Alyssa Rothwell

Alyssa Rothwell - Pitching at Buffalo for NCAA Career Saves Record

Photo by: Ken Smith, UB Athletics

Photo by: Samantha Blankenship (Ball State Creative Services)

Photo by: Brad Caudill - Ball State Athletics

Photo by: Tessa Mortensen

Photo by: Brad Caudill - Ball State Athletics

Photo by: Robert Goldberg

Photo by: Tessa Mortensen

Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services

Position:
Right-Handed Pitcher
Height:
5-9
Class:
Graduate Student
High School:
Teays Valley
Hometown:
Ashville, Ohio

CAREER NOTES ENTERING 2021 SEASON
• Graduated in December of 2020 with a degree in early childhood education
• Granted an extra year of eligibility due to the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic
• 2019 NCAA Statistical Champion - Saves (14)
• Two-Time career MAC West Division Pitcher of the Week (April 24, 2018 and Feb. 19, 2019)
• Her 14 saves in 2019 were a Ball State and Mid-American Conference single-season record, led the nation and tied as the third-most saves in a single season in NCAA Division I history
• Her 28 career saves are a Ball State and Mid-American Conference record and rank second in NCAA Division I history, four shy of the NCAA record of 32 set by Mississippi State’s Kellie Wilkerson (1999-02)
• Made 100 career appearances in the circle over 195 possible games, earning 22 starts
• On Ball State’s Career Charts: 1st in saves (28) , 1st in strikeouts per/7 innings (7.50), 2nd in opponent batting average (.194), 8th in appearances (100), 11th in strikeouts (259), 12th in ERA (1.94), T-18th in wins (22)
• On Ball State’s Single Season Charts (highest ranking only): 1st in saves (14 in 2019), 1st in combined shutouts (5 in 2018 & 2019), 1st in strikeouts per/7 innings (8.11 in 2020), 4th in appearances (41 in 2018), 6th in opponent batting average (.188 in 2018), 19th in ERA (1.63 in 2018)

2020 (Sr.): The season was shortened to 27 games due to the COVID-19 global pandemic ... granted an extra year of eligibility to compete in 2021 … earned fourth letter at Ball State … appeared in 14 games, making 12 starts … ranked second in the MAC with a 1.79 ERA, helping the Cardinals boast a league-low 2.22 ERA … held opponents to a .218 batting average to rank sixth in the MAC … struck out 68 batters over 58.2 innings, with her 8.11 strikeouts per 7.0 inning average ranking as the best single-season mark in program history … compiled a 7-5 record … picked up her first win of the season in a 3.1 inning relief appearance versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Feb. 9), striking out eight batters while allowing just one hit … threw the first three innings to earn the victory in Ball State’s 9-1 win over Alabama A&M (Feb. 16) … picked up her first career complete game shutout victory, leading the Cardinals to a 8-0 win over Green Bay (Feb. 21) … tallied a 4.2 inning relief win at Western Kentucky (Feb. 22) … struck out a season-high nine batters in a 5.0 inning win over Longwood (Feb. 28) … followed by striking out nine more batters in a 7.0 complete game victory over Drexel (Feb. 29) … earned her third complete game win of the season by striking out five in a 7.0 win at Bethune-Cookman (March 4).

2019 (Jr): Earned third letter at Ball State … Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 19) … made 26 appearances in the circle over Ball State’s 54 games … recorded a Ball State and MAC single-season record 14 saves, which led the nation and tied as the third-most in a season in NCAA Division I history … also picked up four wins and finished the season with a 4-1 record … pitched 32.1 innings, allowing just 20 hits and six earned runs for a 1.30 ERA and a .169 opponent batting average… held opponents without an earned run in 21 of her 26 relief appearances, while not surrendering a hit in 13 appearances … struck out at least one batter in 19 trips to the circle, with three-or-more seven times … helped combine for five shutout victories, which tied her total from 2018 as the most combined shutouts in a single season in program history … opened the season with four consecutive saves, pitching 1.2 innings vs. Penn State (Feb. 9), 1.0 innings at FGCU (Feb. 10), 1.0 innings against Monmouth (Feb. 15) and 2.0 innings vs. Central Arkansas (Feb. 16) … picked up her first win of the season against Quinnipiac (Feb. 17) in her next appearance, striking out all seven batters she faced over 2.1 innings of work as the Cardinals pulled out a 3-2 win in extra innings … her fifth and sixth saves of the season came on Feb. 23, in a 2.0 inning effort in which he struck out four versus CSU Bakersfield and a 1.0 inning outing versus Utah State when she retired all three batters she faced … followed with 1.0 inning saves vs. Cleveland State (March 8), vs. Presbyterian (March 9) and at Mercer (March 16) … her second win of the season was a 2.2 inning effort in the second game at Northern Illinois (April 2), when she struck out four batters … followed with her third win after throwing 1.2 innings in the second game of a doubleheader versus Bowling Green (April 6), striking out three batters … earned saves of 0.2 innings at Western Michigan (April 12), 1.1 innings in the second game of a doubleheader at WMU (April 13) and 1.0 innings in the series opener against Toledo (April 19) … retired Butler (April 23) in order in the sixth inning to pick up the victory, as the Cardinals rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning for a come-from-behind victory … three 1.1 innings of no-hit, no-run softball to earn her 13th save of the year in the first game of a doubleheader at Central Michigan (April 26) … her final save of the season was a 0.1 inning relief outing at Purdue Fort Wayne (May 4), in which she struck out the game’s final batter.

2018 (So.): Earned second letter at Ball State … Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week (April 24) … made 41 appearances in the circle over Ball State’s 56 games … at the time, her 11 saves were a Ball State and MAC single-season record, ranked second in the nation and tied as the sixth-most saves in a single season in NCAA Division I history … also picked up six wins and finished the season with a 6-2 record … ranked second in the MAC in ERA (1.63) and opponent batting average (.188) ... her ERA also ranked 40th nationally … her 41 appearances ranked third in the MAC, while her 75 strikeouts were 14th ... her 6.87 strikeouts per game average was 87th in the country … helped combine for five shutout victories, which are the most combined shutouts in a single season in program history … held opponents without an earned run in 31 appearances, while holding them hitless in 15 outings … earned her first save of the season by throwing the final two innings in the 6-5 victory versus Boston University (Feb. 17), allowing just two hits and striking out one … struck out the side in her lone inning of work in the 2-0 win over Canisius (Feb. 23) to earn her second save of the season … picked up her third save after throwing the final 0.2 innings in the 4-1 win at ECU (Feb. 23) … earned her fourth save of the year by throwing the final 3.0 innings in the 11-4 victory over Canisius (Feb. 25) … entered the game with bases loaded, no outs and the tying run on deck in the 9-1 (5) win over Akron (March 31), striking out the first two batters she faced in the bottom of the fourth before getting a foul out to work out of the jam and help secure her fifth save of the year … earned her sixth save by throwing the final 2.0 innings in the 1-0 victory over Northern Illinois (April 11), retiring all six batters she faced … with the Cardinals clinging to a 7-6 lead in the series finale versus Western Michigan (April 13), she entered the game in the seventh and proceeded to strikeout the side to secure her seventh save of the year … her eighth save came in the 2-1 win over Central Michigan (April 21), when she entered the game with two on and two outs in the top of the sixth and worked out of the jam before retiring three of the four batters she faced in the seventh … hurled the final three innings in the 8-1 win at Eastern Michigan (April 28) for her ninth save of the season, striking out four batters along the way … followed with her 10th save of the season in the series opener at Toledo (May 4), retiring the Rockets in order in the seventh to keep the shutout alive … her 11th save came in the 4-2 MAC Tournament elimination game victory over Kent State (May 11), when she threw the final 1.1 innings, striking out two of the five batters she faced … her biggest win of the season came in the series finale versus Toledo (May 5), when she helped the Cardinals clinch the MAC West Division championship by inducing a double play with one out and bases loaded in the top of the eight, then retiring the side in order in the ninth after Ball State took the lead in the top of the inning … also earned wins over Virginia Tech (March 6), vs. Florida A&M (March 9), in the second game versus Kent State (April 6), in the second game at Northern Illinois (April 11), in the first game versus Central Michigan (April 21) … struck out a season-high seven batters over 4.0 innings of work versus Western Michigan (April 13) … recorded at least one strikeout in 33 games, with three-or-more on 12 occasions.

2017 (Fr.): Earned first letter at Ball State … made 19 appearances in the circle, earning 10 starts … finished the season ranked third in the MAC with a .192 opponent batting average … ranked fourth in the conference and 73rd nationally with a 6.87 strikeouts per seven inning average … produced a 2.67 ERA over 73.1 innings of work … finished the season with a 5-5 record … her three saves tie as the second-most in a single season in program history and ranked 49th nationally … surrendered just 50 hits for a 4.77 hits allowed per seven innings, which ranked as the second-lowest average in the MAC and 33rd nationally … made her collegiate debut versus Southern Miss (Feb. 10), throwing 1.0 inning and striking out two … her first career start came versus FIU (March 7), when she allowed seven hits and four runs over 5.0 innings of work … followed with her first career pitching victory after throwing 4.2 innings of two hit and no run softball versus Holy Cross (March 8) … her second career victory came at SIUE (March 18), when she went toe-to-toe with one of the nation’s top pitchers, allowing just five hits and one run while striking out three over six innings in a 6-1 victory … followed with her first career save in Ball State’s 10-2 (6) win over Butler (March 22), throwing the final 3.0 innings and allowing just two hits and an unearned run while striking out three … turned in arguably her best performance of the year in the second game at Buffalo (March 24), striking out a career high nine batters while yielding just three hits and one run in a 9-1 (6) complete game victory … picked up her second career complete game victory in the second game versus Northern Illinois (April 4), limiting the Huskies to three hits and four unearned runs while striking out seven in a 6-4 victory … earned her second save of the season in the second game at Ohio (April 8), striking out two of the three batters she faced in the eighth inning … her third save of the season came in a 4.0 inning outing in the second game versus Toledo (April 21) in which she limited the Rockets to two hits and a run, while striking out four … also struck out seven batters in a 2-1 loss in the second game at Western Michigan (May 6) … struck out at least one batter in all 19 appearances, with three-or-more in 14 games … limited teams to three-or-fewer hits in 16 of her 19 appearances … held opponents to two-or-fewer earned runs in 15 appearances.

HIGH SCHOOL: Earned four letters in softball at Teays Valley playing for coach Brenna Giesige … a second team all-state honoree as a junior after earning a 17-7 record, a 1.80 ERA and 189 strikeouts in the circle ... her biggest accomplishment of the season, however, may have come at the plate when she led off the bottom of the eighth inning of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division I State Championship Game with a walk-off home run to help the 21st-seeded Vikings do the improbable and win the state title … in the circle at the championship game, Rothwell shutdown a previously undefeated Lebanon High School team, allowing just one hit while striking out seven batters over eight innings of work … helped guide the Vikings back to the state championship game as a senior, with the squad finishing the year with a 25-7 record after falling in the title tilt … in addition to her high school career, Rothwell helped her Beverly Bandits 18U Travel Team capture the 2015 ASU/USA National Championship.

PERSONAL: Daughter of Jim and Terry Rothwell … has one brother, Nick … cousin Mary (Kusan) Rawlins played basketball and volleyball at Ohio Dominican … has had numerous relatives play collegiate sports, including cousin Brady Taylor who was a sophomore on the Ohio State football team in 2016 and Karley Kusan who finished her senior year on the Akron volleyball team in 2016 … other relatives who have played collegiately include: cousin Mary (Kusan) Rawlins played basketball and volleyball at Ohio Dominican; cousin John Kusan played football at Ohio Wesleyan; cousin Mike Kusan played football at Miami University; cousin Susan (Kusan) Taylor played volleyball at Ohio; cousin Josh Kusan played football at Air Force; cousin Debbie (Blackburn) Miller played basketball at Ohio Wesleyan; uncle Jim Pelusi played football at Columbia; uncle Jason Rothwell played soccer at Capital University and her grandfather Jim Rothwell Sr. played football at Boston University … born Sept. 12, 1997 in Columbus, Ohio … full name is Alyssa Dawn Rothwell.