Softball Back in Action at Hilltopper Spring Fling

Friday, February 27

Bowling Green, KY

11 a.m.

Ball State University

Illinois

February 26, 2026 | Softball

Ball State (4-4) at Hilltopper Spring Fling (hosted by Western Kentucky)
Games 9 vs. Illinois (5-9)	Friday, February 27 at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT Live Stats
Games 10 vs. IU Indy (3-8)	Friday, February 27 at 1:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. CT Live Stats
Games 11 at Western Kentucky (10-3)	Saturday, February 28 at 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT Live Stats
Games 12 vs. IU Indy (3-8)	Saturday, February 28 at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT Live Stats
Games 13 vs. Illinois (5-9)	Sunday, March 1 at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT Live Stats
Tickets Info	Ticket Information
Notes	Ball State \| Illinois \| IU Indy \| Western Kentucky
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

» THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: After a week off to focus on training, the Ball State softball team returns to the road Friday when it opens play in the Hilltopper Spring Fling  with games versus Illinois (11a ET / 10a CT) and IU Indy (1:30p ET / 12:30p CT) ... Saturday's action sees the Cardinals battle the host Hilltoppers (4p ET / 3p CT) and play a rematch versus the Jaguars (6:30p ET / 5:30p CT) ... BSU concludes the three-day event Sunday with a rematch versus the Illini (11a ET / 10a CT).

» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the Hilltopper Spring Fling with a 1214-1193-4 (.504) overall record dating back to 1975 ... The Cardinals finished the 2025 campaign with a 33-18 record to reach the 30-win mark for the 17th time in program history and the 12th time in the past 18 seasons.

» LAST TIME OUT: The Ball State softball team went 2-1 at the 901 Classic hosted by Memphis Feb. 13-15, earning a 9-5 win over Southern Indiana and a thrilling 6-2 (8) extra-inning victory over the host Tigers on the opening day of the event ... The Cardinals closed the tournament with a 4-1 setback to Kansas City, while its game versus Evansville was rained out.

» A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Ball State continues to be one of the league's top hitting teams entering its third weekend of play, ranking third in the MAC and 84th nationally with a .313 team batting average ... Redshirt junior catcher Skylinn Pogue leads the way, ranking fifth in the MAC with a .462 mark ... She has reached base safely in all eight games for the Cardinals this season, including smashing at least one hit in seven games ... Senior pitcher/infielder Ella Whitney is second on the squad with a .407 average, while senior infielder Lindsey DeRoeck is third at .391 ... DeRoeck leads all MAC players with a 1.50 RBIs per game average, collecting a team-high 12 RBIs over the first eight games ... In the circle, four different Cardinals have logged at least one start this season, with Whitney leading the squad with a 2-1 record and a 2.84 ERA ... Freshman Grace Gray leads the squad with 14.2 innings of work and has struck out a team-high 14 batters to rank second in the league at 6.7 strikeouts per seven innings ... Gray also owns Ball State's only complete game shutout so far this season, earning the win in  Ball State's 10-0 (5) victory over Long Island (Feb. 7) ... Combined, Ball State's pitching staff ranks second in the MAC and 47th nationally with a 2.88 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .277 average ... In the field, Ball State's defense ranks fourth in the MAC and 103rd nationally with a .965 fielding percentage, committing just seven errors ... In addition, the defense turned three double plays and surrendered just five stolen bases.

» VERSUS THE HILLTOPPER SPRING FLING FIELD: Ball State owns a 17-13 record versus teams in the Hilltopper Spring Fling field ... The Cardinals will be meeting Illinois for the sixth time, with the Illini owning a 4-1 edge after sweeping an April 16, 2002 doubleheader in Urbana, Illinois, by scores of 8-1 and 4-3 ... Ball State holds a commanding 13-2 lead in the all-time series versus IU Indy despite the Jaguars winning the latest meeting by a score of 8-3 on April 12, 2022 in Indianapolis ... WKU holds a 7-3 edge in the all-time series versus the Cardinals, including three straight wins ... The last time the teams played, the Hilltoppers earned a 6-4 win on Feb. 18, 2024, as part of the Chattanooga Challenge.

BALL STATE NEWS & NOTES:
» ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST: After a breakout year in her first season with the Ball State softball program in 2025, senior Ella Whitney has earned recognition as one of the top pitcher/utility players in the country ... She entered the 2026 season ranked as the No. 9 Pitcher/Utility Player in D1Softball's Preseason Player Position Rankings ... In addition, she was the 49th-ranked player in the D1Softball Preseason Mid-Major D100 Player Rankings ... Including her two seasons at FIU, Whitney owns 26 pitching wins, two saves and 124 strikeouts ... She is also a .307 career batter with 113 hits, including 23 doubles, one triple and 16 home runs ... Her 100th career hit was an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning to drive in what proved to be the game-winning run in a 3-0 shutout over Central Michigan in the 2025 regular season finale.

» CLIMBING THE BALL STATE CHARTS: Junior Maia Pietrzak enters the Hilltopper Spring Fling ranked 10th in program history with a .346 (83-for-240) career batting average ... She is Ball State's active career leader with 79 career runs scored, with her 60 runs in 2025 ranking as the third-best total in a season in program history ... Pietrzak also currently ranks sixth in program history with a .448 on base percentage and 18th with a .521 slugging percentage.

» ON THE OFFENSIVE FRONT: Ball State put on an offensive clinic last season, ranking first in the MAC and 22nd nationally by averaging 6.59 runs per game ... The Cardinals have opened the 2026 season on a similar pace, averaging 6.00 runs per game to rank sixth in the league and 93rd nationally ... Both of Ball State's wins at the FGCU Kickoff Classic came via the run rule, with the Cardinals have out-scored opponents 48 to 30 so far this year.

» TAKING THE HIT: A pride point for the offense under the leadership of third-year associate head coach Matt Burns, Ball State batters have been hit by a pitch seven times so far this season to rank ninth in the MAC and 139th nationally ... Last season, the Cardinals lead the nation by being hit 91 times, which was a BSU single season record topping the previous mark of 55 set in 2015 ... The next closest team was St. John's, which was hit 69 times over 57 games, six more than the 51 the Cardinals played ... Under Burns' offensive guidance Ball State batters have been hit by 147 pitches over the past two seasons.

» WALK THIS WAY: The Cardinals have drawn 45 total walks so far this season, including tying the program's single game record with 14 walks in the 9-5 victory over Southern Indiana (Feb. 13) ... Ball State previously drew 14 walks in a 15-7 (6) victory over Kent State on April 4, 2018 ...  Senior outfielder Ashley Lovett currently leads the team with nine walks, while ranking first in the MAC and eighth nationally with 1.13 walks per game ... Senior infielder Mandy Lauthis second in the league and eighth nationally with 1.00 walks per game, with her eight walks on the season also helping her lead the squad, rank second in the MAC and rank 37th nationally with a .593 on base percentage.

» LEADING THE CHARGE: In addition to leading the squad with 12 RBIs so far this season, Lindsey DeRoeck has a MAC-best .913 slugging percentage ... Of her nine hits, seven have gone for multiple bases including four doubles, one triple and two home runs.

» PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATION: The Ball State softball team was picked to finish third among the 12 teams in the MAC's annual preseason coaches' poll ... The Cardinals earned 98 total points and two first-place votes ... Miami was picked to win its seventh consecutive MAC regular season titles with 116 points and eight first-place votes, while Ohio was selected second with 108 points and one first-place tally ... The Cardinals also earned one vote to win the MAC Softball Championship title, with Miami and Ohio garnering five each.