Sunday, March 20
Columbia, Mo.
11:00 AM
Ball State University
6-16
2
vs
5
Northwestern
18-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Ball State
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
5
0
Northwestern
3
0
2
0
0
0
X
5
6
1
Softball Earns 4-3 Win at No. 18 Missouri
March 20, 2022 | Softball
COLUMBIA, Mo. - - The Ball State softball team had been on the verge of a breakout win several times this season; and Sunday night the Cardinals (7-16) earned one.
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In is third game of the weekend versus a top 20 team, Ball State ended play in the Mizzou Classic and closed its pre-conference slate with a 4-3 victory at No. 18 Missouri.
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It is just the seventh win over a ranked opponent in program history, and the first since the Cardinals topped No. 21 Notre Dame in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA South Bend Regional.
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It was also the second win over a ranked Tigers (18-9) squad on its home field as Ball State topped a then-No. 3 Mizzou by a score of 2-1 on March 19, 2010, as part of the Demarini Invitational.
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After falling behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first, the Cardinals answered with a two-run home run from junior third baseman Haley Wynn in the top of the third to even the score. It was Wynn's third blast of the season and plated senior left fielder Faith Hensley who preceded Wynn with a one-out single.
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Missouri would counter, however, with a run of its own in the bottom of the third to reclaim the lead at 3-2.
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The margin would stay the same until the top of the sixth when sophomore right fielder Kaitlyn Mathews tied the score with an RBI double to right-center field. Redshirt junior designated player Jazmyne Armendariz opened the inning with a walk, while sophomore pinch runner Remington Ross advanced to second on sac bunt from senior second baseman Amaia Daniel to set up the RBI hit.
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The Cardinals were not done there, however, as Mathews would advance to third on a wild pitch before scoring what proved to be the game-winning run on a sac fly from senior first baseman Mackenzie McCarty.
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In the circle, freshman Angelina Russo turned in another brilliant performance against a ranked squad, surrendering just seven hits and three runs, two of which were earned, over 5.1 innings of work. She also struck out one batter in her second appearance of the day to improve to 4-5 on the year.
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In addition to the strong work from Russo, freshman lefty Emma Eubank would retire five of the seven batters she faced to earn her first career save. She entered with one runner on in the bottom of the sixth and retired back-to-back batters.
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After Eubank walked the first batter she faced in the seventh, the registered a strikeout and a forced a groundout for two quick outs. A second walk gave Mizzou a pair of base runners, but that did not deter Eubank who forced a liner to Hensley in center field to end the game.
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Ball State was close to earning two ranked wins on the day, however, as they brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh inning of Sunday's 5-2 opening-game loss to No. 14 Northwestern.
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Despite more strong pitching from Russo and Eubank, the Wildcats were able to score three runs in the first and two more in the third to pull ahead 5-0.
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The score remained that way until the top of the seventh when the Ball State offense came to life with a little more two-out magic.
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The frame started with a walk to redshirt freshman first baseman McKayla Timmons, who was then replaced by freshman pinch runner Emma Niece. A single through the left side from sophomore shortstop Kayla Lissy gave BSU a pair of base runners with no outs.
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Thinks looked rough after a fielder's choice got the lead runner at third and a strikeout followed to give BSU a pair of outs.
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The Cardinals did not give up, however, as a Daniel single to left allowed the speedy Lissy to score from second. Then, an error on a single to center by Mathews allowed Armendariz to advance from third to home.
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BSU could not complete the comeback, however, as a strikeout ended the game.
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Russo pitched the first three innings, striking out four batters while allowing six hits and five earned runs. Eubank pitch the final three, holding Northwestern to just one walk. She also struck out one batter.
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The Ball State softball team will look to carry the momentum from tonight's win into next weekend, when it opens Mid-American Conference play at Central Michigan. The Cardinals and the Chippewas are set to play a single game Friday (3 p.m.) and a double header Saturday (1 p.m.).
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In is third game of the weekend versus a top 20 team, Ball State ended play in the Mizzou Classic and closed its pre-conference slate with a 4-3 victory at No. 18 Missouri.
Â
It is just the seventh win over a ranked opponent in program history, and the first since the Cardinals topped No. 21 Notre Dame in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA South Bend Regional.
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It was also the second win over a ranked Tigers (18-9) squad on its home field as Ball State topped a then-No. 3 Mizzou by a score of 2-1 on March 19, 2010, as part of the Demarini Invitational.
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After falling behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first, the Cardinals answered with a two-run home run from junior third baseman Haley Wynn in the top of the third to even the score. It was Wynn's third blast of the season and plated senior left fielder Faith Hensley who preceded Wynn with a one-out single.
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Missouri would counter, however, with a run of its own in the bottom of the third to reclaim the lead at 3-2.
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The margin would stay the same until the top of the sixth when sophomore right fielder Kaitlyn Mathews tied the score with an RBI double to right-center field. Redshirt junior designated player Jazmyne Armendariz opened the inning with a walk, while sophomore pinch runner Remington Ross advanced to second on sac bunt from senior second baseman Amaia Daniel to set up the RBI hit.
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The Cardinals were not done there, however, as Mathews would advance to third on a wild pitch before scoring what proved to be the game-winning run on a sac fly from senior first baseman Mackenzie McCarty.
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In the circle, freshman Angelina Russo turned in another brilliant performance against a ranked squad, surrendering just seven hits and three runs, two of which were earned, over 5.1 innings of work. She also struck out one batter in her second appearance of the day to improve to 4-5 on the year.
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In addition to the strong work from Russo, freshman lefty Emma Eubank would retire five of the seven batters she faced to earn her first career save. She entered with one runner on in the bottom of the sixth and retired back-to-back batters.
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After Eubank walked the first batter she faced in the seventh, the registered a strikeout and a forced a groundout for two quick outs. A second walk gave Mizzou a pair of base runners, but that did not deter Eubank who forced a liner to Hensley in center field to end the game.
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Ball State was close to earning two ranked wins on the day, however, as they brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh inning of Sunday's 5-2 opening-game loss to No. 14 Northwestern.
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Despite more strong pitching from Russo and Eubank, the Wildcats were able to score three runs in the first and two more in the third to pull ahead 5-0.
Â
The score remained that way until the top of the seventh when the Ball State offense came to life with a little more two-out magic.
Â
The frame started with a walk to redshirt freshman first baseman McKayla Timmons, who was then replaced by freshman pinch runner Emma Niece. A single through the left side from sophomore shortstop Kayla Lissy gave BSU a pair of base runners with no outs.
Â
Thinks looked rough after a fielder's choice got the lead runner at third and a strikeout followed to give BSU a pair of outs.
Â
The Cardinals did not give up, however, as a Daniel single to left allowed the speedy Lissy to score from second. Then, an error on a single to center by Mathews allowed Armendariz to advance from third to home.
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BSU could not complete the comeback, however, as a strikeout ended the game.
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Russo pitched the first three innings, striking out four batters while allowing six hits and five earned runs. Eubank pitch the final three, holding Northwestern to just one walk. She also struck out one batter.
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The Ball State softball team will look to carry the momentum from tonight's win into next weekend, when it opens Mid-American Conference play at Central Michigan. The Cardinals and the Chippewas are set to play a single game Friday (3 p.m.) and a double header Saturday (1 p.m.).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Russo, Angelina (4-5)
L: Weber, J. (6-2)
S: Eubank, Emma (1)
Batting:
2B: Mathews, Kaitlyn 1
HR: Wynn, Haley 1
RBI: Wynn, Haley 2 ; Mathews, Kaitlyn 1 ; McCarty, Mackenzie 1
SH: Timmons, McKayla 1 ; Daniel, Amaia 1
SF: McCarty, Mackenzie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hensley, Faith 1 ; Wynn, Haley 1 ; Ross, Remington 1 ; Mathews, Kaitlyn 1
CS: Mathews, Kaitlyn 1
HBP: Timmons, McKayla 1
Batting:
2B: Laird, J. 1
RBI: Daly, K. 2 ; Bailey, K. 1
SF: Daly, K. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Laird, J. 2 ; Wert, K. 1
SB: Laird, J. 1 ; Honnold, A. 1
HBP: Honnold, A. 2
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C/Uti
/ Softball
Uti
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/Uti
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ SoftballSoftball // Workouts
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Sports Link: Katie Van Der Mark (Softball)
Wednesday, May 21