Wednesday, May 4
Oxford, Ohio
1 p.m.
Ball State University
20-28, 13-11
4
at
6
Miami
33-13-1, 21-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Ball State
0
1
2
0
1
0
0
4
6
2
Miami
0
1
0
1
4
0
X
6
6
0
Softball Swept By Miami In Wednesday Doubleheader
May 04, 2022 | Softball
OXFORD, Ohio - - In the battle of the Mid-American Conference's top two offenses, the Ball State softball team fell a few runs short Wednesday afternoon, losing both ends of a doubleheader to Miami at the Miami Softball Complex.
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The Cardinals (20-29; 13-12 MAC) got off to a strong start, scoring three of the day's first four runs in the opening contest. Unfortunately, the RedHawks (34-13-1; 22-3 MAC) scored five of the final six to win the opener 6-4.
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The top five in the order did all the damage for Ball State in the opener, starting with a leadoff home run by sophomore first baseman Samantha-Jo Mata which gave BSU a 1-0 edge in the top of the second.
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After Miami evened the score with a run of its own in the bottom of the second, the Cardinals received three straight two-out hits in the top of the third to plate two more runs. Junior second baseman Haley Wynn started the rally with a single to center, followed by a single to left by senior shortstop Amaia Daniel.
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Freshman third baseman Emma Richards then continued her hot play, extending her streak of reaching base safely to nine games with a two-run double to left, making the score 3-1.
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Miami cut the lead to one run in the bottom of the fourth, only to see a fifth-inning RBI groundout from Daniel push the score to 4-2. Senior left fielder Faith Hensley scored on the play after singling, stealing second, and moving to third on Wynn's second single of the game.
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The two-run lead would not last, however, as Miami scored four in the bottom of the inning to win the game.
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Despite suffering the pitching loss, freshman Angelina Russo limited the RedHawks to six hits while striking out seven batters. Only four of the six runs she surrendered were earned.
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Ball State jumped out to another early lead in Wednesday's nightcap, turning a leadoff walk and stolen base by Hensley into a 1-0 advantage in the first. However, Miami scored five in the bottom of the second and went on to win the game 6-1.
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The offensive star of the second game for Ball State was sophomore center fielder Hannah Dukeman who went a perfect 3-for-3. It was the first three-hit game of Dukeman's career and raised her season average to .261.
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With the doubleheader sweep, the RedHawks clinched the 2022 MAC Regular Season Championship and hosting rights to next week's MAC Softball Championship.
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The Cardinals are still battling for a spot in the event, ending the day as the league's fifth-place team. The top four teams qualify for the MAC Softball Championship and Ball State cannot catch Miami (22-3) or current No. 2 seed Ohio (16-8) based on winning percentage.
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The Cardinals are 2.5 games behind Bowling Green (15-9) and trail Central Michigan by 2 games (15-10), with both squads owning the tiebreaker over BSU.
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Ball State and Miami will close their three-game series Thursday with another 1 p.m. first pitch at the Miami Softball Complex.
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The Cardinals (20-29; 13-12 MAC) got off to a strong start, scoring three of the day's first four runs in the opening contest. Unfortunately, the RedHawks (34-13-1; 22-3 MAC) scored five of the final six to win the opener 6-4.
Â
The top five in the order did all the damage for Ball State in the opener, starting with a leadoff home run by sophomore first baseman Samantha-Jo Mata which gave BSU a 1-0 edge in the top of the second.
Â
After Miami evened the score with a run of its own in the bottom of the second, the Cardinals received three straight two-out hits in the top of the third to plate two more runs. Junior second baseman Haley Wynn started the rally with a single to center, followed by a single to left by senior shortstop Amaia Daniel.
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Freshman third baseman Emma Richards then continued her hot play, extending her streak of reaching base safely to nine games with a two-run double to left, making the score 3-1.
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Miami cut the lead to one run in the bottom of the fourth, only to see a fifth-inning RBI groundout from Daniel push the score to 4-2. Senior left fielder Faith Hensley scored on the play after singling, stealing second, and moving to third on Wynn's second single of the game.
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The two-run lead would not last, however, as Miami scored four in the bottom of the inning to win the game.
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Despite suffering the pitching loss, freshman Angelina Russo limited the RedHawks to six hits while striking out seven batters. Only four of the six runs she surrendered were earned.
Â
Ball State jumped out to another early lead in Wednesday's nightcap, turning a leadoff walk and stolen base by Hensley into a 1-0 advantage in the first. However, Miami scored five in the bottom of the second and went on to win the game 6-1.
Â
The offensive star of the second game for Ball State was sophomore center fielder Hannah Dukeman who went a perfect 3-for-3. It was the first three-hit game of Dukeman's career and raised her season average to .261.
Â
With the doubleheader sweep, the RedHawks clinched the 2022 MAC Regular Season Championship and hosting rights to next week's MAC Softball Championship.
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The Cardinals are still battling for a spot in the event, ending the day as the league's fifth-place team. The top four teams qualify for the MAC Softball Championship and Ball State cannot catch Miami (22-3) or current No. 2 seed Ohio (16-8) based on winning percentage.
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The Cardinals are 2.5 games behind Bowling Green (15-9) and trail Central Michigan by 2 games (15-10), with both squads owning the tiebreaker over BSU.
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Ball State and Miami will close their three-game series Thursday with another 1 p.m. first pitch at the Miami Softball Complex.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brianna Pratt (14-4)
L: Russo, Angelina (10-10)
Batting:
2B: Richards, Emma 1
HR: Mata, Samantha-Jo 1
RBI: Daniel, Amaia 1 ; Richards, Emma 2 ; Mata, Samantha-Jo 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hensley, Faith 1 ; Wynn, Haley 1 ; Daniel, Amaia 1 ; Mata, Samantha-Jo 1
SB: Hensley, Faith 1 ; Wynn, Haley 1
HBP: Daniel, Amaia 1
Batting:
2B: Allie Cummins 1
HR: Lily Wilmot 1
RBI: Allie Cummins 1 ; Maggie Murphy 1 ; Riley Coyne 1 ; Lily Wilmot 2
SF: Lily Wilmot 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Karli Spaid 1 ; Allie Cummins 1 ; Kate Kobayashi 2 ; Lily Wilmot 1 ; Chloe Parks 1
SB: Allie Cummins 1 ; Kate Kobayashi 2 ; Shelby Kunkel 1 ; Chloe Parks 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
Uti
/ Softball
OF/C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ SoftballSoftball // Workouts
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Ball State Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell discusses the NCAA vs. House Settlement
Tuesday, July 01
Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell discusses NCAA vs. House Settlement & Bill Richards Thank You
Friday, June 27
Sports Link: Katie Van Der Mark (Softball)
Wednesday, May 21