Ball State University
Kent State
MAC Titans Collide as Softball Hosts Kent State
April 08, 2021 | Softball
| Ball State (14-9; 8-0 MAC) hosts Kent State (11-14; 8-4 MAC) | |
| Game 1 | Friday, April 9 at 1 p.m. Live Stats | Live Video |
| Game 2 | Friday, April 9 - 30 minutes following Game 2 Live Stats | Live Video |
| Game 3 | Saturday, April 10 at 1 p.m. Live Stats | Live Video | SL Digital Audio |
| Game 4 | Sunday, April 11 at Noon Live Stats | Live Video |
| Tickets | NO GENERAL PUBLIC ATTENDANCE |
| Game Notes | Ball State |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
» THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team returns to the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex for an important four-game series versus Kent State ... Due to weather concerns for the weekend, the teams will be playing a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday, as well as single games Saturday (1 p.m.) and 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 Ball State softball home games this season.
» HOW TO FOLLOW: While you can not be there in person, you can still watch this weekend's games live with a free video stream courtesy of Ball State All-Access ... In addition, SL Digital will have the radio call for Saturday's game ... Live stats will also be available ... Links can be found above or on the softball schedule page on BallStateSports.com.
» TOUGH WEEKEND AHEAD: This weekend's match up between Ball State and Kent State features two of the league's three top programs according to the 2021 MAC Preseason Poll ... The Golden Flashes were selected as the favorites to win the league, while the Cardinals were picked third ... BSU is currently tied atop the MAC standings at 8-0, while KSU is third at 8-4.Â
» OFF TO A HOT START: While it was the last team to open MAC play, Ball State has started with a bang, sweeping a four-game home series versus Bowling Green (March 26-28) and a four-game road series at Central Michigan (April 2-4) ... It's the first 8-0 start in league play for the Cardinals since the 2013 team went 12-0 ... Ball State is averaging 10.1 runs per game in MAC play and is batting .401, led by senior catcher Stacy Payton's .560 average ... Junior outfielder Faith Hensley has a team-best 12 RBIs, while junior Tieghan Morio and sophomore Deborah Jones are both 3-0 in the circle.Â
» SERIES VS. KENT STATE: The Golden Flashes hold a 51-32 lead in the all-time series which has only seen four regular season games following the 2013 season ... All four games have been played in Muncie, with KSU earning a 7-3 win April 3, 2015 and taking two of three April 6-7, 2018 ... The teams split an April 6, 2018 doubleheader with Kent State winning game one, 5-2, and Ball State taking the nightcap, 15-7 (6) ... KSU would go on to win the April 7 contest by a score of 4-1 ... Overall, KSU holds a slim 19-18 edge in games played in Muncie.
ABOUT THE BALL STATE CARDINALS
» The Cardinals enter the week with a 14-9 (8-0 MAC) record after last weekend's sweep at Central Michigan ... Ball State out-scored the Chippewas 48-to-22 in the series, averaging an impressive 12.0 runs per game ... A total of 15 different Cardinals scored at least one run in the series, led by six apiece from senior catcher Stacy Payton and sophomore third baseman Haley Wynn ... In addition, 13 players tallied at least one RBI, led by eight each from junior outfielder Faith Hensley and senior first baseman Janae Hogg.
» Ball State enters the Kent State series ranked second in the MAC and 24th nationally with a .322 team batting average and is fourth in the league with a 4.50 team ERA ... Junior outfielder Faith Hensley leads the squad and is 45th nationally with a .439 batting average, while six of BSU's regular starters are batting at least .311 ... Junior pitcher Tieghan Morio has the team's lowest ERA among starting pitchers at 3.79 and has a 5-2 record.
ONE THING TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND: With two of the league's top offenses on display this weekend, the outcome of the series is going to come down to which team's pitchers can battle the longest ... Ball State enters the weekend averaging a league-best 10.1 runs per game in MAC play, while Kent State is third at 7.83 runs per game ... In the circle, Cardinals pitchers are allowing just 4.88 runs per game, compared to 5.25 for Golden Flashes pitching.
HENSLEY STILL GOING STRONG: After leading the squad with a .667 batting average and a 1.333 slugging percentage last week, junior outfielder Faith Hensley was named the MAC Player of the Week for the first time in her career ... Hensley is having a breakout season, ranking 45th among all NCAA Division I players with her .439 batting average, while ranking 32nd in on base percentage at .548 ... In addition, she leads the team with 24 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 ties 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 21 RBIs this season, raising her career total to 120 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 134 RBI ... Senior outfielder Haley Dominique is 11th on Ball State's career charts with her 111 career RBI.
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 Kent State series with 120 career walks which ranks sixth among all active NCAA Division I players ... Senior outfielder Haley Dominique is not far behind, ranking fourth all-time at Ball State and 18th among active Division I players with 105 career walks, including 10 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 12 more than any other player in 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 29 stolen bases ... Junior second baseman Amaia Daniel leads the squad with five, while junior outfielder Faith Hensley and freshman shortstop Kayla Lissy are right behind with four each ... In fact, 14 different Cardinals have stolen at least one base this season and the team is averaging 1.26 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.
DOUBLES, TRIPLES AND BOMBS: Of Ball State's 51 hits in last weekend's series at Central Michigan, 25 went for multiple bases ... The Cardinals enter the week ranked second in the MAC in both doubles (45) and triples (7), while its 18 home runs are tied for fourth ... With a pair of home runs at CMU last weekend, raising her season total to four, senior first baseman Janae Hogg upped her career total to 40 and is now second in program history.
EARLY STARTS KEY: The Cardinals are a perfect 12-0 when leading after the fourth inning this season ... However, Ball State is 1-7 when trailing and 1-2 when tied after the fourth, with both of the wins coming during the current eight-game winning streak.
