Ball State University
Buffalo
Softball Hosts Buffalo For Three Key Games This Weekend
April 25, 2025 | Softball
| Ball State (28-12; 13-5 MAC) hosts Buffalo (14-28; 7-12 MAC) | |
| Game 41 hosts Buffalo | Saturday, April 26 at 1 p.m. ET Live Stats |  ESPN+ |
| Game 42 hosts Buffalo | Saturday, April 26 at 3 p.m. ET Live Stats |  ESPN+ |
| Game 43 hosts Buffalo | Sunday, April 27 at Noon ET Live Stats |  ESPN+ |
| Tickets Info | FREE ADMISSION |
| Notes | Ball State |  Buffalo |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
» THIS WEEKEND IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. when it hosts Buffalo for a 1 p.m. doubleheader which will serve as Senior Day for the program ... The teams then close the three-game series Sunday at Noon with its Strikeout Cancer Day.
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» THIS WEEKEND'S PROMOTIONS: Saturday's doubleheader will serve as Senior Day, with the Cardinals honoring the 10 players and managers who are graduating or have spent four years with the program: Kaitlyn Gibson, Kara Gunter, Jessica Hoffman, Aislinn Morris, McKenna Mulholland, McKayla Timmons, Hayley Urban, Katie Van Der Mark, Maddie Weaver and Cam Harris ... Sunday's single game will be Strikeout Cancer Day with FREE NFCA Strikeout Cancer bracelets available and the Cardinals auctioning off two custom Louisville Slugger pink bats.
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» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the week with a 1205-1183-4 (.505) 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.
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» 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."
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» AGAINST THE BULLS: Ball State holds a commanding 31-9 lead in the all-time series with Buffalo, including wins in the last two contests and a 13-3 record at the Ball State Softball Stadium ... Last season, the Cardinals dropped the first game of an April 6, 2024, doubleheader by a score of 7-6, before rebounding for a 13-9 victory in the nightcap ... BSU closed the series with a 7-1 win the next day ... The last time the team's played in Muncie, the Cardinals swept a three-game set with 4-1 & 6-2 wins on April 15, 2023, and a 11-3 (6) victory the following day.
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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.
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» EARNING HER SPOT AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: Thanks to her solid play so far this season, redshirt senior catcher McKayla Timmons has been recognized as one of the nation's top catchers, including earning the No. 2 spot in the latest D1Softball Power Rankings released May 2 ... She's also been a staple in the Softball America position rankings, holding the No. 7 slot for most of the season ... Timmons has earned those accolades by leading the MAC and ranking 20th nationally with a .453 batting average ... Timmons has blasted a team-leading 13 home runs this season and ranks fourth nationally in walks per game at 1.00 ... In addition, Timmons ranks second nationally in on base percentage (.635), eighth in slugging percentage (.953), 39th in runs scored (49) and 48th in RBIs (49).
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» CARRER IMPACT: Along with all her success this season, McKayla Timmons is set to end her collegiate career as one of the most prolific players in program history ... She currently ranks first on Ball State's career list in on base percentage (.515), second in slugging percentage (.787), second in home runs (54), third in batting average (.385), third in RBI (174) and fourth in runs scored (152) ... She also owns the program record for times being hit by a pitch at 42, while her 104 career walks are sixth.
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» 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 nine runners trying to steal this season, while surrendering just 14 stolen bases, and has picked off a pair of runners at first base.
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» 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 17th among all NCAA Division I programs with a 2.03 stolen bases per game average … The Cardinals have successfully stolen 81 of the 91 bases it has attempted to steal, led by 19 stolen bases from McKayla Timmons which ranks second in the league and 69th nationally … Overall, 14 different Cardinals have stolen at least one base, with redshirt junior second baseman McKenna Mulholland ranking second on the squad and fourth in the MAC with 15 and sophomore shortstop Maia Pietrzak ranking third on the squad in sixth in the MAC at 14 ... Conversely, Ball State has limited opposing squads to just 16 stolen bases in 25 attempts this season ... Only 10 teams in the country have limited teams to less stolen bases, with the next best MAC school being Central Michigan at 23.
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» ON THE OFFENSIVE FRONT: Ball State has been putting on an offensive clinic so far this season, ranking 12th nationally by averaging 7.55 runs per game ... The Cardinals have earned eight run-rule victories this season and have scored 10-or-more runs in 13 games ... Overall, Ball State is out-scoring opponents 302 to 179 this season and owns an 23-4 record when scoring at least five runs ... In fact, Ball State's 302 runs scored are already the seventh-most in a season in program history, with the record being the 368 runs scored by the 2012 squad.
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» 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 72 total times, which is already a BSU single season record topping the previous mark of 55 set in 2015 ... McKenna Mulholland has been hit 14 times which is second in the MAC and 14th nationally, while McKayla Timmons has been hit 13 times which ranks third in the MAC and 19th nationally ... The next closest teams is St. John's which has been hit 61 times over 48 games, eight more than the Cardinals have played.
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» THE WHITNEY EFFECT: Junior Ella Whitney, who played her first two seasons of collegiate softball at FIU, ranks second in the MAC and 22nd nationally with her 17 pitching victories … Over 133.1 innings of work, the two-time MAC Pitcher of the Week honoree has compiled a 2.84 ERA which is fourth in the MAC ... Whitney has also limited opposing batters to a .232 average against which ranks first in the league, while owning the second-best WHIP in the MAC at 1.22.
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» MORE ON WHITNEY: A two-way player for the Cardinals, Ella Whitney is also a big offensive threat, boasting a .315 average and ranking second on the team in both home runs (9) and RBIs (44) … She recorded Ball State's first triple of the season and is tied for second on the squad with nine doubles.
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» SHUTTING 'EM OUT: Ball State's pitchers have combined for five shutouts so far this season, including two complete game shutouts each for Ella Whitney and freshman Breanna Severino ... In fact, the Cardinals' pitching staff put together a 14-inning shutout streak after Severino and Whitney threw back-to-back complete game shutouts in the April 12 doubleheader sweep of then-league-leading Miami ... The last time the RedHawks were shutout in back-to-back games was March 5, 2023, when it lost both ends of a doubleheader at then-No. 14 Stanford by scores of 10-0 (5) and 8-0 (5).
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» LONG BALL NUMBERS: The Cardinals currently rank second in the MAC with 47 home runs, trailing only Miami's 60 ... Timmons leads the way and is third among all league players and 67th nationally with her 13 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 60th nationally by allowing just 21 home runs ... Bowling Green is second in the league with 25 home runs allowed.
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» SOME OF THE NATION'S TOUGHEST: 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 61st nationally at one strikeout per every 22.2 at bats, while Gunter is sixth in the MAC and 98th nationally at one strikeout per every 18.4 at bats.
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» MORE ON PIETRZAK: Maia Pietrzak is having a spectacular sophomore season, ranking  second on the team and 16th in the MAC with a .353 batting average ... In fact, she leads all MAC players with 51 runs scored, two ahead of Timmons in second, which ties as the eighth-most in a single season in program history ... She is also third on the squad with seven home runs.
