Ball State University
Western Kentucky
Softball Starts "Spring Break" at Bulldog Invitational
March 04, 2021 | Softball
| Ball State Softball at Bulldog Invitational - hosted by Mississippi State | |
| Game 1 | Friday, March 5Â vs. Western Kentucky - 1:30p ET / 12:30p CT Live Stats |
| Game 2 | Friday, March 5Â at Mississippi State - 4p ET / 3p CT Live Video: SECN+ Â | Â Live Stats |
| Game 3 | Saturday, March 6 vs. Alcorn State - 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT Live Stats |
| Game 4 | Saturday, March 6Â vs. TBA - TBA |
| Game 5 | Sunday, March 7Â vs. TBA - TBA |
| Tickets | TICKET INFORMATION |
| Game Notes | Ball State |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
QUICK HITS
» The Ball State softball team embarks on its annual spring break trip this week, starting with a stop in Starkville, Mississippi, for the Bulldog Invitational hosted by Mississippi State ... The Cardinals open play in the event Friday, with games versus Western Kentucky (1:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. ET) out of Conference USA and SEC powerhouse Mississippi State (4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT) ... The Cardinals close round robin play in the tournament Saturday morning against Southwestern Athletic Conference foe Alcorn State (11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT) ... Ball State will play two more games in the event based on seeding and results.
» After an off day on Monday, the Cardinals travel to Jacksonville, Mississippi, for a 6 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. CT first pitch on Tuesday, March 9 at Jacksonville State from the Ohio Valley Conference.
» Ball State closes spring break by competing in the Blazer Classic hosted by UAB from March 11-13 ... BSU opens with the host Blazers (6 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. CT) out of C-USA on Thursday ... Friday, BSU plays both Samford (1 p.m. ET / Noon CT) from the Southern Conference and will face Southern Illinois (3:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. CT) in a rematch of last Saturday's 6-1 loss to the Missouri Valley Conference member ... Saturday will feature another pair of rematches, as the Cardinals are slated to play Samford (2:30 pm. ET / 1:30 p.m. CT) and UAB (7:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. CT)
» Ball State opened the 2021 season by going 2-2 at the Coach B Classic hosted by Southern Illinois last weekend ... After a 6-5 (9) loss to a talented DePaul team, which has advanced to the last three NCAA Regionals, the Cardinals picked up wins over Saint Louis (8-1) and Austin Peay (5-2) ... Ball State closed the tournament with a 6-1 loss to host SIU, which is 9-0 on the year and owns a win over then-No. 22 Mississippi State on Feb. 21.
» The Ball State offense continued to shine opening weekend, pounding out an average of 8.5 hits per game and connecting for a .286 average ... A total of 12 different Cardinals recorded at least one hit, lead by six from senior left fielder Haley Dominique and five from junior right fielder Faith Hensley.Â
» Ball State's .286 team batting average is the best in the MAC so far this season, as is Haley Dominique's .667 individual average ... Among the 230 ranked NCAA Division I programs, Ball State's average is 66th nationally, while Dominique's average ranks fifth among all NCAA Division I players ... Faith Hensley is not far behind, with her .556 average ranking third in the MAC and 16th nationally.
ABOUT THE BALL STATE CARDINALS
» The Cardinals return all nine position starters, the designated player and all three starting pitchers from last season's squad which compiled the 18-9 record ... In fact, 19 players return from last year's team, including all five seniors who were granted an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 global pandemic ... Those senior are Haley Dominique, Janae Hogg, Gabby Magnifico, Alyssa Rothwell and Kennedy Wynn.
» One key newcomer to the program, first-year head coach Lacy Wood ... Wood was named the 10th head coach in program history on Aug. 24, 2020 ... Prior to leading the Cardinals, Wood spent five seasons on the coaching staff at Harvard, including the last two seasons as the associate head coach ... The Crimson amassed a 101-81 record during that time, including a 59-23 mark in Ivy League play.
» Ball State enters the Bulldog Invitational with a 1064-1069-4 overall record in the sport of softball since the 1975 season ... The Cardinals have tallied at least 30 wins in a season 15 times, including a program-record 43 wins in 2010.
GOING LONG: Last season, Ball State smashed 29 home runs over 27 games to tie for 22nd in the nation ... So far this season, the Cardinals have went yard three times, starting with a ninth-inning, two-run blast from junior Faith Hensley versus DePaul (Feb. 26) ... Senior catcher/third baseman Stacy Payton added her first blast of the season in the win over Saint Louis (Feb. 26), a three-run shot in the sixth inning ... Ball State's third home run was a game-opening bomb by junior Amaia Daniel in the win over Austin Peay (Feb, 27).
DOUBLE TROUBLE: The Cardinals continued to pile up the doubles opening weekend, with seven over the first four games, including four in the win over Austin Peay ... Ball State's 1.75 doubles-per-game average is first in the MAC and 30th nationally ... Last season, the Cardinals ranked first in the MAC and third nationally with 53 doubles.
THE 100 RBI CLUB: Only 14 players in program history have recorded 100 career RBI for the Cardinals, and three of them are on the 2021 team ... Senior Stacy Payton became the latest player to reach 100 career RBI with her RBI single in the fifth inning versus Saint Lewis (Feb. 26) ... She went on to add four more RBI opening weekend to raise her career total to 104 which is 11th on Ball State's career charts ... Senior Haley Dominique picked up the 101 RBI of her career versus Southern Illinois (Feb. 27) and ranks 13th in program history ... BSU's active career RBI leader is senior Janae Hogg, who ranks ninth all-time with 115 RBI.
WHAT ABOUT THE PITCHERS?: As good as the Cardinals were on offense opening weekend, they were just as solid in the circle with a 2.90 team ERA ... Junior Tieghan Morio had the lowest ERA at 1.56 in a team-high 9.0 innings of work ... She also held batters to a .107 average ... Senior Alyssa Rothwell led the staff with a .091 opponent batting average, while senior Darcie Huber registered a team-best eight strikeouts ... Sophomore Deborah Jones also had a pair of solid outings, earning the win over Saint Louis and a save versus Austin Peay.
CLOSER NO MORE?: Senior Alyssa Rothwell moved from the closer role into a starting slot last season and didn't miss a beat, ranking second in the MAC with a 1.79 ERA as she allowed just 15 earned runs over 58.2 innings of work ... The NCAA's active career saves leader at 28, Rothwell struck out 68 batters, picked up her first career complete game shutout and held opponents to a .218 average in 2020.
