Saturday, April 10
Muncie, IN
10 a.m.
Ball State University
17-9, 11-0
5
vs
3
Kent State
11-17, 8-7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Kent State
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
3
10
1
Ball State
0
1
0
0
0
1
3
5
9
4
Haley Wynn’s Walk-Off Home Run Lifts Softball Past Kent State
April 10, 2021 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The rain held off just long enough Saturday morning for sophomore third baseman Haley Wynn to provide one of the biggest moments of the season to date for the Ball State softball team.
With the Cardinals (17-9, 11-0 Mid-American Conference) trailing by one and two outs and runners at second and third in the seventh inning, H.Wynn lasered a 3-2 pitch over the fence in center field to set off a jubilant celebration at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
With her second home run of the season, H. Wynn lifted the Cardinals to a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over MAC preseason favorite Kent State. It was Ball State's third win of the series and its toughest battle so far against the Golden Flashes (11-17, 8-7 MAC).
The teams were slated to conclude their four-game series Saturday afternoon, but moments after the walk-off home run, heavy rain started falling and postponed the series finale until 10 a.m. Sunday, weather permitting.
It was an exciting ending to what was a great battle between the league's two winningest programs since the 2009 season.
Kent State actually took an early 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning, capitalizing on a passed ball following a one-out single to set up an RBI double to right-center field.
The Cardinals countered with its first big blast of the game in the bottom of the second, as senior first baseman Janae Hogg took the first pitch of the inning and deposited over the fence in center field for the 41st home run of her career.
The game remained tied until the top of the fourth, when KSU was able to take advantage of a Ball State error to open the inning and plate two runs on a two-out single.
Trailing 3-1, the Cardinals looked to be in trouble in the top of the sixth as two more errors helped Kent State load the bases with no outs. However, the defense stepped up and kept the guests off the board.
The first big play came on a fly to mid-center field which was caught by senior Kennedy Wynn. With arguably the best arm in the MAC, Wynn was able to snag the fly and fire a laser to home keeping the runners at bay.
H. Wynn followed with a heads up play on a grounder to the third base side, firing home to get the force. Sophomore pitcher Deborah Jones was up next, getting the batter looking to end the inning and keep it a two-run game.
Overall, it was another solid performance for Jones who improved to 7-2 on the year by limiting Kent State to 10 hits and three unearned runs in the contest. She also struck out two batters.
Ball State followed by cutting the lead to one run in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a leadoff double from junior second baseman Amaia Daniel, followed by an RBI single to left-center field from senior right fielder Haley Dominique.
Cue another big defensive play to open the seventh inning, as freshman shortstop Kayla Lissy made a spectacular diving stop on a hard grounder up the middle and recovered to get the out at first. It was a potential big-inning saving play, as KSU managed to get a pair of two-out singles before a groundout to second to end the inning.
Then, Ball State turned it over to the offense which did not disappoint. In fact, junior left fielder Faith Hensley nearly tied the game with a blast off the top of the fence in left center for an inning-opening double.
Senior designated player Delanie Johnson followed with a perfectly executed bunt single, slicing it between the pitcher and first baseman. It was so well executed in fact, that Johnson was able to advance to second as Kent State focused on holding Hensley at third.
However, things got a little tense for the Cardinals as a line out to second base and a popup to shortstop brought the team to its final out. H. Wynn then worked into a full count before providing the walk-off fireworks.
H. Wynn finished the day 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Six other Cardinals also collected hits, helping BSU finish the day with nine.
With the Cardinals (17-9, 11-0 Mid-American Conference) trailing by one and two outs and runners at second and third in the seventh inning, H.Wynn lasered a 3-2 pitch over the fence in center field to set off a jubilant celebration at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
With her second home run of the season, H. Wynn lifted the Cardinals to a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over MAC preseason favorite Kent State. It was Ball State's third win of the series and its toughest battle so far against the Golden Flashes (11-17, 8-7 MAC).
The teams were slated to conclude their four-game series Saturday afternoon, but moments after the walk-off home run, heavy rain started falling and postponed the series finale until 10 a.m. Sunday, weather permitting.
It was an exciting ending to what was a great battle between the league's two winningest programs since the 2009 season.
Kent State actually took an early 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning, capitalizing on a passed ball following a one-out single to set up an RBI double to right-center field.
The Cardinals countered with its first big blast of the game in the bottom of the second, as senior first baseman Janae Hogg took the first pitch of the inning and deposited over the fence in center field for the 41st home run of her career.
The game remained tied until the top of the fourth, when KSU was able to take advantage of a Ball State error to open the inning and plate two runs on a two-out single.
Trailing 3-1, the Cardinals looked to be in trouble in the top of the sixth as two more errors helped Kent State load the bases with no outs. However, the defense stepped up and kept the guests off the board.
The first big play came on a fly to mid-center field which was caught by senior Kennedy Wynn. With arguably the best arm in the MAC, Wynn was able to snag the fly and fire a laser to home keeping the runners at bay.
H. Wynn followed with a heads up play on a grounder to the third base side, firing home to get the force. Sophomore pitcher Deborah Jones was up next, getting the batter looking to end the inning and keep it a two-run game.
Overall, it was another solid performance for Jones who improved to 7-2 on the year by limiting Kent State to 10 hits and three unearned runs in the contest. She also struck out two batters.
Ball State followed by cutting the lead to one run in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a leadoff double from junior second baseman Amaia Daniel, followed by an RBI single to left-center field from senior right fielder Haley Dominique.
Cue another big defensive play to open the seventh inning, as freshman shortstop Kayla Lissy made a spectacular diving stop on a hard grounder up the middle and recovered to get the out at first. It was a potential big-inning saving play, as KSU managed to get a pair of two-out singles before a groundout to second to end the inning.
Then, Ball State turned it over to the offense which did not disappoint. In fact, junior left fielder Faith Hensley nearly tied the game with a blast off the top of the fence in left center for an inning-opening double.
Senior designated player Delanie Johnson followed with a perfectly executed bunt single, slicing it between the pitcher and first baseman. It was so well executed in fact, that Johnson was able to advance to second as Kent State focused on holding Hensley at third.
However, things got a little tense for the Cardinals as a line out to second base and a popup to shortstop brought the team to its final out. H. Wynn then worked into a full count before providing the walk-off fireworks.
H. Wynn finished the day 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Six other Cardinals also collected hits, helping BSU finish the day with nine.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Jones, Deborah (7-2)
L: LEBEAU, Jessica (8-8)
Batting:
2B: WHITT, Brooklyn 1
RBI: WHITT, Brooklyn 1 ; TAUBE, Alexis 2
SH: MAZANEC, Julia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: KERSCHNER, Sabrina 2 ; FISKE, Alex 1
HBP: ECKL, Kristyn 1
Batting:
2B: Daniel, Amaia 1 ; Hensley, Faith 1
HR: Wynn, Haley 1 ; Hogg, Janae 1
RBI: Wynn, Haley 3 ; Dominique, Haley 1 ; Hogg, Janae 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wynn, Haley 1 ; Daniel, Amaia 1 ; Hogg, Janae 1 ; Hensley, Faith 1 ; Janiga, Katie 1
SB: Wynn, Haley 1
CS: Ligacki, Brooke 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
Uti
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/Uti
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballINF/OF
/ Softball
OF
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