After falling in its first three games of the season, the Ball State softball team rebounded to win the consolation game of the Kentucky Tournament against Youngstown State, 3-0.
The Cardinals fell 3-0 against YSU on Saturday, then fell 5-1 to Northern Iowa in their second game of the day.
Against Youngstown State, the Cardinals were held to one hit, by freshman Taylor Yancey, to State's four. Quincy Duran went the distance on the mound for the Cardinals striking out three, but took the loss.
The Cardinals played a little better against Northern Iowa, with Darla Dewig scoring in the top of the first. After being walked, Dewig moved to third on a Kelli Jeziorski single, and scored on a single by Kris Burdine.
UNI responded in the same inning with a run of their own. They added three more in the third inning and another in the sixth.
Ball State finished with six hits, including two by Burdine, to Northern's eight. Nicki Hellem gave up four runs in four innings and took the loss. Rachel Cleaveland pitched the other two innings.
Coach Terri Laux said her team's hitting was like a deer in headlights -- they came out scared. But she was pleased with the defensive and pitching performance over the weekend.
"We had no offensive production in the first three games," she said. "We didn't see that attacking mentality. If we don't score runs, we're not going to win.
"It just goes back to being mentally ready," she said.
On Sunday, Ball State hoped to bounce back against host Kentucky. But the Wildcats proved too tough, winning 1-0 on a third-inning error by first baseman Jodi Willis. Kerrie Campbell had the lone hit for Ball State, a single in the sixth. Randi Freese threw all six innings, giving up two hits but also striking out eight.
In the consolation game against YSU, the Cardinals turned things around by collecting nine hits, with four players getting two a piece. Burdine led the team with two runs, and Mandy Snyder scored the other. Amy Brownfield pitched five innings, striking out two and walking one. Rachel Cleaveland pitched two innings in relief.
"We finally put it all together," said Laux. "Hopefully that'll instill the confidence we need."
**2ate recreation department puts on its first one-on-one basketball tournament March 30, the intramural program will have its largest ever amount of drop-in, or one-day tournaments.
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