Ball State University
Akron (Game 1)
Softball Heads To Akron For Key MAC Series
April 28, 2023 | Softball
| Ball State (25-23; 15-11Â MAC) at Akron (25-20; 13-10 MAC) | |
| Game 49 at Akron | Saturday, April 29 at 1 p.m. Live Stats |  Watch (ESPN3) |
| Game 50 at Akron | Saturday, April 29 at 3:30 p.m. Live Stats |  Watch (ESPN3) |
| Game 51 at Akron | Sunday, April 30 at Noon Live Stats | Watch (ESPN3) |
| Tickets Info | FREE ADMISSION |
| Notes | Ball State |  Akron |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
» THIS WEEKEND IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: Ball State closes the 2023 regular season this weekend with a three-game series at Akron ... The Cardinals and Zips are currently scheduled to play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and a Noon single game Sunday at Lee R. Jackson Field.
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» A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Ball State enters Saturday's doubleheader at Akron with a 25-23 (15-11 MAC) record after going 1-2 in a midweek series versus Miami ... The RedHawks won the first two games in the series by scores of 6-0 and 4-3, while the Cardinals won the finale 10-0 (5) ... Senior shortstop Amaia Daniel leads the Ball State offense and ranks 39th nationally with her .413 batting average, while senior infielder Haley Wynn is 81st nationally with her .390 average ... In the circle, sophomore Angelina Russo leads the Ball State pitching staff with her 2.82 ERA and .216 batting average against over 111.2 innings of work.
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» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the weekend with a 1146-1139-4 (.502) 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.
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» ABOUT AKRON:
- The Zips enter the series with a 25-20 (13-10 MAC) record and have dropped its last five games ... Akron has not played since an 11-0 (5) loss to Miami on April 23.
- Brooke Sivek leads the Akron offense with a .345 batting average, along with a team-high 38 runs scored ... Laurel DeVoe is second on the squad with a .317 average and a MAC-leading 13 doubles, while Alexis Campbell is batting .306 with a team-high 32 RBI ... The Zips are batting .281 as a team.
- Haley Croyle and Alex DiFeo are Akron's top arms in the circle ... Croyle has a team-low 2.72 ERA and owns an 11-7 record, 110 strikeouts, and a .208 average against over 123.2 innings ... DiFeo boast a 9-8 record, a 3.47 ERA, 88 strikeouts, and a .263 average against over 125.0 innings of work
- Ball State holds a 43-23 lead in the all-time series, including wins in 16 of the last 17 meetings ... Last season, Akron took the first game of a May 7 doubleheader by a score of 6-0, while the Cardinals took the nightcap, 6-3 ... BSU also won the series finale 2-0 the following day ... Ball State is 21-9 all-time in games played in Akron, including 11 straight wins ... The Zips have not beaten the Cardinals on its home field since a 1-0 victory April 3, 2011.
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BALL STATE NEWS & NOTES:
» FAMILIAR FACE: A familiar face will be on the Akron bench this weekend, as former Ball State head coach Craig Nicholson (2007-13) is currently leading the Zips ... BSU's all-time winningest coach with a 241-162 (.598) overall and 100-47 (.680) MAC record during his seven-year stint in Muncie, Nicholson led Ball State to its first-ever MAC regular season championship in 2009 and went on to win three more league titles in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
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» WHERE WE STAND: Ball State enters the week ranked fourth in the MAC standings with its .577 (15-11) league winning percentage ... The top four teams earn a berth in the 2023 MAC Tournament which will be hosted by the No. 1 overall seed ... Central Michigan currently leads the league at .739 (17-6), followed by Miami in second and Ohio in third, with both owning a .696 (16-7) mark ... The RedHawks hold the tiebreaker after taking two of three games in the head-to-head meeting with the Bobcats ... Right behind the Cardinals are Akron at .565 (13-10), Western Michigan at .500 (10-10), and Northern Illinois at .500 (11-11).
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» CHASING 200: Senior shortstop Amaia Daniel enters the Akron series with 197 career hits and is three shy of becoming just the ninth player in program history to reach 200 career hits ... Over 206 career games, Daniel has tallied 137 singles, 39 doubles, three triples, and 18 home runs ... She is also looking to become the eighth-fastest player in program history to reach 200 career hits, with the fastest being Jennifer Gilbert (2011-14) who did it in 153 games.
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» MORE ON DANIEL: Amaia Daniel, who has reached base safely in 38 of the 43 games she has played this season, has climbed to eighth in program history with a .429 on base percentage ... Just the 16th Cardinal to record 100 career RBI, currently ranking 12th on BSU's career charts at 117, Daniel is 16th all-time with a .332 career batting average ... She is also tied for ninth in career doubles (39), 11th in runs scored (122), and 16th in home runs (18) ... On defense, she has helped turn 46 career double plays, which is the second-most in program history.
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» 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) ... Since then, she has added seven more home runs and is second on the team with eight on the year ... Of those seven additional home runs, four came in back-to-back two home run games starting with a three-run blast and solo homer in the 15-9 victory over Kent State (March 17) and followed by a pair of solo shots in the 8-4 victory over Central Michigan (March 25).
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» MORE ON WYNN: Haley Wynn enters the Akron series as one of the most prolific batters in program history ranking 11th on Ball State's career charts with a .338 career average, including her .390 mark this season ... She is also 13th all-time in both slugging percentage (.532) and on base percentage (.414) ... In addition, her 129 career runs scored are ninth in program history, while her 0.88 runs per game average this season is second in the MAC and 78th nationally.
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» ON THE BASE PATHS: Ball State has done a tremendous job on the base paths this season, stealing 75 bases which ties last season's squad for the 10th-best single season mark in program history ... In fact, the Cardinals currently rank second in the MAC and 49th nationally with a 1.58 steals-per-game average ... Junior outfielder Remington Ross leads the way, going a perfect 22-for-22 in stolen base attempts ... With the mark, Ross remains first in program history with a .978 (44-for-45) stolen base percentage ... In addition, her 44 career stolen bases are 10th in program history.
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» NEAR PERFECTION: Sophomore pitcher Angelina Russo, who threw the first perfect game in program history versus Western Michigan last season, added to her lore in the 10-1 (5) victory over Lindenwood (Feb. 19), collecting just the 18th recorded no-hitter for the Cardinals 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 in the contest.
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» ANOTHER NO-NO: Ball State registered the 19th recorded no-hitter in the April 16 win over Buffalo as sophomore Angelina Russo and freshman Bridie Murphy combined to hold the Bulls hitless in the 11-3 (6) victory ... Russo threw the first 4.0 innings, allowing no hits and striking out five batters ... Murphy followed by retiring six of the seven batters she faced, including a pair of strikeouts ... Murphy's lone base runner came on a two-run error ... The effort marked just the fourth combined no-hitter in program history.
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» EARLY STARTS BIG FOR CARDINALS: Ball State turned in its best offensive inning of the season in last Sunday's series finale versus Miami, jumping out to an early edge with a seven-run first inning ... Early leads have been key for the Cardinals this season, as the squad owns a 21-2 record when leading after the third inning ... In contrast, BSU is 4-21 when trailing or tied after the third.
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» DOUBLING UP: The Cardinals rank second in the MAC and 23rd nationally with a 1.54 doubles-per-game average ... Senior catcher/infielder Jazmyne Armendariz is tied for second in the MAC with 12 doubles, while redshirt freshman utility player McKenna Mulholland is tied for fourth with 11 ... BSU has 75 doubles on the year, which is the 11th-most in a season in program history, with at least one double in 38 games, including a season-high six versus Sacred Heart (March 10).
