Ball State University Athletics
Softball Looks To Continue Hot MAC Start at Akron
April 15, 2021 | Softball
| Ball State (17-10; 11-0 MAC) at Akron (3-22; 2-9 MAC) | |
| Game 1 | Friday, April 16 at 3 p.m. Live Stats | Live Video |
| Game 2 | Saturday, April 17 at 1 p.m. Live Stats | Live Video |
| Game 3 | Saturday, April 17 - 30 minutes following Game 2 Live Stats | Live Video |
| Game 4 | Sunday, April 18 at Noon Live Stats | Live Video |
| Tickets | NO GENERAL PUBLIC ATTENDANCE |
| Game Notes | Ball State |  Akron |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
» THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team returns to Mid-American Conference action this weekend when it travels to Akron for a four-game series versus the Zips ... The teams will play a 3 p.m. contest Friday, a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and a noon game Sunday.
» VENUE UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting department of health guidance, fans will not be permitted in the stands for this weekend's games at Akron ... However, fans are allowed to bring their own chairs and enjoy the games from beyond the outfield wall ... Masks and social distancing practices still apply.
» HOW TO FOLLOW: While you might not be able to attend this weekend's games at Akron in person, you can still watch them on the Zips Digital Network ... In addition, live stats will be available courtesy of Akron Athletics ... Links can be found on the softball schedule page on BallStateSports.com.
» BUSY ROAD AHEAD: The Cardinals are in the midst of a seven-game road swing which started with Tuesday's loss at Butler ... Following the series with the Zips, Ball State will travel to Miami for a Tuesday (April 20) doubleheader in a battle of league leaders.
» OFF TO A HOT START: While it was the last team to open MAC play, Ball State has started with a bang, sweeping series versus Bowling Green (March 26-28), at Central Michigan (April 2-4) and versus Kent State (April 9-10) ... In fact, the Cardinals are a perfect 11-0 in MAC action for its best start in league play since the 2013 team went 12-0 ... Ball State is averaging 8.55 runs per game in MAC play and batting .383, led by senior designated player Delanie Johnson's .516 average ... Johnson is also tied with junior outfielder Faith Hensley with a team-best 13 RBIs in MAC action, while sophomore Deborah Jones boasts a 5-0 record and a 1.70 ERA in the circle.
» SERIES VS. AKRON: Ball State holds a 37-22 lead in the all-time series versus Akron, including 10 straight wins ... In fact, the Cardinals have won 25 of the last 30 games played between the two clubs ... During the 2019 regular season, Ball State out-scored the Zips 36-8 in a three-game home series ... The Cardinals also swept a three-game set at Akron in 2018 by a combined score of 30-8 ... BSU has won seven straight at Akron, with its last road loss in the series coming April 3, 2011.
ABOUT THE BALL STATE CARDINALS
» The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 17-10 (11-0 MAC) record after seeing its 11-game winning streak snapped at Butler on Tuesday ... Prior to the loss, Ball State completed its toughest MAC sweep to date, taking three games from preseason favorite Kent State ... The Cardinals used some timely hitting and outstanding pitching to pick up the wins ... Sophomore Deborah Jones earned two of the wins in the circle and did not surrender an earned run over her 14.0 innings ... She also logged BSU's first complete game shutout of the season in Friday's opener ... While the Cardinals hit six home runs on the weekend, its most in a league series so far this season, the biggest blast came in the last at bat ... It was a three-run, walk-off home run by sophomore third baseman Haley Wynn ... The blast came with two outs and on a 3-2 pitch.
» Ball State enters the Akron series ranked second in the MAC and 26th nationally with a .318 team batting average and is fourth in the league with a 4.07 team ERA ... Junior outfielder Faith Hensley leads the squad and is 74th nationally with a .418 batting average, while seven of BSU's regular starters are batting at least .304 ... Junior pitcher Tieghan Morio has the team's lowest ERA, at 3.52, and owns a 6-2 record.Â
ONE THING TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND: One of the league's premier power hitting teams, Ball State is adding a little finesse on the base paths this season with a MAC-leading 10 triples ... Freshman shortstop Kayla Lissy paces the squad and is tied for fifth among all NCAA Division I players with her five triples ... As a team, Ball State's 0.37 triples-per-game average in 19th in the country.
HENSLEY STILL GOING STRONG: Named the MAC Player of the Week on April 6, junior outfielder Faith Hensley is having a breakout season, ranking 74th among all NCAA Division I players with her .418 batting average, while ranking 51st in on base percentage at .524 ... In addition, she leads the team with 25 RBI, including a career-high seven in the 10-3 win over Alcorn State (March 6) ... The first four came when she blasted her first career grand slam in the first inning, while the final three came on a sixth-inning home run ... The seven RBIs tie as the second most in a game in program history, trailing only the eight RBIs current Ball State senior catcher Stacy Payton drove in when she smashed three home runs, including her first career grand slam, against Oakland on May 7, 2019.
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 catcher Stacy Payton became the latest player to reach the 100 RBI milestone with her single in the fifth inning versus Saint Lewis (Feb. 26) ... Payton is second on the team with 22 RBIs this season, raising her career total to 121 which is 10th on Ball State's career charts ... BSU's active career RBI leader is senior first baseman Janae Hogg, who ranks eighth all-time with 136 RBI ... Senior outfielder Haley Dominique is 11th on Ball State's career charts with her 113 career RBI ... The Cardinals have a fourth player on the cusp of 100 RBI in senior outfielder Kennedy Wynn who is currently 15th on BSU's all-time list at 95.
WALK THIS WAY: With her fourth of six walks in the series versus Bowling Green, senior first baseman Janae Hogg became the most walked player in program history, passing the 115 drawn by Taylor Rager (2011-14) ... Hogg enters the Akron series with 120 career walks which ranks seventh among all active NCAA Division I players ... Senior outfielder Haley Dominique is not far behind, ranking fourth all-time at Ball State and 21st among active Division I players with 106 career walks, including 11 so far this season ... It marks the first time in program history BSU has had two players with at least 100 walks on the same team.
ONE SAVE CLOSER: Senior Alyssa Rothwell moved one save closer to achieving an NCAA record, earning her 29th career save in the 9-6 win over Samford (March 13) ... Rothwell threw the final inning of the game, keeping the Bulldogs hitless and off the scoreboard ... At 29 saves, Rothwell is the NCAA's active career saves leader and has 10 more than any other player in NCAA Division I softball ... She set the Ball State and MAC single-season saves record with 14 in 2019, which led the nation and tied as the third-most saves in a single season in NCAA Division I history ... The NCAA career saves record is currently 32 set by Mississippi State's Kellie Willkerson (1999-2002).
ON THE BASE PATHS: Ball State enters the week ranked fourth in the MAC with 31 stolen bases ... Junior second baseman Amaia Daniel leads the squad with five, while junior outfielder Faith Hensley, freshman shortstop Kayla Lissy and freshman outfielder Hannah Dukeman are right behind with four each ... In fact, 14 different Cardinals have stolen at least one base this season and the team is averaging 1.15 stolen bases per game ... Ball State has not averaged more than 1.00 stolen base per game since the 2015 season, when the Cardinals won the MAC Tournament and made their latest appearance in the NCAA Regionals ... That year Ball State stole 80 bases over 59 games for a 1.36 swipes-per-game average.
EARLY STARTS KEY: The Cardinals are a perfect 13-0 when leading after the fourth inning this season ... However, Ball State is 2-7 when trailing and 2-2 when tied after the fourth, with all four wins coming during the current 11-game MAC winning streak ... Ball State has scored 99 of its 165 total runs in the first four innings, including 35 third-inning runs.
