Softball Travels To Buffalo For Weekend Series

 

Ball State softball returns to the road this weekend for a three-game series at Buffalo after Mother Nature canceled Tuesday’s scheduled home doubleheader against Western Michigan. The Cardinals and Bulls are scheduled to play a single game at Nan Harvey Field on Sunday at noon and a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Cardinals have an overall record of 1163-1162-4 (.500) dating back to 1975. The team has recorded 30 or more wins in 16 seasons, with the most recent being 37-18 in 2021. Of the 16 seasons with 30 or more wins, 11 have occurred in the previous 16 years.

A SECOND GLANCE AT THE CARDINALS: The Cardinals, under the direction of first-year head coach Helen Peña, have an overall record of 15-20… Ball State’s hitting average as a team is.243, with McKayla Timmons, a redshirt junior utility player, leading the way at.347. With 15 home runs and 37 RBIs, Timmons is ranked fourth in the league and third in the MAC overall. Haley Wynn, a recent graduate, ranks second on the team in runs scored (25), home runs (6), and average (.300).

The Cardinals have a 4.06 ERA in the circle, headed by senior pitcher Francys King, who has worked 102.1 innings and has an 8-8 record. King leads the squad in strikeouts with 48 and has recorded three complete game shutouts this season. Bridie Murphy, a sophomore, has the team’s best.44 strikeouts, a 6-7 record, a 274 average against over 83.0 innings, and one save… In the 5-0 triumph over Ohio on March 16, Murphy recorded her first shutout of the season.

CARDINALS VS. THE BULLS: Ball State has won four in a row and has an overall 29-8 advantage against Buffalo in the series. The Cardinals defeated the Bulls 21–6 in a three-game series played in Muncie last season. Additionally, BSU has a 13-5 advantage in games played in Buffalo, which includes a 4-0 triumph in the final game held at Nan Harvey Field on April 24, 2022. But the day before, the Bulls won both games in a doubleheader, 11-8 and 9-4.

› SCOUTING THE BULLS: After rain forced the cancellation of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Akron, Buffalo heads into the weekend with an 11-18 (3-5 MAC) record. With a.310 average and team-highs of 27 hits and 19 RBI, Alexis Lucyshyn leads the club. Mia Mitchell leads the team with 19 runs scored and five of the team’s nine home runs, while Abbey Nagel is batting second on the team with an average of.289… In addition, Lucyshyn leads UB in the circle with a 7-7 record and a 2.21 ERA in 85.2 innings pitched. She leads the MAC in strikeouts with 101, owns five complete game shutouts, and has held opposition hitters to a.222 average.

BALL STATE NEWS & NOTES:
» MAC PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS: Ball State was picked to finish fourth among 11 teams in the Mid-American Conference’s annual preseason poll … The Cardinals, who finished fourth in the league last season with a 17-12 MAC record, are looking for a second consecutive  MAC Softball Championship berth, with the league’s top six teams advancing to Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio, for the three-day event which runs May 8-11.

» THE WYNN FACTOR: Graduate third baseman Haley Wynn has taken advantage of her extra year of eligibility, leading the team with 36 hits so far this season … That raises her career total to 217 which is seventh in program history … Wynn has registered at least one hit in 24 of first 35 games of the season, including six home runs to up her career long ball total to 25 which is tied for ninth in program history.

» MORE ON WYNN: Haley Wynn is one of the most prolific batters in program history ranking 19th on Ball State’s career charts with a .329 career average … She is also 12th all-time in slugging percentage (.538) and 16th in on base percentage (.406) … In addition, her 157 career runs scored are third in program history and 35th among all active NCAA Division I players … She also ranks 26th among active DI players with 43 career doubles which is eighth in program history.

» TIMMONS CLIMBING THE CHARTS TOO: After leading the Ball State offense with a .347 batting average, a .842 slugging percentage and a .470 on base percentage through the first 35 games of the season, McKayla Timmons continued her climb up BSU’s career charts … She currently ranks fourth in program history in slugging percentage (.687), fifth in on base percentage (.450) and ninth in batting average (.343) … Timmons, who has blasted a team-leading 15 home runs so far this season, including her first collegiate grand slam at Georgia State (Feb. 24), is also one of the program’s top home run hitters with her 31 career long balls tying for fifth on BSU’s all-time list.

» RBI LEADER: McKayla Timmons enters the Buffalo series ranked 33rd nationally with her 37 RBIs this season … The effort included seven RBIs in the 9-5 (9) win over Georgia State (Feb. 24) and six in the 13-9 victory at Marshall (March 7) … The program record for RBIs in a single game is eight by Stacy Payton versus Oakland on May 4, 2019.

» BALL STATE’S BEST THIEF: Senior outfielder Remington Ross enters the Buffalo series as the greatest base thief in program history with a .965 (55-for-57) career stolen base percentage at Ball State … Last season, she went a perfect 23-for-23 in stolen base attempts and ranked second in the MAC and 54th nationally with a 0.47 steals-per-game average … Ross, who is seventh in program history with 55 career stolen bases, had been successful in her previous 36 stolen base attempts before being caught stealing for just the second time in her Ball State career at Georgia State (Feb. 24) … She has stolen six straight bases since.

» SPEAKING OF STOLEN BASES: Ball State enters the weekend ranked second in the league and 27th nationally with 59 stolen bases this season … Haley Wynn and Remington Ross are tied for the team lead with 10 apiece, while McKayla Timmons and senior outfielder Kaitlyn Mathews are right behind with nine … Overall, 10 different Cardinals have stolen at least one base this season … Ball State’s 59 stolen bases in 2024 are already the 17th-most in a season in program history … The program record is 151 set by the 2008 squad.

» A SLAMMING FIRST HIT: Redshirt sophomore Jessica Hoffman had just two career at bats when she stepped up to the plate with bases loaded in the 10-8 win over Fordham (Feb. 11) … She proceeded to blast her first career hit over the fence in right center field for her first career home run and Ball State’s first grand slam since April 6, 2022 … A regular in the lineup since, Hoffman has 27 career hits and is third on the team with a .284 average this season … Of her 27 hits, 12 have driven in at least one RBI and she currently ranks second on the squad with 23 RBIs.

» WE’RE LOVING LOVETT: Sophomore Ashlee Lovett leads the Ball State offense with a .304 batting average in MAC play, registering seven hits in 23 at bats … She has three doubles, has tallied three RBI and scored a pair of runs … She is also tied for the team lead with three stolen bases in league play, while owning the second-best on base percentage at .414.

» KING OF THE PEN: Senior Francys King leads the Ball State pitching staff with a 3.63 ERA over 102.1 innings of work … She has earned the victory in eight of BSU’s 15 wins, including three of the team’s four complete game shutouts … King has 17 career collegiate pitching victories, with 11 coming at Ball State and six coming in her two seasons at Tennessee State (2021-22).

» TRIPLING UP: The Ball State defense owns one of the nation’s five triple plays this season, turning what was a squeeze bunt attempt into a triple killing in the fifth inning of the 5-4 win over Jacksonville State on Feb. 17 … The bunt was fielded by Haley Wynn at third base, who threw to McKayla Timmons to get the out at first … The play then went to catcher Jazmyne Armendariz to get the runner out trying to advance home, who in turn threw to shortstop Maia Pietrzak to get the final out … It was just the second recorded triple play in program history, with the first coming in 1985.