Ball State University
Bellarmine
Softball Heads To Murray State For Velvet Milkman Invite
February 23, 2023 | Softball
| Ball State (2-3; 0-0 MAC) at Velvet Milkman Invitational hosted by Murray State | |
| Game 6 vs. Bellarmine (1-8) | Friday, Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT Live Stats |
| Game 7 at Murray State (4-5) | Friday, Feb. 24 at 3:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. CT Live Stats |
| Game 8 vs. Bellarmine | Saturday, Feb. 25 at 12:15 p.m. ET / 11:15 a.m. CT Live Stats |
| Game 9 at Murray State | Saturday, Feb. 25 at 4:45 p.m. ET / 3:45 p.m. CT Live Stats |
| Game 10 vs. Loyola (3-7) | Sunday, Feb. 26 at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT Live Stats |
| Tickets Info | Free Admission |
| Notes | Ball State | Bellarmine | Murray State | Loyola |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
» THIS WEEKEND IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team returns to the road this weekend for the Velvet Milkman Invitational hosted by Murray State ... The Cardinals will battle Bellarmine and Murray State on each of the first two days of competition, while closing the event Sunday versus Loyola.
» A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Ball State returns seven of nine players who finished the 2022 season in the starting lineup, along with another regular starter who was injured partway through league play ... BSU also welcomes back two of its top three pitchers from a year ago, including win leader Angelina Russo who threw the program's first recorded perfect game in a 5-0 victory in the nightcap of a doubleheader versus Western Michigan on April 20, 2022.
» FIRST GAME VICTORIES: Ball State improved to 28-21 in season-opening games last Friday, when it started the 2023 season with a 5-3 win at Samford as part of the Blazer Bash ... The Cardinals jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the game, with a fifth-inning RBI single from redshirt senior Jazmyne Armendariz driving in what proved to be the game-winning run.
» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the Velvet Milkman Invitational with a 1123-1119-4 (.501) overall record dating back to the 1975 season ... The Cardinals have tallied 30-or-more wins in 16 seasons, most recently a 37-18 mark under current head coach Lacy Schurr in 2021 ... Of the 16 seasons with 30-or-more wins, 11 have come in the past 15 seasons.
» ABOUT THIS WEEKEND'S OPPONENTS:
- Bellarmine enters the weekend with a 1-8 overall record, with is lone victory coming by a score of 13-2 (6) over Sacred Heart last Saturday at the Furman Invitational ... The Knights closed the event with losses to Towson (3-1) and host Furman (5-1).
- Murray State enters the weekend with a 4-5 record after going 2-2 at last weekend's Trojan Classic hosted by Troy ... The Racers scored a pair of wins over Kennesaw State (7-2 & 7-1), while dropping a pair of games to host Troy (4-2 & 6-0).
- Loyola enters the weekend with a 3-7 record, including a pair of one-run losses to nationally ranked teams ... At last weekend's Texas Classic, the Ramblers opened with a 5-0 victory over Incarnate Word, before dropping the final four games ... In that span was a 6-5 setback to No. 9 Texas on Saturday ... Loyola also suffered a 5-4 setback to then-No. 23 Mississippi State opening weekend.
BALL STATE NEWS & NOTES:
» GONE WITH THE WYNN: Senior infielder Haley Wynn opened the year with a bang, smashing a solo home run to center field for Ball State's first hit of the 2023 season in the team's 5-3 victory over Samford (Feb. 17) last Friday ... She went on to add a single in the fifth inning and led off the seventh inning with a triple to fall a double shy of the cycle.
» MORE ON WYNN'S OPENING WEEKEND: Powered by her strong Friday start, Haley Wynn went on to lead the Ball State offense with a .529 batting average opening weekend to earn MAC Player of the Week honors ... In fact, as of games through Feb. 22, Wynn's average ranked second in the MAC and 27th among all NCAA Division I players ... A .327 career batter, Wynn reached base safely in all five games last weekend at the Blazer Bash, scoring five runs and driving in three RBI.
» DRIVING THEM HOME: Fifth-year senior Amaia Daniel came up with some big hits of her own opening weekend, leading the Ball State offense with seven RBI ... Daniel registered a pair of hits in three of last week's five games, including 2-for-3 efforts in Saturday's opener versus UAB (Feb. 18) and in Sunday's win over Lindenwood (Feb. 19) ... She also collected three RBI in the win over the Lions, including a two-run double in the fourth inning.
» MORE ON DANIEL: Amaia Daniel, who reached base safely in four of last week's five games, enters the Velvet Milkman Invitational ranked 11th in program history with a .414 career on base percentage ... She is also tied for 15th on BSU's all-time list in career doubles (33), 17th in career RBI (96), and 18th in both career runs scored (94) and career home runs (14) ... On defense, she has helped turn 38 career double plays, which is the third-most in program history.
» SPEAKING OF DOUBLE PLAYS: Ball State's defense registered three double plays opening weekend and currently ranks second in the MAC and 11th nationally with a 0.60 double plays-per-game average ... The trio of Amaia Daniel at shortstop, Haley Wynn at second base, and Samantha-Jo Mata at first combined to turn all three double plays in Birmingham.
» ON THE BASE PATHS: Ball State picked up right where it left off last season, stealing a total of 11 bases in its first five games of the season ... The Cardinals currently rank 27th nationally, and second in the MAC, with a 2.20 steals-per-game average ... Junior Remington Ross once again led the way, going a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts ... With the mark, Ross climbed to first in program history with a .963 (26-for-27) stolen base percentage ... In addition, her 26 career stolen bases are tied for 20th in program history.
» NEAR PERFECTION: Sophomore pitcher Angelina Russo, who threw the first perfect game in program history last season, added to her lore in Sunday's 10-1 (5) victory over Lindenwood (Feb. 19), collecting just the 18th recorded no-hitter in program history dating back to the 1980 season ... The 2022 MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year and a MAC All-Freshman Team selection, Russo retired 15 of the 17 batters she faced against the Lions with a walk and an error being the lone blemishes ... She also struck out three batters on her way to her second win of the weekend.
» WELCOME BACK MCKAYLA: After missing the last 18 games of the 2022 season due to injury, minus a pair of pinch running appearances in the Akron series, redshirt sophomore McKayla Timmons reached base safely in all five games for the Cardinals opening weekend ... In fact, she ranked third on the team with a .438 batting average and smashed a pair of two-run home runs ... Timmons, who blasted four home runs in her debut season in 2022, enters the weekend ranked fourth among active Ball State players with six career home runs.
» WELCOME TO THE #BALLSTATESB BOMB SQUAD: Redshirt freshman McKenna Mulholland made sure her first collegiate hit was a memorable one, as she blasted a solo home run in her first collegiate at bat to open the bottom of the second inning in last Sunday's 10-1 (5) win over Lindenwood ... Mulholland was also making her first collegiate start against the Lions, and finished the game with three putouts and three assists from second base.
» "JAZ"-ING THINGS UP: Redshirt senior Jazmyne Armendariz turned in a solid opening weekend herself, ranking fourth on the squad with a .412 batting average ... It was an impressive performance which included driving in what proved to be the game-winning run with a fifth-inning RBI single in the season-opening 5-3 victory over Samford (Feb. 17) ... She would record two hits in three of the five games, including a 2-for-3 effort with a pair of runs scored in Sunday's 10-1 (5) win over Lindenwood (Feb. 19).
» MATHEWS OFF TO A STRONG START: Junior outfielder Kaitlyn Mathews also started the season strong, ranking second on the team with a .462 batting average ... A starter in all five games, Mathews drove in what proved to be the game-winning run in Sunday's 10-1 (5) victory over Lindenwood (Feb. 19) with her first-inning two-run single ... She would finish the game 3-for-3 and also score the run later in the game.
» THE SAVE GOES TO: Junior transfer Francys King opened her Ball State career with a save in Friday's 5-3 victory at Samford (Feb. 17) ... She threw the final 3.0 innings, striking out two batters along the way ... It was King's second career collegiate save, as she also picked up one versus Texas Southern last season in her sophomore campaign at Tennessee State.
