Ball State University
Miami
Battle of MAC Unbeatens: Softball at Miami Tuesday
April 19, 2021 | Softball
| Ball State (21-10; 15-0 MAC) at Miami (26-6; 16-0 MAC) | |
| Game 1 | Tuesday, April 20 at 2 p.m. Live Stats |  Watch |
| Game 2 | Tuesday, April 20 - 30 minutes following Game 1 Live Stats |  Watch |
| Tickets | NO GENERAL PUBLIC ATTENDANCE |
| Game Notes | Ball State |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
» THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team concludes a seven-game road swing Tuesday when it travels to Miami for a 2 p.m. doubleheader ... The Cardinals will then open a 12-game homestand Friday, when it welcomes Ohio to the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex for the first of four games ... The teams will play a single game Friday (3 p.m.), a doubleheader Saturday (1 p.m.) and a single game Sunday (Noon).
» VENUE UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting department of health guidance, there will be no general public attendance at this week's Ball State softball games.
» HOW TO FOLLOW: For Tuesday's game at Miami, fans can access live stats courtesy of Miami Athletics ... For this weekend's home series versus Ohio, a free one-camera live video feed and live stats will be available courtesy of Ball State Athletics ... Fans can also get regular game updates by following the team on Twitter - @BallStateSB ... Links can be found on the softball schedule page on BallStateSports.com.
» OFF TO A HOT START: While it was the last team to open MAC play, Ball State has started with a bang, sweeping four straight league series: versus Bowling Green (March 26-28), at Central Michigan (April 2-4), versus Kent State (April 9-10) and at Akron (April 16-20) ... In fact, the Cardinals are a perfect 15-0 in MAC action for the longest MAC winning streak in a single season in program history ... Ball State's longest MAC regular season winning streak is 19 games which includes the last seven regular season games of 2012 and the first 12 of 2013.
» IN 2021 MAC PLAY: Ball State is averaging 7.87 runs per game in MAC play and batting .362, led by senior designated player Delanie Johnson's .452 average ... Senior first baseman Janae Hogg has a team-best 16 RBI in league play, while junior outfielder Faith Hensley is second at 14 ... Sophomore Deborah Jones boasts a 6-0 record and a 1.91 ERA in the circle.Â
» SERIES VS. MIAMI: Ball State holds a 57-46 lead in the all-time series which has not seen a game since the 2017 season ... The Cardinals swept the RedHawks that year in Muncie, taking both ends of an April 1 doubleheader by scores of 6-5 and 3-1, as well as an April 2 single game 6-3 ... The last time the teams meet in Oxford, Miami swept a three-game series March 25-26 by scores of 4-3, 5-3 and 5-2 ... Ball State is 24-22 all-time in games played in Oxford, with its last road win coming May 3, 2015 by a score of 7-6.
ABOUT THE BALL STATE CARDINALS
» The Cardinals enter the week with a 21-10 (15-0 MAC) record after sweeping a four-game series at Akron last weekend ... In a tough road test, Ball State rallied for come-from-behind wins in the first two games, while out-scoring the Zips 13-1 over the final two ... Senior center fielder Kennedy Wynn had a big weekend at the plate, leading the team with a 1.111 slugging percentage ... She hit a two-run double in the opener and later came around to score the game-tying run in the victory ... Her leadoff home run in the seventh inning of Saturday's opening game also tied the score and forced extra innings in the win ... She closed the weekend with a one-out home run in Sunday's contest, sparking a four-run inning with what proved to be the game-winning run ... Overall, Ball State's offense hit six solo home runs over the four game ... Senior Darcie Huber led a solid effort in the circle, picking up a pair of wins and boasting a 1.40 ERA and a .188 opponent's batting average.
» Ball State enters Tuesday's contest ranked second in the MAC and 25th nationally with a .316 team batting average and is fourth in the league with a 3.78 team ERA ... Junior outfielder Faith Hensley leads the squad and is 90th nationally with a .407 batting average, while seven of BSU's regular starters are batting at least .309 ... Sophomore pitcher Deborah Jones has the team's lowest ERA, at 3.47, and owns an 8-2 record ... She also ranks 15th nationally with three saves.Â
ONE THING TO WATCH TUESDAY: In a battle of the league's top two offenses, Miami is first in the MAC and eighth nationally with a .337 batting average, keeping the ball in the park will be key for Ball State's pitchers ... The Cardinals have surrendered a MAC-low 15 home runs this season with only nine coming in conference play ... The RedHawks have hit a MAC-leading 49 home runs, including 26 in conference play ... Ball State has 22 home runs in MAC play.
HENSLEY STILL GOING STRONG: Named the MAC Player of the Week on April 6, junior outfielder Faith Hensley is having a breakout season, ranking 90th among all NCAA Division I players with her .407 batting average, while ranking 67th in on base percentage at .505 ... In addition, she leads the team with 26 RBIs, including a career-high seven in the 10-3 win over Alcorn State (March 6) in which she hit two home runs ... 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 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 third on the team with 24 RBIs this season, raising her career total to 123 which is 10th on Ball State's career charts ... BSU's active career RBI leader is senior first baseman Janae Hogg, who ranks seventh all-time with 140 RBIs, including 25 this season ... Senior outfielder Haley Dominique is 11th on Ball State's career charts with her 116 career RBIs ... 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 99.
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 Tuesday's doubleheader at Miami with 125 career walks, including 16 this season, which ranks fourth 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 107 career walks, including 12 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 nine 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 37 stolen bases ... Junior outfielder Faith Hensley and freshman shortstop Kayla Lissy lead the way with six each after both stole a pair of bases in the series at Akron ... In fact, 14 different Cardinals have stolen at least one base this season and the team is averaging 1.19 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 15-0 when leading after the fourth inning this season ... However, Ball State is 3-7 when trailing and 3-2 when tied after the fourth, with all six wins coming during the current 15-game MAC winning streak ... Ball State has scored 117 of its 189 total runs in the first four innings, including 40 third-inning runs.
