Ball State University
Kent State
Softball Back On The Road At Kent State This Weekend
April 03, 2025 | Softball
| Ball State (21-10; 6-4 MAC) at Kent State (7-25; 0-8 MAC) | |
| Game 32 at Kent State | Friday, April 4 at 1 p.m. ET Live Stats |  BoxCast TV |
| Game 33 at Kent State | Friday, April 4 at 3 p.m. ET Live Stats |  BoxCast TV |
| Game 34 at Kent State | Saturday, April 5 at 1 p.m. ET Live Stats |  BoxCast TV |
| Tickets Info | FREE ADMISSION |
| Notes | Ball State |  Kent State |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
» THIS WEEKEND IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team returns to the road this weekend to take on Kent State in a three-game series at Devine Diamond ... Due to weather concerns, the series has shifted up a day, with the teams currently scheduled to play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday and a 1 p.m. single game Saturday.
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» NEXT UP IN MUNCIE: Following the weekend series at Kent State, the Ball State softball team returns to Muncie next weekend (April 11-12) for a three-game series versus league-leading Miami ... Friday's single game will serve as Hometown Heroes Day, while Saturday's doubleheader has been dubbed Community Day.
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» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the week with a 1198-1181-4 (.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.
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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 GOLDEN FLASHES: Kent State holds a 55-39 edge in the all-time series, including winning all three games played in Muncie last season ... Ball State has not played a true road game in the series since the 2012 season, when it split an April 27 twinbill at the KSU Softball Field with Kent State winning game one 7-3 and the Cardinals taking the nightcap 8-5 ... The teams did play a March 17, 2023, doubleheader at the Baldwin Wallace Softball Field in Berea, Ohio, with the Golden Flashes winning the opener 4-3 and BSU taking the second game 15-9 ... Overall, Ball State is 8-27 in games played at Kent State.
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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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» 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 week ranked first on Ball State's career list in on base percentage (.511), second in slugging percentage (.788), second in home runs (53), third in RBI (161), fourth in batting average (.382) and seventh in runs scored (141) ... She also owns the program record for being hit by a pitch at 40.
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» EARNING THE ACCOLADES: So far, McKayla Timmons has earned the accolades, ranking first in the MAC and 36th nationally with a .455 batting average ... Timmons, who is currently on a 57-game streak of reaching base safely, has blasted a team-leading 12 home runs so far this season and also ranks second nationally in walks per game at 1.06 ... In addition to her solid batting average, Timmons ranks second nationally in on base percentage (.653), sixth in slugging percentage (1.026), 43rd in runs scored (38) and 78th in RBIs (36).
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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 seven runners trying to steal this season, while surrendering just 10 stolen bases.
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» ON THE BASES: Ball State has proven to be one of the nations' craftiest teams on the base paths, ranking first in the MAC and 29th nationally with a 1.90 stolen bases per game average … The Cardinals have successfully stolen 59 of the 67 bases it has attempted to steal, led by a MAC-best 14 stolen bases from McKayla Timmons … Overall, 13 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 11 ... 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 16.
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» ON THE OFFENSIVE FRONT: Ball State has been putting on an offensive clinic so far this season, ranking 18th nationally by averaging 7.39 runs per game ... The Cardinals have earned seven run-rule victories this season and have scored 10-or-more runs in nine games ... Overall, Ball State is out-scoring opponents 229 to 129 this season and owns an 18-4 record when scoring at least five runs ... In fact, Ball State's 229 runs scored are already the 15th-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 54 total times ... The effort is one shy of BSU's single-season record of 55 set in 2015 ... McKayla Timmons has been hit by a pitch a league-leading 11 times, which is 11th nationally, while McKenna Mulholland has been plunked nine times which is third in the MAC and 29th nationally.
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» THE WHITNEY EFFECT: Ella Whitney, who played her first two seasons of collegiate softball at FIU, ranks second in the MAC and 32nd nationally with her 12 pitching victories … Over 98.1 innings of work, the two-time MAC Pitcher of the Week honoree has compiled a 2.21 ERA which ranks 87th in the country ... Whitney has also limited opposing batters to a .225 average against which ranks fourth 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 .337 average and ranking second on the team in both home runs (6) and RBIs (33) … She recorded Ball State's first triple of the season and leads the squad with six doubles ... Whitney also enters the weekend ranked second on the squad with an 18-game streak of reaching base safely.
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» 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.
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» LONG BALL NUMBERS: The Cardinals currently rank second in the MAC with 39 home runs, trailing only Miami's 52 ... Timmons leads the way and is second among all league players and 30th 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 39th nationally by allowing just 13 home runs ... Ohio is second in the league with 20 home runs allowed.
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» SOME OF THE NATION'S TOUGHEST: Senior outfielder Kara Gunter and sophomore shortstop Maia Pietrzak and enter the weekend as two of the nation's toughest batters to strike out ... Gunter is fifth in the MAC and 62nd nationally at one strikeout per every 23.8 at bats, while Pietrzak is sixth in the MAC and 92nd nationally at one strikeout per every 20.6 at bats.
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» D-FENSE: Ball State enters the weekend ranked second in the MAC and 50th nationally with a .970 fielding percentage ... The Cardinals have committed just 27 errors in its first 31 games, including 15 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.
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