Ball State University
Notre Dame
Softball Travels To Notre Dame Tuesday
April 03, 2023 | Softball
| Ball State (16-16; 6-5 MAC) at Notre Dame (20-10-1; 5-6-1 ACC) | |
| Game 33 at Notre Dame | Tuesday, April 4 at 8 p.m. Live Stats |  Watch |
| Tickets Info | Free Admission |
| Notes | Ball State | Notre Dame |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
» THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team opens another busy week Tuesday with a scheduled 8 p.m. first pitch versus Notre Dame at Melissa Cook Stadium ... The Cardinals will then welcome Toledo to the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex for a three-game set, starting with a single game Friday at 3 p.m. ... The teams will also play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday.
» A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Ball State enters the week with a 16-16 (6-5 MAC) record after dropping all three games in a weekend series at Ohio ... The Bobcats, winners of nine straight, opened with a 13-3 (5) win on Saturday, before sweeping Sunday's doubleheader by scores of 10-2 (6) and 4-2 ... Despite the setbacks, the Cardinals still boast two of the nations' top 64 batters with senior Haley Wynn ranking 41st among all NCAA Division I players with a .421 average, while senior Amaia Daniel is 64th with her .408 mark ... As a team, the Cardinals rank 61st nationally with a .295 average ... In the circle, sophomore Angelina Russo leads the Ball State pitching staff with her 2.80 ERA and .226 batting average against.
» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the week with a 1137-1132-4 (.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 NOTRE DAME:
- Notre Dame enters Tuesday's game with a 20-10-1 overall record after closing a three-game weekend series versus Pitt with a 10-2 (5) win ... However, the Irish dropped the first two games in the series by scores of 8-5 and 13-11.
- Carlli Kloss and Joley Mitchell are tied for the team lead with .371 batting averages ... Kloss paces the team with 12 doubles and 28 runs scored, while Mitchell is second on the squad with 25 RBI and has scored 23 runs ... UND ranks 16th nationally with a .322 team average
- Payton Tidd leads Notre Dame with 93.1 innings of work in the circle, boasting a 10-5 record, a 3.00 ERA, and a team-leading 78 strikeouts ... Micaela Kastor owns a team-best 1.98 ERA over 46.0 innings and is limiting batters to a .216 average.
- The Cardinals and Irish have not played since the 2016 season, when Notre Dame picked up a 7-1 win on March 6 to close out play in the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament ... The Cardinals' last win in the series came one year earlier when Ball State picked up its first NCAA Regional victory in program history by topping the 16th-seeded Irish 6-3 on May 16 in the 2015 NCAA South Bend Regional ... With the win, BSU became the first team to defeat a national seed in its opening game since the 2012 season.
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) ... In addition, she added back-to-back two home run games starting with 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).
» MORE ON WYNN: Haley Wynn has only picked up speed after her season-opening performance, as she currently ranks second in the Mid-American Conference and 41st nationally with a .421 batting average ... She has reached base safely in 29 of Ball State's 32 games, including a career-best 12 game hitting streak ... Wynn also leads the squad with 30 runs scored, with her 0.94 runs-per-game average ranking first in the MAC and 54th nationally.
» DRIVING THEM HOME: Senior shortstop Amaia Daniel enters Tuesday's game with 20 RBI so far this season ... With her final of four RBIs in Ball State's 14-4 (6) victory over Bellarmine (Feb. 25), Daniel became just the 16th player in program history to reach 100 career RBI ... The moment came on a bases loaded sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to make the score 12-4 ... She is currently 13th in program history with 109 career RBI and needs five more to reach 12th.
» MORE ON DANIEL: Amaia Daniel, who has reached base safely in 28 of Ball State's 32 games this season, enters the week ranked ninth in program history with a .425 career on base percentage ... She is also 11th in career runs scored (114), tied for 11th in career doubles (38), and 16th in career home runs (16) ... On defense, she has helped turn 43 career double plays, which is the second-most in program history.
» SPEAKING OF DOUBLE PLAYS: Ball State's defense has registered 12 double plays over its first 32 games of the season and currently ranks second in the MAC and 58th nationally with a 0.38 double plays-per-game average ... Junior infielder Samantha-Jo Mata has had a hand in 10 double plays, while Amaia Daniel at shortstop has factored in eight.
» ON THE BASE PATHS: Ball State picked up right where it left off last season, stealing a total of 37 bases over the first 32 games of the season ... The Cardinals currently rank third in the MAC and 103rd nationally with a 1.19 steals-per-game average ... Junior outfielder Remington Ross leads the way, going a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts ... With the mark, Ross remains first in program history with a .970 (32-for-33) stolen base percentage ... In addition, her 32 career stolen bases are 18th 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 the 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 ... Russo enters Tuesday's game with a team-low 2.80 ERA, including a 1.70 ERA in league play ... She has allowed just one earned run in her last five outings.
» 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 catcher/infielder McKayla Timmons has reached base safely in 23 of the 30 games she has played for the Cardinals this season ... In fact, she ranks third on the team with a .342 batting average and leads the squad with 30 RBI ... She has also smashed seven home runs this season, including a walk-off blast to cap the CMU series ... Timmons, who smashed four home runs in her debut season in 2022, enters the weekend ranked third among active Ball State players with 11 career home runs.
» WELCOME TO THE #BALLSTATESB BOMB SQUAD: Redshirt freshman utility player 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 the 10-1 (5) win over Lindenwood (Feb. 19) ... Sophomore infielder Kaitlyn Gibson added her first collegiate round tripper in the 14-8 setback at No. 16 Georgia (March 3) ... Overall, nine active Cardinals have at least one career home run heading into the Ohio series.
» TRIPLE THREAT: After collecting three more triples in the NIU series, Ball State enters the week ranked 42nd nationally with a 0.28 triples-per-game average ... McKenna Mulholland and Haley Wynn lead the team with three triples apiece, while McKayla Timmons, Kaitlyn Mathews, and Remington Ross each have one ... Overall, the Cardinals rank third in the MAC with nine triples, trailing only Northern Illinois (14) and Ohio (12).
» DOUBLING UP: The Cardinals are even better when it comes to doubles, ranking second in the MAC and 29th nationally with a 1.53 doubles-per-game average ... Senior catcher/infielder Jazmyne Armendariz is tied for second in the MAC with nine doubles, while Amaia Daniel and Haley Wynn are tied for 12th with seven apiece ... BSU has 49 doubles on the year, with at least one double in 25 games, including a season-high six versus Sacred Heart (March 10).
