Ball State softball (3-2) wrapped up its first of five early-season tournaments after taking on Memphis, LIU Brooklyn, NC State, Georgetown and Florida Gulf Coast in the FGCU Kickoff Classic.
The Cardinals opened up against Memphis. The Tigers came out hitting and built a 5-0 lead at the top of the fifth. The Cardinals would eventually find their way onto the scoreboard as sophomore Kennedy Wynn would score to avoid the shutout. While the Cardinals did outhit the Tigers 7-6, they dropped the game, 5-1. Junior pitcher Aeshia Miles allowed six hits and five runs over the course of the game, with sophomore Alyssa Rothwell closing the game out.
The Cardinals would face LIU-Brooklyn later that day. The Cardinals fell to the Blackbirds last season, 1-3. The Cardinals would make up for their earlier lack of offense by dominating the Blackbirds in five innings by a score of 10-2. Sophomore left-fielder Haley Dominique led the charge, finding home plate five times with four hits. Sophomore Alyssa Rothwell allowed one hit over the course of three innings.
On Saturday, the Cardinals would once again explode on offense, knocking off NC State 8-2, to move to 2-1 in the early season. Sophomore infielder Janae Hogg connected for two doubles and scored the Cardinals' first home run of the season. The duo of Rothwell and Miles proved to be strong in the circle once again. Miles threw for six innings, allowing seven hits and tying her career high with six strikeouts. Rothwell closed the game, striking out three batters in the final three innings.
In the evening, the Cardinals continued to stay resilient with a 5-1 win over Georgetown. Senior pitcher Carolyn Wilmes shut out the Hoyas for five innings and only surrendered three hits in the game. Wynn sent a pair of home runs over the fence. Rothwell closed the game, only allowing one run while striking out three.
Looking to go 4-1, the Cardinals closed out the weekend against host FGCU. The Cardinals went down early as the Eagles scored two at the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. The Eagles would add to their lead in the bottom of the fifth to seal their 4-1 victory. Wynn's third home run of the season was the only hit for Ball State.
The Cardinals will head to New Mexico to play in the Troy Cox Classic next weekend. Ball State will open up play against defending national champion and top-ranked Oklahoma on Friday, Feb. 16 at 1:15 p.m.
Contact Jack Williams with comments at jgwilliams@bsu.edu.
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