Ball State University
Akron (Game 1)
Softball Welcomes Akron for Alumni Weekend
April 19, 2024 | Softball
| Ball State (20-23; 7-10 MAC) hosts Akron (19-23; 7-8 MAC) | |
| Games 44 & 45 vs. Akron | Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m. (DH) Live Stats | Live Video (Single Camera Feed) |
| Games 46 vs. Akron | Sunday, April 21 at Noon Live Stats | ESPN+ |
| Tickets Info | Free Admission |
| Notes | Ball State | Akron |
| Social Media | Twitter | Instagram |
» THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team closes the home portion of its 2024 slate this weekend when it hosts Akron for a three-game series at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex ... The Cardinals and Zips will play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and a Noon single game Sunday. The series will serve as Alumni Weekend for the Cardinals.
» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the weekend with a 1168-1165-4 (.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: Led by first-year head coach Helen Peña, the Cardinals own a 20-21 overall record ... Ball State maintains a .267 team batting average, led by redshirt junior utility player McKayla Timmons at .385 ... Timmons ranks third both in the MAC and nationally with 20 home runs, while ranking fourth in the league and 23rd among NCAA Division I players with 47 RBIs ... Sophomore Ashlee Lovett is second on the squad with a .314 average, while graduate third baseman Haley Wynn is third at .297 ... Wynn is also second in runs scored (31) and third in both home runs (6) and RBI (21) ... In the circle, the Cardinals own a 3.95 ERA led by senior Francys King who boasts an 11-9 record and a 3.32 ERA over 124.1 innings of work ... King has also tallied three complete game shutouts this season and leads the team with 58 strikeouts ... Sophomore Bridie Murphy has a .273 average against over 101.0 innings, to go along with a 7-9 record, one save and 57 strikeouts.
» CARDINALS VERSUS THE ZIPS: Ball State holds a 45-24 lead in the all-time series versus Akron, including a 5-4 win in last season's regular season finale to secure a berth in the 2023 MAC Softball Championship ... The mark includes a 20-11 edge in games played in Muncie, with BSU winning the final two games of a three-game set in 2022 by scores of 6-3 and 2-0.
» SCOUTING AKRON: A Ball State softball legend will be making his first appearance back at the Softball Field at First Merchants Ballpark Complex since the conclusion of the 2013 campaign when Akron head coach Craig Nicholson steps into the visitor's dugout Saturday ... In seven seasons as Ball State's head coach from 2007-2013, Nicholson guided the Cardinals to a 241-162 (.598) overall record and 100-47 (.680) league ledger ... He guided BSU to the first four MAC regular season titles in program history (2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013), the 2010 MAC Tournament title and a berth into the 2010 NCAA Regionals ... Nicholson's current squad, the Zips, one a .265 team batting average paced by Meagan Lee's .415 mark ... Brooke Sivek has a team-best 26 runs scored, while Sophia Wygast boasts team-highs of eight home runs and 31 RBIs ... Akron's pitching staff owns a 4.37 ERA, led by Haley Croyel who owns a 3.89 ERA and seven wins over 93.2 innings of work ... Macy Walters and Cailey Joyce both have five wins on the season, with Walters pacing the squad in strikeout (50) and opponents average (.270).
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 third baseman Haley Wynn has taken advantage of her extra year of eligibility, ranking second on the team with 44 hits so far this season ... That raises her career total to 225 which is seventh in program history ... Wynn has registered at least one hit in 29 of BSU's first 43 games of the season, including six home runs to up her career long ball total to 25 which is tied for ninth in program history.
» MORE ON WYNN: Haley Wynn is one of the most prolific batters in program history ranking 20th on Ball State's career charts with a .327 career average ... She is also 13th all-time in slugging percentage (.528) and 16th in on base percentage (.403) ... In addition, her 163 career runs scored are third in program history and 36th among all active NCAA Division I players ... She also ranks 34th among active DI players with 43 career doubles which is eighth in program history, while her 10 career triples are 40th among active DI players and tied for 11th in the BSU record book.
» TIMMONS CLIMBING THE CHARTS TOO: After leading the Ball State offense with a .385 batting average, a .892 slugging percentage and a .488 on base percentage through the first 43 games of the season, McKayla Timmons continues her climb up BSU's career charts ... She currently ranks fourth in program history in slugging percentage (.717), fourth in on base percentage (.458) and seventh in batting average (.357) ... Timmons, who has blasted a team-leading 20 home runs so far this season, including her first collegiate grand slam at Georgia State (Feb. 24), is also one of the program's top home run hitters with her 36 career long balls ranking fifth on BSU's all-time list.
» RBI LEADER: McKayla Timmons enters the week ranked 23rd nationally with her 47 RBIs this season ... The effort included seven RBIs in the 9-5 (9) win over Georgia State (Feb. 24) and six in the 13-9 victory at Marshall (March 7) ... The program record for RBIs in a single game is eight by Stacy Payton versus Oakland on May 4, 2019.
» SHINING BEHIND THE PLATE TOO: In addition to pacing the offense, McKayla Timmons has proven to be one of the nation's top threats behind the plate and was recently named one of the nation's best catchers by Softball America, ranking sixth on the April position list ... The effort is aided by Timmons throwing out eight of the 25 runners attempting to steal a base on her so far this season.
» BALL STATE'S BEST THIEF: Senior outfielder Remington Ross enters the weekend as the greatest base thief in program history with a .966 (56-for-58) career stolen 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 is seventh in program history with 56 career stolen bases, had been successful in her previous 36 stolen base attempts before being caught stealing for just the second time in her Ball State career at Georgia State (Feb. 24) ... She has stolen seven straight bases since.
» SPEAKING OF STOLEN BASES: Ball State enters the Akron series ranked second in the league and 15th nationally with 78 stolen bases this season ... Haley Wynn leads the squad with 13, while McKayla Timmons has 12, and both Remington Ross and senior outfielder Kaitlyn Mathews have 11 ... Overall, 11 different Cardinals have stolen at least one base this season ... Ball State's 78 stolen bases in 2024 are the ninth-most in a season in program history ... The program record is 151 set by the 2008 squad.
» 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 the 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 ... A regular in the lineup since, Hoffman has 32 career hits and is fourth on the team with a .283 average this season ... Of her 32 hits, 14 have driven in at least one RBI and she currently ranks second on the squad with 28 RBIs.
» SPEAKING OF SLAMS: Kaitlyn Mathews blasted her first career grand slam in the 13-9 (8) victory at Buffalo (April 6), taking a two-out, 3-2 pitch over the fence in center field ... It was Mathews' fifth career home run and Ball State's fourth grand slam of the season.
» KING OF THE PEN: Senior Francys King leads the Ball State pitching staff with a 3.95 ERA over 124.1 innings of work ... She has earned the victory in 11 of BSU's 20 wins, including three of the team's four complete game shutouts ... King has 20 career collegiate pitching victories, with 14 coming at Ball State and six coming in her two seasons at Tennessee State (2021-22).
» TRIPLING UP: The Ball State defense owns one of the nation's six triple plays this season, turning what was a squeeze bunt attempt into a triple killing in the fifth inning of the 5-4 win over Jacksonville State on Feb. 17 ... The bunt was fielded by Haley Wynn at third base, who threw to McKayla Timmons to get the out at first ... The play then went to catcher Jazmyne Armendariz to get the runner out trying to advance home, who in turn threw to shortstop Maia Pietrzak to get the final out ... It was just the second recorded triple play in program history, with the first coming in 1985.
