Softball Set To Host Akron Friday & Saturday

Friday, March 13

Muncie, IN

3 p.m.

Ball State University

Akron

Photo by: Jessica Piland - Jessica Piland Photography

March 12, 2026 | Softball

Ball State (11-7; 0-0 MAC) hosts Akron (8-16; 0-0 MAC)
Games 19 hosts Akron	Friday, March 13 at 3 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+ PROMOTIONS: Picnic at the Park / Support Staff Appreciation Day
Games 20 hosts Akron	Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m. ET Live Stats \| ESPN+ PROMOTIONS: Picnic at the Park / Youth Day
Games 21 hosts Akron	Saturday, March 14 - 30 minutes after Game 1 Live Stats \| ESPN+ PROMOTIONS: Picnic at the Park / Youth Day / Postgame Poster Signing
Tickets Info	FREE ADMISSION
Notes	Ball State \| Akron
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

» THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team opens the home and Mid-American Conference portions of its 2026 season this weekend when it hosts Akron for three games the Ball State Softball Stadium ... First pitch of the series opener is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, while the teams will also play a Saturday doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

» THIS WEEK'S PROMOTIONS:
- PICNIC AT THE PARK - With limited concessions availability due to construction at the Ball State Softball Stadium, fans may feel free to bring either a soft-sided cooler, picnic baskets or reusable bags to hold any outside food, non-alcoholic beverages and sealed water bottles ... Prohibited items inside the stadium include alcoholic beverages, glass containers, hard-sided coolers, grills, heating elements and cooking equipment.
- MARCH 13 / SUPPORT STAFF APPRECIATION DAY - Members of the Ball State softball team's support staff will participate in a ceremonial first pitch as part of the in-game recognition experience.
- MARCH 14 / YOUTH DAY - Local youth teams will be in attendance at the games, with a select group running out with the Ball State Cardinals during introductions ... There will also be a poster autograph session at the conclusion of the doubleheader.

» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the Cardinal Classic with a 1221-1196-4 (.505) overall record dating back to the 1975 season ... 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.

» A QUICK LOOK AT THE CARDINALS:
OFFENSE: Senior first baseman Lindsey DeRoeck has made quite the impact in her first season at Ball State, leading the MAC and ranking 26th nationally with a .491 batting average ... DeRoeck also ranks second in the MAC and 69th nationally with eight doubles, while her .545 on base percentage is second in the league and 62nd nationally ... Senior pitcher / designated player Ella Whitney has been just as solid, boasting a .411 average ... Whitney leads the league and ranks 66th nationally with a .857 slugging percentage and is second in the league and 89th nationally with 26 RBIs.
PITCHING: On the pitching front, junior Brinkley Kita owns a team-best 1.25 ERA over 22.1 innings of work and has held opponents to a .221 average ... She is 3-0 on the season and has allowed just one multiple base hit ... Whitney leads the squad with a 4-0 record over 35.0 innings of work, including wins at Louisville (March 6) and versus Illinois (March 8), last weekend ... Overall, Ball State's pitching staff owns a 3.28 ERA and is holding opposing batters to a .281 average.
DEFENSE: Ball State ranks third in the MAC and 80th nationally with a .968 fielding percentage ... The Cardinals have committed just 16 errors on the season, while turning eight double plays.

» VERSUS AKRON: Ball State owns a 51-26 advantage in the all-time series versus Akron, including a 4-1 mark versus the Zips last season ... The Cardinals won the 2025 regular season series played at Akron, with a 6-1 win in the opener (March 14) and a 7-2 victory in the series finale (March 15) ... The Zips won the middle game by a score of 12-4 (5) ... Ball State also picked up a pair of wins over Akron in the MAC Softball Championships by scores of 9-1 (6) on May 7 and 5-4 on May 9 at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio ... The Cardinals own a 22-12 edge in games played in Muncie, including back-to-back victories to take the 2024 series at the Ball State Softball Stadium.

BALL STATE NEWS & NOTES:
» WELCOME BACK: One of Ball State softball's all-time greats will be back in Muncie this weekend, as two-time All-American and former assistant coach Jenny Gilbert will be the color analyst for the three ESPN+ broadcasts ... Gilbert played for the Cardinals from 2011-2014 and helped guide the Cardinals to three MAC Regular Season Championships (2012, 2013 & 2014) ... She also finished her career as the only three-time MAC Player of the Year (2012, 2013 & 2014) and was one of only 11 players in NCAA Division I history to earn her respective conference player of the year award three times ... Gilbert finished her collegiate career as the MAC's record holder in runs batted in (246), runs scored (215), home runs (75), doubles (62) and slugging percentage (.810) ... Her 75 home runs ranked eighth in NCAA Division I history at the conclusion of her career, and she was the NCAA's career home run leader among Canadian-born players ... She was the volunteer coach for the 2015 squad which earn.

» WELCOME BACK PART 2: Another Ball State softball legend will be making his second appearance back at the Ball State Softball Stadium since the conclusion of the 2013 campaign when Akron head coach Craig Nicholson steps into the visitor's dugout Friday ... In seven seasons as Ball State's head coach from 2007-2013, Nicholson guided the Cardinals to a 241-162 (.598) overall record and 100-47 (.680) league ledger ... He coached the Cardinals to the first four MAC regular season titles in program history (2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013), the 2010 MAC Tournament title and a berth into the 2010 NCAA Regionals.

» MORE NATIONAL HONORS FOR WHITNEY: After her solid play on both offense and in the circle at the Cardinal Classic, Ella Whitney was named the D1Softball Mid-Major National Player of the Week ... She helped guide the Cardinals to a 4-1 record at the event by driving in 12 RBIs and blasting three home runs, while earning a 2-0 record and 1.85 ERA in the circle ... She also finished the tournament with a .471 batting average and four runs scored, while diving in what proved to be the game-winning run versus Bellarmine (March 6) with her second grand slam of the season ... She registered a 1.235 slugging percentage and a 1.735 OPS, adding two doubles and one triple to her stat line for 21 total bases ... Whitney 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.

» MORE ON WHITNEY: Including her two seasons at FIU, Whitney owns 28 pitching wins, a 3.60 ERA and 133 strikeouts ... She is also a .314 career batter with 125 hits, including 26 doubles, two triples and 21 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 ... Her 100th career RBI came courtesy of her solo home run in the 15-1 (5) victory over Bellarmine last Friday.

» CLIMBING THE BALL STATE CHARTS: Junior Maia Pietrzak enters the weekend ranked 15th in program history with a .331 (90-for-272) career batting average ... She is Ball State's active career leader with 90 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 seventh in program history with a .439 on base percentage ... In addition, Pietrzak enters the Akron series tied as the nation's toughest batter to strike out, being one of only 10 players in the country to meet the NCAA minimum at bat requirements not to strike out ... In fact, Pietrzak has only stuck out 12 times in her collegiate career.

» 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 17 times so far this season to rank third in the MAC and 71st 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 160 pitches over the past two-plus seasons.

» WALK THIS WAY: The Cardinals have drawn 85 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 ... The team's 85 walks currently rank fourth in the MAC and 73rd nationally, led by 11 apiece from junior third baseman Mandy Lauth and senior outfielder Ashley Lovett.