Tuesday, March 25
Terre Haute, IN
3 p.m.
Ball State University
19-8
5
at
3
Indiana State
9-20
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Ball State
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
6
0
Indiana State
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
3
3
1
Gunter’s Grand Slam Leads Softball Past Indiana State
March 25, 2025 | Softball
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - - Senior left fielder Kara Gunter provided the offensive fireworks, while Ball State's pitching locked down Indiana State in a 5-3 victory Tuesday afternoon at Price Field.
With each of the Cardinals (19-8) first three batters reaching base in the top of the first, Gunter took advantage by blasting a 1-2 pitch over the fence in right field for her second collegiate grand slam to quickly give the guests a 4-0 edge.
Ball State was not done there, however, as senior first baseman Kaitlyn Gibson followed with a double to right and took advantage of an error on the play to move to third. That set up and RBI single from junior right fielder Ashlee Lovett for her first hit of the season.
That was all the run support Ball State's pitchers would need, as sophomore starter Brinkley Kita and freshman reliever Breanna Severino combined to limit the Sycamores (9-20) to three runs on the day.
Kita threw the first 4.0 innings and improved to 4-2 on the year after allowing just two hits and three runs, only two of which were earned. Severino pitched the final 3.0 innings and picked up her first collegiate save. She limited ISU to one hit and struck out four of the 13 batter she faced, including the final two batters in the bottom of the fifth with bases loaded.
NOTES:
- While she saw her 17-game hitting streak snapped with a 0-for-3 day at the plate, senior designated player McKayla Timmons still drew a walk in the first inning and scored one of BSU's five runs … That helped her run her streak of reaching base safely to 53 consecutive games.
- In her first start of the year, Lovett would lead the Ball State offense with two hits versus Indiana State … A 2024 Second Team All-MAC selection, Lovett returned to the lineup for the first time this season in the second game of the Toledo series.
- Ball State turned in another dominating effort on defense Tuesday, committing no errors in a game for the 13th time this season ... In addition, the Cardinals turned their 11th double play of the season to get out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the second.
UP NEXT:
The Ball State softball team returns to action this weekend with a three-game Mid-American Conference series at Bowling Green. The teams are scheduled to play a 3 p.m. game Friday and a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Meserve Field.
With each of the Cardinals (19-8) first three batters reaching base in the top of the first, Gunter took advantage by blasting a 1-2 pitch over the fence in right field for her second collegiate grand slam to quickly give the guests a 4-0 edge.
Ball State was not done there, however, as senior first baseman Kaitlyn Gibson followed with a double to right and took advantage of an error on the play to move to third. That set up and RBI single from junior right fielder Ashlee Lovett for her first hit of the season.
That was all the run support Ball State's pitchers would need, as sophomore starter Brinkley Kita and freshman reliever Breanna Severino combined to limit the Sycamores (9-20) to three runs on the day.
Kita threw the first 4.0 innings and improved to 4-2 on the year after allowing just two hits and three runs, only two of which were earned. Severino pitched the final 3.0 innings and picked up her first collegiate save. She limited ISU to one hit and struck out four of the 13 batter she faced, including the final two batters in the bottom of the fifth with bases loaded.
NOTES:
- While she saw her 17-game hitting streak snapped with a 0-for-3 day at the plate, senior designated player McKayla Timmons still drew a walk in the first inning and scored one of BSU's five runs … That helped her run her streak of reaching base safely to 53 consecutive games.
- In her first start of the year, Lovett would lead the Ball State offense with two hits versus Indiana State … A 2024 Second Team All-MAC selection, Lovett returned to the lineup for the first time this season in the second game of the Toledo series.
- Ball State turned in another dominating effort on defense Tuesday, committing no errors in a game for the 13th time this season ... In addition, the Cardinals turned their 11th double play of the season to get out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the second.
UP NEXT:
The Ball State softball team returns to action this weekend with a three-game Mid-American Conference series at Bowling Green. The teams are scheduled to play a 3 p.m. game Friday and a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Meserve Field.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kita, Brinkley (4-2)
L: A. Waggoner (0-2)
S: Severino, Breanna (1)
Batting:
2B: Gibson, Kaitlyn 1
HR: Gunter, Kara 1
RBI: Gunter, Kara 4 ; Lovett, Ashlee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pietrzak, Maia 1 ; Timmons, McKayla 1 ; Mulholland, McKenna 1 ; Gunter, Kara 1 ; Gibson, Kaitlyn 1
HBP: Mulholland, McKenna 1
Batting:
2B: L. Marsicek 1
RBI: P. Simmons 1 ; L. Marsicek 1
Base Running:
RUNS: M. Goodrich 1 ; S. Esposito 1 ; B. Mills 1
SB: M. Goodrich 1
HBP: B. Mills 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
4
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UT
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Sports Link: Kaitlyn Gibson (Softball)
Wednesday, May 07