Ball State University
Miami
Softball Welcomes MAC-Leader Miami For Weekend Series
April 10, 2025 | Softball
| Ball State (24-10; 9-4 MAC) hosts Miami (24-16; 13-1 MAC) | |
| Game 35 hosts Miami | Friday, April 11 at 3 p.m. ET Live Stats |  ESPN+ |
| Game 36 hosts Miami | Saturday, April 12 at 1 p.m. ET Live Stats |  ESPN+ |
| Game 37 hosts Miami | Saturday, April 12 at 3 p.m. ET Live Stats |  ESPN+ |
| Tickets Info | FREE ADMISSION |
| Notes | Ball State |  Miami |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
» THIS WEEKEND IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team will play nine of its final 14 regular season games at the Ball State Softball Stadium starting this weekend with a three-game series versus league-leading Miami ... The Cardinals and RedHawks are scheduled to play a 3 p.m. game Friday and a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday.
» UPCOMING PROMOTIONS: Friday's game versus Miami will serve as Hometown Heroes Day with the Cardinals honoring several local first responders both with a ceremonial first pitch and during the game ... Saturday's doubleheader will serve as Community Day, with the Ball State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee partnering with the Muncie Mission to collect non-perishable food items at the main entrance to the stadium.Â
» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the weekend with a 1201-1181-4 (.504) 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 17 years.
» QUOTING COACH PEÑA: "Our goal this season is to have fun competing. If we can compete every single pitch, and have fun doing it, I believe we are going to have a really good season. It's truly about getting better every weekend and not putting so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect."
» AGAINST THE REDHAWKS: While the Cardinals own a slim 59-57 advantage in the all-time series, the RedHawks have won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two squads ... Last season, Miami swept an April 16 doubleheader in Oxford, while also topping Ball State 8-0 (5) in the title game of the 2024 MAC Softball Championship ... Ball State's last win was a 10-0 (5) victory in the nightcap of an April 26, 2023, doubleheader at the Ball State Softball Stadium ... Overall, the Cardinals hold a 31-26 edge in games played in Muncie.
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 sixth in the league last season with a 12-13 MAC record, are looking for a third 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 7-10 ... BSU also picked up one of the 11 votes to win the MAC Tournament title.
» WATCH OUT FOR TIMMONS: McKayla Timmons was named a player to watch this season, ranking 36th on the Softball America Top 100 Preseason list and as the No. 8 ranked utility/designated player in the country by D1Softball.com ... Most recently, Softball America named her the nation's seventh-best catcher in both its March and April position rankings while D1Softball.com named her the nation's fifth-best catcher in its player power rankings ... Timmons enters the weekend ranked first on Ball State's career list in on base percentage (.517), second in slugging percentage (.797), second in home runs (54), second in batting average (.389), third in RBI (171) and sixth in runs scored (148) ... She also owns the program record for being hit by a pitch at 41.
» EARNING THE ACCOLADES: So far, McKayla Timmons has earned the accolades, ranking first in the MAC and eighth nationally with a .489 batting average ... Timmons, who is currently on a 60-game streak of reaching base safely, has blasted a team-leading 13 home runs so far this season and ranks fifth nationally in walks per game at 1.03 ... In addition to her solid batting average, Timmons ranks first nationally in on base percentage (.667), fourth in slugging percentage (1.045), 17th in runs scored (45) and 28th in RBIs (46).
» 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 finished the 2024 season ranked as one of the nation's best catchers by Softball America ... She was fifth on SA's final catchers list and 47th among the nation's top 100 players ... The effort was aided by Timmons throwing out 11 of the 37 runners attempting to steal a base on her last season ... She has already caught seven runners trying to steal this season, while surrendering just 10 stolen bases.
» ON THE BASES: Ball State has proven to be one of the nation's craftiest teams on the base paths, ranking first in the MAC and 18th among all NCAA Division I programs with a 2.18 stolen bases per game average … The Cardinals have successfully stolen 74 of the 83 bases it has attempted to steal, led by a MAC-best 18 stolen bases from McKayla Timmons … Overall, 14 different Cardinals have stolen at least one base, with redshirt junior second baseman McKenna Mulholland ranking second on the squad and third in the MAC with 14 ... Conversely, Ball State has limited opposing squads to just 12 stolen bases in 19 attempts this season ... Only 10 teams in the country have limited teams to less stolen bases, with the next best MAC school being Miami at 18.
» ON THE OFFENSIVE FRONT: Ball State has been putting on an offensive clinic so far this season, ranking 10th nationally by averaging 7.97 runs per game ... The Cardinals have earned eight run-rule victories this season and have scored 10-or-more runs in 12 games ... Overall, Ball State is out-scoring opponents 271 to 151 this season and owns an 21-4 record when scoring at least five runs ... In fact, Ball State's 271 runs scored are already the 11th-most in a season in program history, with the record being the 368 runs scored by the 2012 squad.
» TAKING THE HIT: Ball State's offense is bolstered by its ability to get on base, and one area the Cardinals excel in is staying tough in the box and getting hit by pitches ... The Cardinals currently lead the nation in being hit 63 total times, which is already a BSU single season record topping the previous mark of 55 set in 2015 ... McKayla Timmons and McKenna Mulholland have each been plunked 12 times which is tied for first in the MAC and 11th nationally.
» THE WHITNEY EFFECT: Ella Whitney, who played her first two seasons of collegiate softball at FIU, ranks second in the MAC and 14th nationally with her 15 pitching victories … Over 110.1 innings of work, the two-time MAC Pitcher of the Week honoree has compiled a 2.41 ERA which ranks 111th in the country ... Whitney has also limited opposing batters to a .224 average against which ranks second in the league, while owning the second-best WHIP in the MAC at 1.19.
» MORE ON WHITNEY: A two-way player for the Cardinals, Ella Whitney is also a big offensive threat, boasting a .321 average and ranking second on the team in both home runs (7) and RBIs (39) … She recorded Ball State's first triple of the season and leads the squad with six doubles.
» SHUTTING 'EM OUT: Freshman Breanna Severino picked up her first collegiate complete game shutout in BSU's 7-0 victory at Butler (March 18) ... She limited the Bulldogs to just seven hits over her 7.0 innings of work in the game ... She also struck out one batter and worked out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the fourth.
» LONG BALL NUMBERS: The Cardinals currently rank second in the MAC with 44 home runs, trailing only Miami's 56 ... Timmons leads the way and is second among all league players and 29th nationally with her 12 home runs ... Overall, 10 different Ball State players have blasted at least one home run this season ... On the opposite spectrum, Ball State's pitching staff ranks first in the MAC and tied for 49th nationally by allowing just 16 home runs ... Ohio is second in the league with 20 home runs allowed.
» SOME OF THE NATION'S TOUGHEST: Sophomore shortstop Maia Pietrzak and senior outfielder Kara Gunter enter the weekend as two of the nation's toughest batters to strike out ... Pietrzak is third in the MAC and 64th nationally at one strikeout per every 22.8 at bats, while Gunter is fourth in the MAC and 84th nationally at one strikeout per every 21.2 at bats.
» D-FENSE: Ball State enters the weekend ranked second in the MAC and 54th nationally with a .970 fielding percentage ... The Cardinals have committed just 30 errors in its first 34 games, including 16 games without an error ... The current program record for best fielding percentage in a season is .974 for the 2010 squad which committed just 40 errors.
