Softball Rallies Past Marshall in Madness Opener

HUNTINGTON, WV - - After building a 7-0 lead through the first three innings, the last thing the Ball State softball team expected was to find itself trailing 9-8 heading into the top of the seventh in Thursday's opener in the Marshall March Madness invitational.

However, tournament host Marshall scored nine of the next 10 runs and capped its own come-back bid with a six-run sixth inning.

The Cardinals (11-11) would not be deterred, opening the top of the seventh with back-to-back walks before an error from The Herd (11-10) loaded the bases with no outs. While the hosts would get the force at home on the next play, a clutch two-run single to center from sophomore pinch hitter Ashlee Lovett helped BSU reclaim the lead.

Two batters later, one of the nation's top sluggers in redshirt junior catcher McKayla Timmons came up to bat with two outs and two on. She once again made Marshall pay for pitching to her, blasting her second three-run home run of the day to center field.

After walking and scoring in the opening inning, Timmons belted her first three-run shot to center in the top of the second inning. She also reached on an error and scored in the sixth inning to finish the day 2-for-4 with four runs scored and six RBI.

With her two blasts, Timmons raised her season total to 12 which currently ranks second nationally among all NCAA Division I players.

In the circle, sophomore Bridie Murphy was credited with the win after throwing the final 2.0 innings. She improves to 5-3 on the year with the victory.

SCORING SUMMARY - Ball State 13 - Marshall 9
T1 | Timmons walks and steals second before scoring on an RBI double from redshirt sophomore designated player Jessica Hoffman (1-0)
T1 | Senior left fielder Kaitlyn Mathews follows with an RBI single to center (2-0)
T2 | Timmons smashes a two-out, three-run bomb to right center (5-0)
T3 | With two outs and bases loaded, graduate second baseman Jazmyne Armendariz drives a two-run single up the middle (7-0)
B4 | Marshall tallies its first run on an RBI double from B. Feringa (7-1)
B4 | R. Glanz follows with a two-run shot to center field, cutting BSU's lead to four (7-3)
T6 | After reaching on an error, Timmons scores on a double to left center from graduate third baseman Haley Wynn (8-3)
B6 | Glanz singles to right to pick up her third RBI of the game (8-4)
B6 | An infield single by K Parks brings home one run (8-5)
B6 | B. Gerlach plates two more with a single to right center (8-7)
B6 | R. Lucas caps the scoring in the inning with a two-run triple to right field (8-9)
T7 | With bases loaded and one out, Lovett singles to center field to bring home two (10-9)
T7 | Timmons works her magic once again with another three-run blast to right center (13-9)

UP NEXT:
The Ball State softball team continues play in the Marshall March Madness tournament Friday versus Indiana State (11 a.m.) and host Marshall (4 p.m.).

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Team Stats

Jazmyne Armendariz

McKayla Timmons

Jessica Hoffman

Haley Wynn

Players Mentioned

Jazmyne Armendariz

Jessica Hoffman

Ashlee Lovett

Kaitlyn Mathews

Bridie Murphy

McKayla Timmons

Haley Wynn

Players Mentioned

Jazmyne Armendariz

Jessica Hoffman

Ashlee Lovett

Kaitlyn Mathews

Bridie Murphy

McKayla Timmons

Haley Wynn