Softball Welcomes Western Michigan For Three-Game Series Starting Tuesday

Ball State (15-23; 8-6 MAC) hosts Western Michigan (16-24; 6-8 MAC)
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MUNCIE, Ind. - - Midweek #MACtion will take over the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex as Ball State welcomes Western Michigan for a three-game series starting Tuesday at 3 p.m.

The Cardinals (15-23; 8-6 Mid-American Conference) and Broncos (16-24; 6-8 MAC) will also play a doubleheader Wednesday starting at 1 p.m.

With five league series remaining, Ball State enters the week tied for fourth in the MAC with an 8-6 conference record. However, the Cardinals are still just outside the four-team MAC Tournament picture as they are tied with Central Michigan who owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with BSU.

Miami (15-2) has a four-game lead over second-place Ohio (11-6), while Bowling Green (8-5) is in third at five games back. The Cardinals and Chippewas are both 5.5 games out of the top spot, with both having played one less MAC series than Miami so far this year.

Western Michigan is currently two games behind Ball State and eighth overall with its 6-8 MAC record.

SEASON SO FAR:

The Cardinals enter the Western Michigan series with a 15-23 overall record and an 8-6 league mark after winning two of three games at Toledo last weekend.
After suffering an 11-0 (5) setback in last Friday's series opener, the Cardinals responded by sweeping both ends of last Saturday's doubleheader by scores of 10-2 and 9-5.
The Cardinals enter the WMU series ranked second in the MAC and 88th nationally with a .286 team batting average … Senior left fielder Faith Hensley leads the team and the MAC with her .436 average, which is also 22nd nationally.
Ball State's power has been there this season too, with the squad ranking 48th nationally with a 1.05 home runs per game average … BSU's sluggers have belted 40 home runs so far this season, with 10 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 fourth nationally with 22 double plays so far this season … In addition, BSU's 0.58 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 third among Mid-American Conference programs with 48 stolen bases … Leading the way is sophomore transfer Remington Ross, who is a 16-for-17 so far this season, with her 16 stolen bases ranking third among all league players.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos enter the series with a 16-24 overall record, including a 6-8 mark in MAC play … Last weekend, Western Michigan took two of three from Akron … It started with a doubleheader split on Friday, with WMU winning the opener 6-0 and the Zips capturing the nightcap 1-0 (8) … The Broncos went on to win the series with an 8-0 (5) victory Saturday.

Reily Galloway leads the squad with a .286 average and a .518 slugging percentage aided by five doubles and seven home runs … Alyssa Kramer, who is batting .241, leads the squad with 24 RBIs, 18 runs scored and eight home runs … Overall, the Broncos own a .220 team batting average and are scoring 3.1 runs per game.

Galloway is also the Broncos' ace, having thrown 132.1 innings for a 2.06 ERA and a 10-13 overall record … She is second in the MAC with 189 strikeouts over her 25 appearances and has registered five complete game shutouts … Rissa Bajusz is second on the team with 87.1 innings of work, compiling a 3.85 ERA, a 6-8 record and 72 strikeouts … Bajusz also has three complete game shutouts and one split shutout … Overall, the WMU staff owns a 3.21 ERA and is allowing 3.825 runs per game.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS WESTERN MICHIGAN:

While the Broncos hold a 66-62 edge in the all-time series, the Cardinals have been gaining ground with wins in six of the last nine games played between the two programs.
Last season, the Cardinals won three of the games played in Kalamazoo, starting with an 8-5 win on May 7 … BSU went on to sweep both ends of a May 8 doubleheader, by scores of 9-0 (5) and 17-11, to win the series … WMU avoided the sweep, however, pulling out the finale in extra innings, 4-3 (8).
Ball State does hold a 33-32 edge in games played in Muncie, despite WMU taking two of three the last time the teams meet at the Softball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex in 2018 … The teams split an April 13 doubleheader with WMU winning the first, 6-4, and BSU taking the second, 7-6 … Weather pushed the series finale to April 15, with the Broncos earning a 4-2 victory.
In last season's series versus Western Michigan, Kayla Lissy led the squad with a .643 batting average and scored eight of BSU's 37 runs … She also drove in a pair of RBIs and tallied a double and two triples.
Despite batting just .286 in last season's four-game series, Faith Hensley led the squad with seven RBI … She also scored three runs, tying Lissy for team-high honors and accounting for 10 of BSU's 37 total runs.
The only returning pitcher from a year ago, Deborah Jones appeared in one game and threw 3.2 innings … She allowed just two hits and one unearned run, while striking out three batters.

BALL STATE NOTES:

Senior outfielder Faith Hensley has picked up right where she left off last season, leading the Ball State offense with a .436 batting average this season … She has reached base safely in 35 of the 37 games she has played, including via a hit in 29 contests … She also leads the team and ranks second in the MAC in both RBIs (34) and runs scored (40).
A 2021 NFCA All-Great Lakes Region First Team selection last season, Faith Hensley enters the WMU 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 (.745), based on the strength of her 22 career doubles, 23 career home runs and four career triples.
Faith Hensley's 23 career home runs currently rank 10th on BSU's career charts with her 15 in 2022 tying as the fifth-most in a season in program history … The only players with more home runs in a single season in a Ball State uniform are three-time All-American and 2021 Olympic medalist Jennifer Gilbert (23 in 2013, 19 in 2014 and 18 in 2012) and Emily Dabkowski (16 in 2015).
Ball State's sluggers have blasted 40 total home runs so far this season, with 10 different players getting into the action … The newest addition to the Ball State Softball #BombSquad came Saturday at Toledo when sophomore Kaitlyn Mathews smashed her first career home run in the seven-run third inning of BSU's 9-5 win in the nightcap.
Faith Hensley leads the team with 15 home runs, which is second in the MAC and 14th nationally … Junior Haley Wynn is second on the team with five home runs, while redshirt freshman McKayla Timmons is not far behind with four … Overall, 11 different players on the active roster have at least one career home run for the Cardinals.
In addition to her first career home run, Kaitlyn Mathews led the Ball State offense during the Toledo series with a .556 average. She registered five hits in nine at bats, while scoring two runs and recording a pair of RBIs.
Junior third baseman Haley Wynn has also had a solid season to date, entering the WMU series with a .311 batting average … She has reached base safely in 31 of BSU's 38 games this season, including a team-high 15 straight contests earlier in the year … Wynn has had at least one hit in 26 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 with 29 runs scored.
Sophomore outfielder Remington Ross enters the WMU series ranked third in the league with 16 stolen bases … She started the season a perfect 13-for-13 before being narrowly thrown out when attempting to steal third versus Kent State (April 1) … Since then, she has went 3-for-3, pushing her to 16-for-17 on the year … She's also shown off her speed at the plate with seven bunt singles so far this year.
Overall, Ball State has stolen 48 total bases this season in 68 attempts … Last season, the Cardinals registered 62 stolen bases which was the 13th-highest single-season total in program history.
Sophomore infielder Samantha-Jo Mata stepped up in a big way last week, including starting at first base in all three games at Toledo … Adding the midweek contest at IUPUI, Mata tied for team-high honors with a .455 average, registering five hits in 11 at bats … She also scored a pair of runs while adding three RBIs.
Senior shortstop Amaia Daniel also turned in a .445 batting average last week, registering at least one hit in each of the four games … She also drew three walks for a team-leading .571 on base average … Since the start of MAC play, Daniel has raised her season average from .206 to .270 … She is a .304 career batter, with her 30 career doubles tying for 20th in program history.
Redshirt freshman first baseman / catcher McKayla Timmons is second on the squad with a .337 batting average, including a .471 mark over her last seven games … Timmons is second on the team lead with seven doubles, tied for second on the team with 23 RBIs, and third on the squad with four home runs.
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.
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.
Junior pitcher Deborah Jones enters the weekend with 195 career strikeouts to rank 16th in program history … She needs five more strikeouts to become just the 15th pitcher in program history to reach 200 career Ks … Jones has a team-leading 61 strikeouts over 58.1 innings of work this season.
Deborah Jones also enters the week as one of the winningest pitchers in program history with her 23 career wins tied for 18th in program history … She picked up her 20th career victory versus Northern Kentucky (March 5) and has a 4-5 record on the year … She tallied seven wins as a freshman in 2020 and 12 last season.
Freshman pitcher Angelina Russo has been BSU's go-to pitcher so far this season, entering the Western Michigan series with a team-high 95.0 innings of work … She has started 17 of BSU's 38 games, while making 27 appearances … Russo also owns a 7-8 record and a 4.94 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.

Softball Welcomes Western Michigan For Three-Game Series Starting Tuesday

Players Mentioned

Amaia Daniel

Faith Hensley

Deborah Jones

Kayla Lissy

Samantha-Jo Mata

Kaitlyn Mathews

Remington Ross

Angelina Russo

McKayla Timmons

Haley Wynn

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