Wednesday's Softball Results
Wednesday's Scoreboard
Ball State 9, Purdue 10
Central Michigan 7, Detroit 1
Central Michigan 8, Detroit 7
Eastern Michigan 2, Notre Dame 10
Western Michigan 14, IPFW 1
Western Michigan 19, IPFW 2
Courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications
Ball State 9, Purdue 10
Results
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - - The Ball State softball team dropped a hard-fought 10-9 contest to Purdue Wednesday afternoon at the Boilermaker Softball Stadium.
The Cardinals (14-17) held a 9-8 lead entering the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Boilermakers (24-11) managed to plate a pair of runs to escape with the victory.
Senior designated player Jessica Craft (LaPorte, Mich./LaPorte) led the Ball State offense, reaching base in all four of her plate appearances thanks to a solo home run, a single and pair of walks. Overall, seven of Ball State’s nine offensive starters recorded at least one hit in the contest.
Ball State came out of the gate strong, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. With one out, junior left fielder Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) tallied a bunt single and advanced to third when junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski (Plainfield, Ind./South Putnam) reached on a Purdue error. After junior right fielder Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) was hit by a pitch to load the bases, the Cardinals scored the game’s first run on a RBI walk to Craft.
Sophomore catcher Shelbie Scamihorn (Terre Haute, Ind./South Vigo) extended the Ball State rally with a two-run double down the right field line, giving the guests a 3-0 lead. Freshman third baseman Julia Bailey (Lafayette, La./Teurlings Catholic) followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, driving in Craft and giving the Cardinals a 4-0 advantage.
The Boilermakers answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning, cutting the Ball State edge to 4-2. Following a scoreless second inning, Craft gave Ball State a 5-2 lead in the top of the third with her fifth home run of the season and 11th of her career.
While the Boilermakers followed with a four-run third, to take a brief 6-5 lead, the Cardinals responded with four runs of their own in the top of the fourth to reclaim the three-run advantage at 9-6. Sophomore center fielder Taylor Cooley (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) started the four-run rally with a single to center field and advanced to third on a single to right center from junior shortstop Selena Reyna (Houston, Texas/South Houston).
After Reyna stole second, an RBI fielder’s choice from Cihlar plated a runner without yielding an out. Dabkowski followed with her league-leading ninth home run of the season, and 15th of her career, to drive in three more runs and give Ball State a 9-6 lead.
Purdue answered with single runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings, to cut the Ball State lead to 9-8, before capitalizing on Ball State’s defensive miscue in the seventh to bring in a pair of runs to claim the 10-9 victory.
Junior Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) went the distance for the Cardinals in the circle, striking out seven batters over six innings of work.
The Ball State softball team returns to action at 1 p.m. Friday, when it hosts Mid-American Conference East Division co-leader Kent State in a pivotal doubleheader and early battle for league supremacy.
Central Michigan 7, Detroit 1
Central Michigan 8, Detroit 7
Results One
Results Two
DETROIT - The Central Michigan softball team collected 22 hits Wednesday in sweeping non-conference foe Detroit in a doubleheader at the Titans' Buysse Ballpark.
Rachael Knapp tossed a one-hitter and sophomore Kristen Goodall hit a three-run homer to lead CMU to a 7-1 win in the opener.
Knapp came out of the bullpen to slam the door and the Chippewas scratched out the winning run in their final at-bat in winning the nightcap, 8-7.
The sweep improved the Chippewas to 10-15.
Goodall, a sophomore, highlighted CMU's five-run first inning with her three-run homer in the first inning of Game 1.
Senior Trista Cox led CMU in hits with three and totaled two RBI in the game, while freshman center fielder Sara Hansen notched two hits and one RBI.
The Chippewas finished with eight hits in the opener.
Knapp struck out 13 and walked eight.
Defense, which was problematic in last weekend's doubleheader loss to Ball State, was solid in Game 1 for the Chippewas who ended the game with zero blemishes in the error column.
CMU stayed hot offensively in Game 2 as it racked up 14 hits.
The Chippewas built a 7-0 lead through 2 1/2 innings, but unlike the first game, the Titans rallied to tie the game 7-7 going into the seventh and final inning.
Sara Hansen led off the CMU seventh with an infield single and scored when Goodall's bunt went for an error.
Knapp earned the win, pitching the final three innings in relief of freshman Taylor Weaver. Weaver allowed a leadoff homer in the fifth before Kanpp (7-5) came on and faced 10 hitters, striking out nine and walking one.
Weaver started and went four innings, allowing nine hits, striking out two and walking three. The Chippewas committed two errors, and just four of the Titans' seven runs were earned.
Katelyn Rentschler had four hits to lead CMU at the plate, while Chelsea DeLamielleure and Lacy Tolfree tallied three apiece.
Cox, Rentschler, DeLamielleure and Goodall each drove in a run.
The Chippewas travel to Ohio for a weekend slate of Mid-American Conference action. First, they travel to Athens for a doubleheader against Ohio on Friday.
CMU closes out the road trip in Akron, where they will take on the Zips on Saturday, April 4, and Sunday, April 5.
Eastern Michigan 2, Notre Dame 10
Results
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Eastern Michigan University softball team was unable to come away victorious in its non-conference game against the University of Notre Dame Wednesday, April 1. The Eagles (8-19) fell to the Fighting Irish (24-11), 10-2, in six innings in the single mid-week contest at Melissa Cook Stadium.
EMU was led by Michelle Kriegshauser who went 2-for-3 at the dish with one run, while both Jenn Lucas and Taylor Wagner drove in an RBI for the Green and White. In the circle, freshman Trisha Trujillo got the start, tossing five complete innings before Alyssa Huntley and Abbie Minsker came on in relief to close out the six-inning game. Trujillo (2-5) gave up 10 hits in the contest with five earned runs and one strikeout, while Huntley allowed four earned runs to score and Minsker faced just one batter, giving up a three-run round-tripper.
The Fighting Irish were paced by Katey Haus who was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI and one walk, while Karley Wester had two hits and two RBI and Cassidy Whidden brought in four runs for UND with two hits. Finally, both Morgan Reed and Jenna Simon posted multi-hit days for Notre Dame and Emilee Koerner drove in one run. Lefty Allie Rhodes (10-4) picked up the win in the circle, going 4.1 innings with four strikeouts and just one hit, while Katie Beriont closed out the final 1.2 innings in relief.
Wester led off the bottom of the first inning with a single up the middle before stealing second and making her way to third on a sacrifice bunt to move into scoring position. Wester was plated when Haus hit a shallow single just to the edge of the center field grass, allowing UND to take the early 1-0 lead.
With two outs on the scoreboard, Simon used an infield slap to third to get on base before stealing second and scoring on a Wester single that fell just in front of Myranda Barnes to give the Fighting Irish a 2-0 lead in the second inning.
Lucas lit up the scoreboard for the Eagles in the top of the fourth inning when she lined her second home run in as many games over the left center field fence, cutting the Notre Dame lead to 2-1. Kriegshauser followed up the homer with a double off the center field wall, but Notre Dame recorded the final two outs of the inning before the Eagles were able to push any other runs across the plate.
A leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth inning proved to be detrimental when a single to shortstop advanced Sara White to second base. With White in scoring position, a grounder to third advanced her 60 ft. from home before a grounder to the opposite side of the field plated White and extended the UND lead to 3-1.
The Fighting Irish continued to build on their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring one run when Whidden single to center field, driving in Reed from second base.
The Eagles looked to generate some offense in the top of the sixth inning when Kriegshauser knocked a single right over the second baseman's head and Clark drove a second-straight single to right center field for the Green and White. With no outs, Wyman laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Kriegshauser to third base before Wagner hit a slow roller to the pitcher that would allow Kriegshauser to touch home.
Leading by two, Notre Dame used a huge sixth inning to propel it to victory. The Fighting Irish scored six runs on three hits; including a two-run double and a three-run homer to take the 10-2 six-inning win over Eastern Michigan.
Eastern continues its nine-game road stint Friday, April 3 when it heads to Akron, Ohio to take on the Zips in a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. The Eagles will conclude the weekend in Athens, Ohio for single game contests Saturday and Sunday against the Bobcats. Saturday's game is slated to begin at 4 p.m., while first pitch on Sunday will be at 1 p.m.
Western Michigan 14, IPFW 1
Western Michigan 19, IPFW 2
Results One
Results Two
FORT WAYNE, Ind.- Western Michigan totaled 33 runs over two games Wednesday, defeating IPFW on the road by scores of 14-1 and 19-2.
Five different Broncos collected four hits on the day and three additional players recorded three as WMU racked up 33 hits as a team.
Junior shortstop Sabrina Gamboa crushed a home run in each game, belting a solo shot in the fifth in game one and a three-run blast in the third in game two. She finished 4-for-5 from the plate with six RBIs and five runs scored.
Senior outfielder Jenny Rohn had three hits, three runs scored and drove in four. She hit a two-run double in the sixth in game one.
WMU built a 7-1 lead over the first five innings in game one and batted through the lineup in the sixth, producing seven more runs. Junior second baseman Melissa Palmer also had a two-run double in the inning.
The Broncos’ offense remained hot in game two, scoring in each inning and run-ruling the Mastodons after five frames. WMU opened the contest with four runs in the first and put up ninth in the second on its way to a season-high 19 runs.
Western Michigan’s defense did not have an error in either game while IPFW committed seven over the course of the day.
Junior pitcher Allyson Kus (1-5) picked up the win in game one, scattering three hits and one run over three innings. She struck out two and walked one. Senior Becca Schemberger hurled one hitless inning.
Freshman Anissa Sanchez started game two and threw one inning. Sophomore Erin Binkowski hurled four innings of relief to pick up the win, improving her record 4-6 on the season. Binkowski yielded just one run, five hits and fanned two batters.
Joining Gamboa with four hits for WMU was Taylor Sanicki, Binkowski, Marlee Wilson and Ivy Schaaf.
With the pair of victories, Western Michigan improved its overall record to 8-16. The Broncos are home this weekend, hosting Toledo in a doubleheader Friday and Bowling Green in single games Saturday and Sunday.
