Saturday, April 2
Muncie, Ind.
1:00 p.m.
Ball State University
10-18, 3-2
11
vs
3
Kent State
9-17, 1-7
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Kent State
0
0
3
0
0
3
5
3
Ball State
4
2
2
0
3
11
11
0
Photo by: Elijah Houser
Softball Completes Series Sweep; Tops Kent State 11-3
April 02, 2022 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Redshirt freshman pitcher Caridad Estes set the tone and the rest of the Ball State softball team followed in a dominating 11-3 (5) win over Kent State Saturday afternoon at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex.
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With the win, the Cardinals (10-18; 3-2 Mid-American Conference) completed the weekend sweep of the Golden Flashes (9-17; 1-7 MAC) after winning both ends of Friday's doubleheader.
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Estes opened the game by retiring Kent State in order in the top of the first inning. Then cue the heavy-hitting Ball State offense, which used a bases loaded RBI grounding from senior catcher Delaine Johnson and a three-run blast from sophomore shortstop Kayla Lissy in the bottom of the inning to take control of the contest at 4-0.
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Lissy's second home run of the season was the first of four on the day for the Cardinals offense, which used a two-run shot from senior left fielder Faith Hensley in the bottom of the second to pull ahead 6-0.
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While Kent State would cut the lead in half with a three-run blast of its own in the top of the third, BSU would get two of the runs back in the bottom of the frame. The first came courtesy of Lissy's fourth RBI of the game, when she smashed a single through the right side to plate freshman pinch runner Kaitlyn Gibson from second.
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Two batters later, sophomore Kaitlyn Mathews dropped her second of three hits in the contest into left field, droving home the speedy Lissy from second.
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After a scoreless fourth, the Cardinals would add three more in the bottom of the fifth to end the game. The first came via a leadoff blast to center from sophomore pinch hitter Samantha-Jo Mata, her second of the season.
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Mathews followed with her third hit, before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore center fielder Remington Ross. The extra base proved to be a moot point, however, as Hensley launched a no-doubter over the scoreboard in left-center to walk-off the win.
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With her two blasts, Hensley raised her season home run total to 11, while tying with Lissy for game-high honors with four RBI. Junior third baseman Haley Wynn also produced a pair of hits on the day.
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Back in the circle, Estes limited the Golden Flashes to five hits and three earned runs over the first 2.1 innings. She turned the ball over to freshman Emma Eubank who would go on to retire all eight batters she faced in the game over her 2.2 innings of work. Eubank would get credit for the win, her second of the series and third of the year.
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The Ball State softball team is scheduled to return to action Tuesday, with the first of a three-game midweek series at Northern Illinois. First pitch is currently set for 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT.
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With the win, the Cardinals (10-18; 3-2 Mid-American Conference) completed the weekend sweep of the Golden Flashes (9-17; 1-7 MAC) after winning both ends of Friday's doubleheader.
Â
Estes opened the game by retiring Kent State in order in the top of the first inning. Then cue the heavy-hitting Ball State offense, which used a bases loaded RBI grounding from senior catcher Delaine Johnson and a three-run blast from sophomore shortstop Kayla Lissy in the bottom of the inning to take control of the contest at 4-0.
Â
Lissy's second home run of the season was the first of four on the day for the Cardinals offense, which used a two-run shot from senior left fielder Faith Hensley in the bottom of the second to pull ahead 6-0.
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While Kent State would cut the lead in half with a three-run blast of its own in the top of the third, BSU would get two of the runs back in the bottom of the frame. The first came courtesy of Lissy's fourth RBI of the game, when she smashed a single through the right side to plate freshman pinch runner Kaitlyn Gibson from second.
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Two batters later, sophomore Kaitlyn Mathews dropped her second of three hits in the contest into left field, droving home the speedy Lissy from second.
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After a scoreless fourth, the Cardinals would add three more in the bottom of the fifth to end the game. The first came via a leadoff blast to center from sophomore pinch hitter Samantha-Jo Mata, her second of the season.
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Mathews followed with her third hit, before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore center fielder Remington Ross. The extra base proved to be a moot point, however, as Hensley launched a no-doubter over the scoreboard in left-center to walk-off the win.
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With her two blasts, Hensley raised her season home run total to 11, while tying with Lissy for game-high honors with four RBI. Junior third baseman Haley Wynn also produced a pair of hits on the day.
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Back in the circle, Estes limited the Golden Flashes to five hits and three earned runs over the first 2.1 innings. She turned the ball over to freshman Emma Eubank who would go on to retire all eight batters she faced in the game over her 2.2 innings of work. Eubank would get credit for the win, her second of the series and third of the year.
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The Ball State softball team is scheduled to return to action Tuesday, with the first of a three-game midweek series at Northern Illinois. First pitch is currently set for 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Eubank, Emma (3-3)
L: RINGLER, Kylie (5-1)
Batting:
HR: COLE, Madyson 1
RBI: COLE, Madyson 3
SH: CRUZ, Chloe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: WHITT, Brooklyn 1 ; HERSHBERGER, Madison 1 ; COLE, Madyson 1
SB: WHITT, Brooklyn 1
Batting:
2B: Wynn, Haley 1 ; Mathews, Kaitlyn 1
HR: Hensley, Faith 2 ; Lissy, Kayla 1 ; Mata, Samantha-Jo 1
RBI: Hensley, Faith 4 ; Johnson, Delanie 1 ; Lissy, Kayla 4 ; Mata, Samantha-Jo 1 ; Mathews, Kaitlyn 1
SH: Ross, Remington 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hensley, Faith 3 ; Wynn, Haley 1 ; Daniel, Amaia 1 ; Gibson, Kaitlyn 1 ; Lissy, Kayla 2 ; Mata, Samantha-Jo 1 ; Mathews, Kaitlyn 2
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
4
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF/OF
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