Softball Is Back: Cardinals Open Season Friday at River City Leadoff

Friday, February 9

Jacksonville, FL (at Jacksonville)

11 a.m.

Ball State University

James Madison

Softball Is Back: Cardinals Open Season Friday at River City Leadoff

February 07, 2024 | Softball

Ball State (0-0) at River City Classic
Game 1 vs. James Madison (at Jacksonville)	Friday, Feb. 9 at 11 a.m. Live Stats
Game 2 at Jacksonville	Friday, Feb. 9 at 4 p.m. Live Stats \| Watch (ESPN+)
Game 3 vs. James Madison (at North Florida)	Saturday, Feb. 10 at 1:30 p.m. Live Stats
Game 4 at North Florida	Saturday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. Live Stats
Game 5 vs. Fordham (at North Florida)	Sunday, Feb. 11 at 9 a.m. Live Stats
Tickets Info	FREE at Jacksonville / $5 Per Day at North Florida
Notes	Ball State \| James Madison \| Jacksonville \| North Florida \| Fordham
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

» THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team is back on the field Friday when it opens the 2024 season versus James Madison at 11 a.m. ET with its first of five games at the River City Leadoff co-hosted by Jacksonville and North Florida ... The Cardinals' second game Friday will be at Jacksonville starting at 4 p.m. ... Both Friday games will be played at JU's Debbie & Fred Pruitt Softball Complex ... Saturday's action will see BSU battle JMU for a second time at 1:30 p.m. ET before taking on North Florida at 4 p.m. ... Both of those games, along with Sunday's 9 a.m. showdown with Fordham, will be played at the UNF Softball Complex.

» IN THE OPENERS: Ball State enters Friday's contest versus James Madison with a 28-21 record in season-opening games since the 1975 season ... Last season, the Cardinals picked up a 5-3 win over Samford on Feb. 17 to open play at the Blazer Bash ... BSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the contest, with Francys King throwing the final 3.0 innings to earn the save.

» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the 2024 campaign with a 1148-1142-4 (.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 with 45 runs scored and 38 RBI ... Timmons, a .345 batter, ranked sixth in the MAC and 78th nationally 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 RIVER CITY LEADOFF FIELD:
- Ball State enters the River City Leadoff with a 10-10 all-time record versus the event field ... BSU will be meeting James Madison for the first time, is tied with Jacksonville at 4-4, holds a 4-3 edge versus North Florida and trails Fordham 3-2.
- JAMES MADISON: The Dukes finished the 2023 campaign with a 28-19 overall record, while boasting a .277 batting average and a 3.62 team ERA ... JMU was selected to finish fifth among the 12 teams in the annual Sun Belt Preseason Poll.
- JACKSONVILLE: The Dolphins finished the 2023 season with a 25-27 overall record, while maintaining a .240 batting average and a 4.34 team ERA ... JU was selected to finish eighth among 12 teams in the annual Atlantic Sun Preseason Poll.
- NORTH FLORIDA: The Ospreys finished the 2023 campaign with a 29-23-1 overall record, while boasting a .258 batting average and a 3.07 team ERA ... UNF was selected to finish sixth among the 12 teams in the annual Atlantic Sun Preseason Poll.
- FORDHAM: The Rams finished the 2023 season with a 20-28 overall record, while maintaining a .242 batting average and a 4.13 team ERA ... Fordham also finished the 2023 season fifth in the Atlantic 10 Conference with an 11-10 league record.

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: Haley Wynn enters the 2024 season as one of the most prolific batters in program history ranking 12th on Ball State's career charts with a .335 career average, including her .377 mark last season ... She is also 13th all-time in slugging percentage (.535) and 13th in on base percentage (.414) ... In addition, her 132 career runs scored are ninth in program history, while her 0.85 runs per game average last season ranked third in the MAC and 76th nationally.

» MORE ON WYNN: Haley Wynn is 19 hits shy of becoming the 10th player in program history to register 200 career hits ... Wynn, who is currently 17th on BSU's all-time hit list with 181, ranked fifth in the MAC and 124th nationally with 61 hits last season ... Wynn would need 94 hits this season, 10 more than the current BSU single season record, to pass Jennifer Gilbert's (2011-14) program record of 274 career hits.

» TIMMONS CLIMBING THE CHARTS TOO: McKayla Timmons has made quite the impact over her first two seasons with the Cardinals, ranking sixth in program history in both slugging percentage (.619) and on base percentage (.441) ... A .342 career batter, which is ninth on BSU's all-time list, Timmons is also one of the program's top home run hitters with 16 long balls in her first two seasons ranking 18th.

» BALL STATE'S BEST THIEF: Senior outfielder Remington Ross enters the season as the greatest base thief in program history with a .978 (45-for-46) career stole base percentage at Ball State ... Last season, she went a perfect 23-for-23 in stole base attempts and ranked second in the MAC and 54th nationally with a 0.47 steals-per-game average ... Her 23 total steals on the year were also 60th nationally ... Ross, who ranks 10th in program history with 45 career stolen bases, has been successful in her last 32 stolen base attempts.

» BRIDIE LOOKING TO BUILD ON SOLID 2023 CAMPAIGN: Bridie Murphy shined in her debut season for the Cardinals in 2023, boasting a 3.71 ERA and an 8-3 record over 26 appearances ... A 2023 MAC All-Freshman Team selection for her play in the circle, Murphy struck out 53 batters over her 72.0 innings of work and limited opponents to a .269 average ... She struck out at least one batter in 23 of her 26 outings, including a season-high seven in her first collegiate win versus Bellarmine (Feb. 24, 2023) ... She also led the Ball State pitching staff with a pair of saves last season, while having a hand in two of the team's three shutouts.

» DOUBLING UP IN 2023: The Cardinals ranked second in the MAC and 26th nationally with a 1.49 doubles-per-game average last season ... Sophomore infielder McKenna Mulholland ranked fourth in the MAC with 13 doubles a year ago, while fifth-year catcher/infielder Jazmyne Armendariz was tied for 11th with 12 ... BSU finished the season with 79 doubles, which is the ninth-most in a season in program history, and recorded at least one double in 42 games, including a season-high six versus Sacred Heart (March 10).