Softball Travels To Chattanooga Challenge

Ball State (1-4) at Chattanooga Challenge
Game 6 vs. Jacksonville State (1-4) (at Frost Stadium)	Friday, Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. Live Stats
Game 7 at Chattanooga (1-4) (at Frost Stadium)	Friday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. Live Stats
Game 8 vs. Jacksonville State (at Frost Stadium)	Saturday, Feb. 17 at 12:30 p.m. Live Stats
Game 9 at Chattanooga (at Frost Stadium)	Saturday, Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. Live Stats
Game 10 vs. Western Kentucky (3-1-1) (at Warner Park Field #2)	Sunday, Feb. 18 at 11 a.m. Live Stats
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Notes	Ball State \| Jacksonville State \| Chattanooga \| Western Kentucky
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» THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team returns to the road this weekend when it travels to Chattanooga for the 2024 Chattanooga Challenge ... The Cardinals open the seven-team, 15-game event Friday with contests versus Jacksonville State (10 a.m.) and host Chattanooga (3 p.m.) ... BSU will meet the same two teams Saturday for games at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., before closing the tournament Sunday versus Western Kentucky (11 a.m.).

» ONE DOWN, MANY MORE TO COME: Ball State closed play in the River City Leadoff with a 10-8 victory over Fordham (Feb. 11) to give head coach Helen Peña her first career head coaching victory ... After pulling ahead 4-0 thanks to a first inning grand slam from junior Jessica Hoffman, the Cardinals found themselves trailing 6-5 after three ... However, a five-run sixth inning gave BSU the momentum it needed to pull out the victory.

» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the Chattanooga Challenge with a 1149-1146-4 (.501) overall record dating back to 1975 ... The Cardinals have tallied 30-or-more wins in 16 seasons, most recently a 37-18 mark in 2021 ... Of the 16 seasons with 30-or-more wins, 11 have come in the past 16 years.

» A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: First-year head coach Helen Peña inherited a very experienced group with seven position starters and four of the team's five pitchers coming back for the 2024 season ... Highlighting the list of returning field players are a pair of NFCA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team honorees in fifth-year infielder Haley Wynn and junior utility player McKayla Timmons ... Wynn ranked second on the squad with a .377 average and was one of the league's top run producers last season with 45 runs scored and 38 RBI ... Timmons, a .345 batter, ranked sixth in the MAC and 78th nationally last season with her 12 home runs, while making 27 starts at catcher, 17 at first base and seven as the designated player ... Sophomore Bridie Murphy is Ball State's top returning arm in the circle by both ERA (3.71) and innings pitched (73.2) ... She boasted an 8-3 record on the year and tallied 53 strikeouts ... Senior Francys King was not far behind with a 3.99 ERA over 72.0 innings of work ... She struck out 34 batters, while earning three wins and a save.

» ABOUT THE CHATTANOOGA CHALLENGE FIELD:
- Ball State enters the Chattanooga Challenge with a 5-10 all-time record versus teams it will face in the event ... BSU and Jacksonville State are currently tied at 1-1 ... Chattanooga holds a 3-1 edge all-time versus the Cardinals, while Western Kentucky is 6-3 all-time versus Ball State.
- JACKSONVILLE STATE: The Gamecocks opened the season by going 1-4 at the Carolina Classic, ending the event with a 6-3 win over UNC Greensboro ... Kenzie Nicholson lead the squad with six hits, including three doubles, while boasting a .400 average ... MacKinley Portillo picked up the win versus UNCG and leads the squad with a 3.00 ERA and a .192 opponent's batting average over 7.0 innings of work.
- CHATTANOOGA: The Mocs opened the season by going 1-4 at the 38th Annual Louisiana Classics ... Chattanooga's lone win in the event was a 4-2 victory over New Mexico ... Acelynn Sellers currently leads the team with a .600 average, including two doubles and one of the team's three home runs ... Battling some of the nation's top teams including No. 21 Louisiana and Cal, the team struggled in the circle with Taylor Long leading the squad with a 6.68 ERA and 10 strikeouts over 7.1 innings.
- WESTERN KENTUCKY: The Hilltoppers opened the season by going 3-1-1 in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida ... WKU earned wins over Missouri State (1-0), Army (7-1) and NC State (7-2), while tying Kansas (2-2) ... Cheyanne Sales led the squad with a .462 average and a .563 on base percentage ... Katie Gardner was credited with two wins, including the complete game shutout of Missouri State ... She finished the weekend with a 1.40 ERA and a .204 average against over 15.0 innings.

BALL STATE NEWS & NOTES:
» MAC PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS: Ball State was picked to finish fourth among 11 teams in the Mid-American Conference's annual preseason poll ... The Cardinals, who finished fourth in the league last season with a 17-12 MAC record, are looking for a second consecutive MAC Softball Championship berth, with the league's top six teams advancing to Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio, for the three-day event which runs May 8-11.

» THE WYNN FACTOR: Graduate Haley Wynn took early advantage of her extra year of eligibility, leading the Ball State offense with seven hits over opening weekend, raising her career hit total to 188 ... Wynn registered at least one hit in all five games, including blasting a pair of home runs, with her 188 career hits currently tying for 12th in program history ... She was the first Cardinals player to go yard in 2024, blasting a solo shot in Saturday's game versus James Madison ... She also produced a solo shot versus North Florida and leads BSU's active players with 21 career home runs.

» MORE ON WYNN: Haley Wynn is one of the most prolific batters in program history ranking 12th on Ball State's career charts with a .336 career average ... She is also 12th all-time in slugging percentage (.540) and 13th in on base percentage (.414) ... In addition, her 138 career runs scored are ninth in program history, and her 1.20 runs per game average so far this season ranks fifth in the MAC and 87th nationally.

» TIMMONS CLIMBING THE CHARTS TOO: After leading the Ball State offense with a .462 batting average, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .632 on base percentage opening weekend, redshirt junior McKayla Timmons continued her climb up BSU's career charts ... She currently ranks fifth in program history in both slugging percentage (.639) and on base percentage (.453), while her .348 career batting average is eighth on BSU's all-time list ... Timmons, who blasted a pair of home runs opening weekend, is also one of the program's top home run hitters with her 18 career long balls tying for 17th in BSU's all-time list.

» BALL STATE'S BEST THIEF: Senior outfielder Remington Ross enters the Chattanooga Challenge as the greatest base thief in program history with a .979 (46-for-47) career stole base percentage at Ball State ... Last season, she went a perfect 23-for-23 in stolen base attempts and ranked second in the MAC and 54th nationally with a 0.47 steals-per-game average ... Ross, who ranks 10th in program history with 46 career stolen bases, has been successful in her last 33 stolen base attempts including her first one this season in the opener versus JMU (Feb. 9)

» A SLAMMING FIRST HIT: Redshirt sophomore Jessica Hoffman had just two career at bats when she stepped up to the plate with bases loaded in Sunday's 10-8 win over Fordham (Feb. 11) ... She proceeded to blast her first career hit over the fence in right center field for her first career home run and Ball State's first grand slam since April 6, 2022 ... She added an RBI single later in the game and ended up leading the Cardinals with five RBIs over opening weekend.

» KING OF THE PEN: Senior Francys King led the Ball State pitching staff with a 3.68 ERA over 13.1 innings of work opening weekend, including throwing the final 6.2 innings to earn the victory over Fordham (Feb. 11) ... It was her 10th collegiate victory, with four coming at Ball State and six coming in her two seasons at Tennessee State (2021-22).

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Players Mentioned

Jessica Hoffman

Francys King

Bridie Murphy

Remington Ross

McKayla Timmons

Haley Wynn