janae Hogg reached in five of her six.
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Ball State now leads this weekend's series 3-0. The Cardinals will go for the series sweep Sunday when the teams meet one more time for a noon first pitch.
Â
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting department of health guidance, there is no general public attendance at Ball State softball home games this spring.
Â
GAME 1 RECAP: Ball State 7 – Bowling Green 5
Hogg's three-run homer in the third inning put Ball State ahead for good in Saturday's first victory.
Â
The teams had traded single runs back-and-forth in the early innings, including one on an inside-the-park home run by BSU's Kayla Lissy. Then with one swing, Hogg turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead for the Cardinals.
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Ball State tacked on two more runs in the fifth on an RBI single from Delanie Johnson and a sacrifice fly from Amaia Daniel and then added another in the sixth on an RBI single from Payton.
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That was enough to withstand Sammy Dees' three-run home run for Bowling Green in the seventh inning. The homer cut Ball State's lead to 7-5 with no outs, but Tieghan Morio retired three of the next four batters to finish off a complete game and earn the win.
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GAME 2 RECAP: Ball State 9 – Bowling Green 1 (5 innings)
The big inning did it for Ball State in game two. The Cardinals batted around and then some in the third, sending 11 hitters to the plate and racking up seven runs.
Â
Eight consecutive batters reached at one point with four singles and four walks. The Cardinals went station to station, forcing both Bowling Green starter Harlie Vannatter and reliever Madison French from the game in the inning.
Â
When the dust settled, a 1-1 game had turned into an 8-1 Ball State lead. The Cardinals then finished it off early when Trinity Eckerty's fifth-inning single scored Hensley to push the lead to eight and secure a run-rule victory.
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Hensley went 2-for-2 in the game and drove in two runs. Deborah Jones worked all five innings in the circle, surrendering just one run on three hits to earn the win.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Morio, Tieghan (3-2)
L: STEPP, Sydney (0-1)
Batting:
HR: DEES, Sammy 1
RBI: DEES, Sammy 3 ; GODBOLT, Maycee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: L'ESPERANCE, Greta 2 ; DEES, Sammy 1 ; McCOY, Madi 1 ; SORGI, Nikki 1
Batting:
2B: Payton, Stacy 1
HR: Lissy, Kayla 1 ; Hogg, Janae 1
RBI: Lissy, Kayla 1 ; Hogg, Janae 3 ; Payton, Stacy 1 ; Johnson, Delanie 1 ; Daniel, Amaia 1
SF: Daniel, Amaia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lissy, Kayla 2 ; Dominique, Haley 1 ; Ligacki, Brooke 1 ; Hensley, Faith 1 ; Hogg, Janae 1 ; Dukeman, Hannah 1
HBP: Johnson, Delanie 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
Uti
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/Uti
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
C/INF
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