
Softball Heads To Toledo Looking To Build Momentum
April 14, 2022 | Softball
Ball State (13-22; 6-5 MAC) at Toledo (8-26; 1-11 MAC) | |
Game 36 at Toledo | Friday, April 15 at 3 p.m. Live Stats |
Game 37 at Toledo | Saturday, April 16 at 1 p.m. Live Stats |
Game 38 at Toledo | Saturday, April 16 at 3:30 p.m. Live Stats |
Tickets Info | Ticket Information |
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MUNCIE, Ind. - - This weekend marks the halfway point of the 2022 Mid-American Conference softball season and Ball State will look to build momentum for a late-season title run when it travels to Toledo this weekend for a three-game series at Scott Park.
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The Cardinals (13-22; 6-5 MAC) and Rockets (8-26; 1-11 MAC) are currently scheduled to play a 3 p.m. contest Friday and a Saturday doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
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Ball State enters the week just outside the MAC Tournament picture as the sixth-ranked team in the league with its 6-5 MAC mark. With just the top four teams advancing to the tournament, BSU is half a game behind fifth-place Buffalo (6-4) and a game back of fourth-place Bowling Green (8-5). Miami currently leads the MAC with a 12-2 league record, followed by Ohio (9-5) and Central Michigan (7-4).Â
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Toledo enters the week ranked 11th in the conference at 1-11, with its lone league victory coming in its MAC opener at Western Michigan by a score of 5-4 on March 19.
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The Cardinals are coming off a very busy stretch, in which it played seven games in a seven-day span. The last of which was a Tuesday contest at IUPUI.
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Despite going 3-4 on the run, Ball State outscored the opposition 50 to 41, including its largest run total of the season in a 13-3 (5) win to open the Northern Illinois series on April 5.
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Overall, the Cardinals tallied a .318 team batting average over the seven games, led by a .474 mark from senior left fielder Faith Hensley. Hensley also led the team in runs (11), RBI (10), slugging percentage (1.368), on base percentage (.630), and home runs (4) over the course of the week.
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Redshirt freshman McKayla Timmons and sophomore Kayla Lissy were not far behind with .471 averaged, with both collecting eight hits over 17 at bats. Lissy's biggest hit was a walk-off solo shot to give BSU's the 5-4 victory in Monday's showdown versus Ohio.
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In the circle, the Cardinals welcomed back junior Deborah Jones, who after nearly a month off, came back and did not allow a single earned run over four appearances. Over 13.1 innings of work, Jones tallied a 2-0 record, a 0.00 ERA, 16 strikeouts, and a .196 batting average.
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SEASON SO FAR:
- The Cardinals enter Friday's game at Toledo with a 13-22 overall record, including a 6-5 mark in MAC play. While Ball State is 5-7 in true road games on the year, it has won two of its last three MAC road games. Â
- The Cardinals enter the Toledo series ranked second in the MAC and in the top 100 nationally with a .281 team batting average … Leading the way is senior left fielder Faith Hensley who is second in the MAC and in the top 25 nationally with her .440 average.
- Ball State's power has been there this season too, with the squad ranking 42nd nationally with a 1.12 home runs per game average … BSU's sluggers have belted 38 home runs so far this season, with nine different players going yard.
- Ball State's ability to double teams up has been a bright spot for the defense so far this season, as the Cardinals entered the week tied for sixth nationally with 19 double plays so far this season … In addition, BSU's 0.56 double plays per game average is fifth among the 293 ranked NCAA Division I softball programs.
- The Cardinals have also been making moves on the base paths, ranking fourth among Mid-American Conference programs with 40 stolen bases … Leading the way is sophomore transfer Remington Ross, who is a 13-for-14 so far this season, with her 13 stolen bases ranking third among all league players.
SCOUTING TOLEDO
The Rockets enter the series with an 8-25 overall record, including an 1-11 mark in MAC play … Toledo has lost 13 straight games, with its last win coming in its MAC opener at Western Michigan (March 19) … On Tuesday, the Rockets suffered a 5-4 setback at Ohio State, scoring two runs in the top of the sixth to make it a one-run game.
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Dayna Denner leads the Rockets with a .392 batting average, including 10 doubled and six home runs … Denner also tops UT with 23 RBIs and 18 runs scored … Aubrey Reed is second on the squad with a .264 average … Sophia Knight has thrown a team-high 86.2 innings, and made 22 appearances in the circle with 18 starts and a 6.38 ERA … She has a 4-12 overall record, while striking out 70 batters and owning a .305 batting average against.
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As a team, the Rockets hold a .227 batting average with 19 total home runs … UT's pitching staff maintains a 6.22 ERA and are allowing team to bat .339.
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THE ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS TOLEDO:
- Ball State holds a 62-49-1 edge in the all-time series versus Toledo, with the teams splitting a four-game series in Muncie last season.
- The Rockets took the first game of the series by a score of 6-4 on April 30, and won the opener of a May 1 doubleheader by the same score … Ball State responded with a 14-5 (5) victory in the nightcap, before winning the series finale by a score of 5-4 (8) courtesy of a walk-off RBI single from Faith Hensley in the eighth.Â
- Overall, the Rockets hold a 27-26-1 edge in games played in Toledo, including wins in five of the last seven games … BSU did win the last game at Scott Park by a score of 2-1 (9) on May 5, 2018.
- In last season's series versus Toledo, senior second baseman Amaia Daniel turned in a brilliant performance, tallying a .545 average powered by two doubles and three home runs … She also drove in a team-high six RBIs, while scoring three runs … Overall, the team registered a .375 batting average against the Rockets, including six starters batting at least .313.
BALL STATE NOTES:
- Senior outfielder Faith Hensley has picked up right where she left off last season, leading the Ball State offense with a .440 batting average this season … She has reached base safely in 32 of the 34 games she has played, including via a hit in 27 contests … She also leads the team with 34 RBIs, including five in the Feb. 19 come-from-behind win over Western Carolina, and runs scored with 36.
- A 2021 NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team selection last season, Faith Hensley enters the Toledo series ranked second in program history (minimum 150 at bats) with a .399 career batting average … She is also currently second in career slugging percentage (.750), based on the strength of her 22 career doubles, 23 career home runs and three career triples … Hensley's 23 career home runs also rank 10th on BSU's career charts with her 15 so far this season tying as the fifth-most in a season in program history.
- Sophomore shortstop Kayla Lissy registered BSU's first triple of the season in the 3-2 (8) victory over Towson (Feb. 18), and added her second in the series opener against Kent State (April 1) … Last season, Lissy tied for the NCAA Division I lead with nine triples and added an inside-the-park home run for good measure.
- Kayla Lissy is also off to a strong start on the base paths, ranking second on the squad with eight stolen bases … As a freshman, Lissy ranked fifth in the MAC with 18 stolen bases … Her 26 career stolen bases rank 20th in program history, while her .867 (26-for-30) stolen base percentage is fifth on BSU's career charts.
- Ball State's sluggers have blasted 38 total home runs so far this season, with nine different players getting into the action … Faith Hensley leads the way with 15, which is second in the MAC and 10th nationally … Three other Cardinals have four home runs each, while three others also have three … Overall, 10 different players on the active roster have at least one career home run for the Cardinals.
- Redshirt freshman first baseman / catcher McKayla Timmons is second on the squad with a .337 batting average, including a .471 mark over BSU's last seven games … Timmons is second on the team lead with seven doubles, tied for second on the squad with four home runs, and tied for second on the team with 23 RBIs.
- McKayla Timmons has also been BSU's best clutch hitter so far this season with 19 of her 23 RBIs coming with two outs … She is also batting a team-best .486 (17-for-35) with two outs.
- Junior third baseman Haley Wynn has also had a solid season to date, entering the Toledo series with a .298 batting average … She has reached base safely in 28 of BSU's 35 games this season, including a team-high 15 straight contests earlier in the year … Wynn has had at least one hit in 23 games, including a perfect 4-for-4 effort versus Albany (Feb. 19) for her first career four-hit game … She also leads the squad with eight doubles and is second on the squad with 26 runs scored.
- Sophomore outfielder Remington Ross enters the Toledo series ranked third in the league with 13 stolen bases … She started the season a perfect 13-for-13 before being narrowly thrown out in her last attempt … She's also shown off her speed at the plate with seven bunt singles so far this year.
- Overall, Ball State has stolen 40 total bases this season in 55 attempts … Last season, the Cardinals registered 62 stolen bases which was the 13th-highest single-season total in program history.
- Junior pitcher Deborah Jones enters the weekend with 191 career strikeouts to rank 17th in program history … She needs nine more strikeouts to become just the 15th pitcher in program history to reach 200 career Ks … Jones has a team-leading 57 strikeouts over 49.1 innings of work this season.
- Deborah Jones earned her 20th career victory versus Northern Kentucky on March 5, allowing just one run and four hits, while striking out a career-high 12 batters in the 2-1 victory … It was her first win of the 2022 season, to go along with her seven wins as a freshman in 2020 and 12 last season.
- After missing nearly a month due to injury, Jones picked up her second win of the season last Tuesday at Northern Illinois in BSU's 13-0 (5) victory … She allowed just four baserunners in the game (three hits and one walk) on her way to registering her fifth career shutout victory … Jones has a 22-13 career record, with the 22 wins tying for 19th on BSU's all-time list.
- Freshman pitcher Angelina Russo has been BSU's go-to pitcher so far this season, entering the Toledo series with a team-high 88.0 innings of work … She has started 16 of BSU's 35 games, while making 24 appearances … Russo also owns a 6-8 record and a 5.17 ERA against some tough competition … In fact, she earned the win at No. 18 Missouri (March 20), holding the Tigers to just seven hits and three runs (two earned) over 5.1 innings of work in the 4-3 victory.
- Angelina Russo, who threw a complete game one-hitter to earn the second-game win against Kent State on April 1, also earned the complete game victory at Grand Canyon (March 12), while turning in solid pitching performances at No. 23 Arizona State (March 13), vs. Stanford (March 19), and vs. No. 14 Northwestern (March 20).
- Ball State's offense is really starting to find its grove, scoring a season-high 13 runs in a 13-0 (5) victory at Northern Illinois (April 5) … BSU's previous season-best was 11 runs one game earlier in the 11-3 (5) victory over Kent State (April 2) … The Cardinals added an 11-0 (5) win over NIU in the opening game of an April 6 doubleheader at NIU, giving them three consecutive games in double figures … It was the first time since the 2019 season Ball State has scored double-digit runs in three consecutive games … That year they started the streak with an 11-3 (6) win versus Fordham (March 17) and followed with back-to-back wins over Akron by scores 14-6 (6) (March 22) and 13-1 (5) (March 23)
- While the Cardinals did not get the win in the series finale at Northern Illinois, they scored eight runs in the second inning of the contest which is the most runs BSU has scored in a single inning this season … It was also the most runs Ball State has scored in a single inning since producing 10 in the fifth inning of the opening game of the May 12, 2021, doubleheader at NIU.
Players Mentioned
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