Softball Hosts Kent State for Senior Weekend

Friday, April 24

Muncie, IN

2 p.m.

Ball State University

Kent State

Photo by: Josh Brunette

April 23, 2026 | Softball

Ball State (17-25; 4-17 MAC) hosts Kent State (19-25; 7-14 MAC)
Games 43 hosts Kent State	Friday, April 24 at 2 p.m. ET Live Stats \| Live Video
Games 44 hosts Kent State	Saturday, April 25 at 1 p.m. ET Live Stats \| Live Video
Games 45 hosts Kent State	Saturday, April 25 - 30 minutes after Game 1 Live Stats \| Live Video
Tickets Info	FREE ADMISSION
Notes	Ball State \| Kent State
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» THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team closes the home portion of its 2026 season with a three-game series versus Kent State this weekend ... With wet weather anticipated for Friday, the start time for the series opener has been pushed up to 2 p.m. ... The teams are also scheduled to play a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday.

» THIS WEEKEND'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.
- APRIL 25 / SENIOR DAY - The Ball State softball team will honor its six-member senior class following the conclusion of the doubleheader ... In addition, there will be a ceremonial first pitch with members of each senior's family in attendance ... Seniors to be honored are Jessica Hoffman, Ashlee Lovett, Grace Spencer, Lindsey DeRoeck, Ella Whitney and Hayley Urban.

» THE OVERALL RECORD: Ball State enters the weekend series vs. Kent State with a 1227-1214-4 (.503) 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: The Ball State offense is paced by a trio of Cardinals batting above .340, led by senior first baseman Lindsey DeRoeck with a .352 average ... DeRoeck is also fourth in the league and 37th nationally with 15 doubles ... Senior designated player / pitcher Ella Whitney and junior shortstop Maia Pietrzak are tied for second on the squad with .341 averages ... Whitney ranks third in the MAC in RBI (50) and fourth in the league in home runs (11), while Pietrzak leads the squad in runs scored (33) and stolen bases (11) ... Overall, Ball State's offense is ninth in the MAC with a .283 average.

PITCHING: On the pitching front, junior Brinkley Kita leads the squad with a 4.25 ERA over 57.2 innings of work ... She also boasts a 5-7 record and a team-low .283 opponent's batting average ... Redshirt junior Bridie Murphy leads the squad with 79.0 innings of work, while boasting a 5-6 record and a 4.70 ERA ... Ella Whitney is right behind at 58.1 innings, maintaining a 5-5 record and 5.04 ERA ... Overall, Ball State's pitching staff is eighth in the MAC with a 4.89 ERA.

DEFENSE: Ball State ranks third in the MAC and 66th nationally with a .970 fielding percentage ... The Cardinals have committed just 35 errors on the season, while turning 15 double plays ... Central Michigan (29) and Toledo (30) are the only league schools to commit fewer errors than Ball State this season ... BSU has also limited opposing teams to 16 stolen bases this season which is tied for 21st nationally ... Miami is the next lowest in the conference at 19.

» VERSUS KENT STATE: While Ball State swept last season's three-game series in Kent, Ohio, the Golden Flashes hold a 55-42 lead in the all-time series ... In the 2025 showdown, the Cardinals took both ends of an April 4 twinbill by scores of 14-1 (5) and 16-15 ... Ball State followed with a 12-6 (8) victory the following day to complete the weekend sweep ... In games played in Muncie, the Cardinals own a 24-22 edge despite KSU sweeping the 2024 three-game series at the Ball State Softball Stadium ... Kent State won the March 22 series opener by a score of 5-0, while sweeping a March 23 doubleheader by tallies of 6-3 and 6-2.

BALL STATE NEWS & NOTES:
» NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: After her solid play on both offense and in the circle at the Cardinal Classic (March 6-8), 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.

» MORE ON WHITNEY: Including her two seasons at FIU, Whitney owns 29 pitching wins, a 3.92 ERA and 139 strikeouts ... She is also a .310 career batter with 147 hits, including 34 doubles, two triples and 26 home runs ... Of her 26 career home runs, 21 have come with the Cardinals which tie for 14th in program history ... Whitney's 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 (March 6) earlier this season.

» CLIMBING THE BALL STATE CHARTS: Junior Maia Pietrzak enters the weekend ranked 10th in program history with a .344 (120-for-349) career batting average ... Her 100th career hit came in vs. Butler (March 24) when she executed a perfect bunt single to load the bases in the bottom of the third inning ... Later in the inning, she would successfully steal home to help the Cardinals tie the score at 5-5 ... Pietrzak also singled to open the fifth inning and scored on double one batter later.

» ANOTHER MILESTONE MARK FOR PIETRZAK: Maia Pietrzak became just the 16th player in program history to reach 100 career runs scored in the opening game of the March 28 doubleheader at Toledo when she led off the game with a single to right field and scored on a triple from Skylinn Pogue ... Pietrzak scored 14 runs her freshman season, while adding 60 her sophomore campaign which are the third-most in a single season in program history ... She has already scored 33 runs this season which tie as the 13th-most in the league and raises her career total to 106.

» GRAND SLAMS: Sophomore second baseman Addison Zimpleman became the third different Ball State player to hit a grand slam this season in the 6-2 victory over Toledo (March 28) when she took a 2-2 pitch over the fence in right center in the second inning to drive in what proved to be the game-winning run ... It was her first multiple base hit and first home run playing for the Cardinals, while she registered five doubles, a triple and seven home runs last season as a freshman at Purdue Fort Wayne.

» 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 44 times so far this season to rank third in the MAC and 16th 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 games the Cardinals played ... Under Burns' offensive guidance Ball State batters have been hit by 187 pitches over the past two-plus seasons.

» WALK THIS WAY: The Cardinals have drawn 163 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 163 walks currently rank fifth in the MAC and 71st nationally, led by 21 each from Ella Whitney and Skylinn Pogue ... In fact, nine Ball State batters have drawn at least 10 walks this season.

» THE POGUE FACTOR: Another first-year player for the Cardinals, Skylinn Pogue enters the weekend ranked second on the squad with 32 runs scored, while boasting a .290 batting average ... Pogue is also tied for the team lead with four triples which ties for fifth in the MAC and 51st in the country ... A two-year starter at Iowa (2023-24), they are the first four triples of Pogue's collegiate career ... She has also collected her first four collegiate doubles this season, while picking up her second and third collegiate home runs.

» A NOBLE CAUSE: Redshirt sophomore Allee Noble has worked her way into the lineup, starting 18 of the last 22 games at catcher ... During the span, she boasts a .280 average, including 14 hits, two doubles, five RBIs and five runs scored ... Mainly a pinch runner as a redshirt freshman in 2025, scoring seven runs, she has recorded her first 17 career hits this season and boasts a .293 average over 24 games, with 21 starts at catcher.