Softball Heads To Oxford For MAC Championship

Ball State (27-24; 17-12 MAC) at 2023 MAC Softball Championship hosted by Miami in Oxford, Ohio
Game 52 at No. 1 Seed Miami (34-18; 21-8 MAC)	Thursday, May 11 at 3:30 p.m. Live Stats \| Watch (ESPN+)
Game 53 vs. TBA	Friday, May 12 at TBA Live Stats \| Watch (ESPN+)
Game 54 vs. TBA	Saturday, May 13 at TBA Live Stats \| Watch (ESPN+)
Tickets Info	Ticket Information
Notes	Ball State \| Miami \| Ohio \| Central Michigan MAC Softball Championship Central
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» THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: Ball State opens play in the 2023 MAC Softball Championship Thursday at 3:30 p.m. when it takes on host and No. 1 seed Miami at the Miami Softball Stadium ... The double elimination tournament continues with three games Friday and the championship game(s) Saturday.

» A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Ball State enters the MAC Softball Championship with a 27-24 overall record, including a 17-12 league mark ... Ball State secured one of four spots in the MAC Championship by taking two of three games at Akron ... The teams split an April 29 doubleheader with the Cardinals taking game one by a score of 6-1 and the Zips winning the nightcap 2-1 ... BSU went on to win the rubber game on April 30 by a score of 5-4 ... Entering the MAC Championship, senior shortstop Amaia Daniel leads the Ball State offense and ranks 42nd nationally with her .404 batting average, while senior infielder Haley Wynn is 60th nationally with her .396 average ... In the circle, sophomore Angelina Russo leads the Ball State pitching staff with her 2.76 ERA and .219 batting average against over 116.2 innings of work.

» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the MAC Championship with a 1148-1140-4 (.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.

» VERSUS THE MAC CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD:
- Ball State enters the 2023 MAC Softball Championship with a 27-27 all-time record in league tournament play ... The Cardinals won the event in 1998, 2010, and 2015 with perfect 4-0 marks ... Ball State was also the runner-up in the 2001 tournament with a 3-2 record ... A complete MAC Softball Championship history can be found on page 3.
- VERSUS NO. 1 MIAMI: The Cardinals hold a 59-54 edge in the all-time series despite Miami winning eight of the last nine meetings ... BSU snapped an eight-game RedHawks winning streak with a 10-0 (5) victory April 26 in the 2023 regular season series finale ... Miami does hold a 3-2 lead in MAC Championship play, despite the Cardinals winning the last tournament match up by a score of 8-5 on May 7, 2015.
- VERSUS NO. 2 OHIO: Ball State holds a 51-43-1 lead in the all-time series versus the Bobcats despite Ohio sweeping the 2023 regular season series in Athens ... The teams have met just three times in MAC Championship play, with Ohio maintaining a 2-1 edge ... The last tournament meeting was a 3-2 (8) Bobcats win on May 8, 2019.
- VERSUS NO. 3 CENTRAL MICHIGAN: While Ball State has won 11 of the last 15 meetings between the two teams, including all three games this season, Central Michigan holds a 78-41 edge in the all-time series ... The teams are tied at 4-4 in MAC Championship play, with the Cardinals earning a 5-1 win in the last tournament match up played May 10, 2018.

BALL STATE NEWS & NOTES:
» ALL-TIME MAC ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS: Ball State has had 20 different players garner all-tournament accolades ... In addition, three Cardinals have earned Most Valuable Player honors at the MAC Softball Championship: Hanne Stuedemann (2015), Elizabeth Milian (2010) and Heather Hinkle (1998).

» CHASING 200: Senior shortstop Amaia Daniel enters the MAC Championship with 199 career hits and is one shy of becoming just the ninth player in program history to reach 200 career hits ... Over 210 career games, Daniel has tallied 139 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.

» MORE ON DANIEL: Amaia Daniel, who has reached base safely in 40 of the 46 games she has played this season, has climbed to eighth in program history with a .427 career on base percentage ... Just the 16th Cardinal to record 100 career RBI, currently ranking 12th on BSU's career charts at 118, Daniel is 17th all-time with a .331 career batting average ... She is also tied for ninth in career doubles (39), 11th in runs scored (122), and 17th in home runs (18) ... On defense, she has helped turn 46 career double plays, which is the second-most in program history.

» 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, Wynn has added nine more home runs, including three games with a pair of bombs, to climb into a tie for 14th in program history with 19 career home runs.

» MORE ON WYNN: Haley Wynn enters the MAC Softball Championship as one of the most prolific batters in program history ranking 11th on Ball State's career charts with a .340 career average, including her .396 mark this season ... She is also 12th all-time in slugging percentage (.543) and 10th in on base percentage (.419) ... In addition, her 132 career runs scored are ninth in program history, while her 0.88 runs per game average this season is third in the MAC and 71st nationally.

» ON THE BASE PATHS: Ball State has done a tremendous job on the base paths this season, stealing 77 bases which is the ninth-best single season mark in program history ... In fact, the Cardinals currently rank second in the MAC and 49th nationally with a 1.53 steals-per-game average ... Junior outfielder Remington Ross leads the way, going a perfect 23-for-23 in stolen base attempts ... With the mark, Ross remains first in program history with a .978 (45-for-46) stolen base percentage ... In addition, her 45 career stolen bases are 10th in program history.

» 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.

» 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 Murphycombined 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.

» DOUBLING UP: The Cardinals rank second in the MAC and 25th nationally with a 1.53 doubles-per-game average ... Redshirt freshman utility player McKenna Mulholland is tied for third in the MAC with 13 doubles, while senior catcher/infielder Jazmyne Armendariz is tied for eighth at 12 ... BSU has 78 doubles on the year, which is tied as the ninth-most in a season in program history, with at least one double in 41 games, including a season-high six versus Sacred Heart (March 10).

» BLASTING OFF: Ball State smashed a program record six home runs in the 6-1 win over Akron on April 29, with two coming from Haley Wynn and one each from redshirt freshman catcher McKayla Timmons, McKenna Mulholland, junior first baseman Samantha-Jo Mata, and sophomore pitch hitter Kaitlyn Gibson ... The previous record for home runs in a game was five in an 11-2 (5) win over Butler on April 9, 2013.

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Players Mentioned

Jazmyne Armendariz

Amaia Daniel

Kaitlyn Gibson

Samantha-Jo Mata

McKenna Mulholland

Remington Ross

Angelina Russo

McKayla Timmons

Haley Wynn