In its match-ups against Eastern and Central Michigan this past weekend, Ball State continued its pitching woes.
In two wins, Ball State gave up a total of three runs and 10 hits. In its two losses, it gave up a total of 14 runs and 18 hits.
Coach Craig Nicholson said despite Ball State's pitching struggles, it put up a tough fight against Eastern and Central Michigan.
"I don't feel like we pitched great outside of Kim Mazzapica in the second game against Eastern Michigan on Friday," he said. "But I feel like we battled and gave ourselves an opportunity to win games."
Ball State began its road trip Friday in a doubleheader against Eastern Michigan.
In the first game, Ball State lost to Eastern Michigan by a score of 5-3. The Cardinals struck first as freshman first baseman Taylor Rager belted a two-run double to left field in the top of the third inning.
The Eagles quickly tied the score in the bottom of the third with an RBI double by junior Stacie Skodinski and a single by junior Sarah Gerber.
Eastern Michigan took a three-run lead in the bottom of the fourth after senior Lauren Delapaz crushed a two-run home run to left field and Gerber scored an unearned run later in the inning.
Ball State senior third baseman Kate Wilczynski smashed a solo home run to left field in the top of the sixth inning, ending the scoring for each team.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Ball State got back to doing what it does best: scoring runs late in ball games.
In the top of the seventh inning, freshman designated hitter Jennifer Gilbert drew a go-ahead walk with the bases loaded to score sophomore Hannah Zimmerman.
Junior right-handed pitcher Mazzapica sealed the deal for the Cardinals in the bottom of the seventh inning, after The Eagles' junior Allison Scherer struck out looking to end the game.
Mazzapica pitched all seven innings for Ball State, giving up two hits and one run.
On Sunday, Ball State played in a doubleheader against Central Michigan. Severe weather on Saturday forced the umpires to move the first game of the series back a day, making it a doubleheader on Sunday.
Ball State continued to have pitching problems in the opening game, losing by a final score of 9-5. In its first four innings of work, Ball State's pitching staff gave up a total of eight runs and five walks.
Ball State scored five runs off of 10 hits. One of those hits came off the bat of junior catcher Amanda Montalto, who hit a three-run home run in the top of the first to give the Cardinals an early 3-0 lead.
But that would be Ball State's last lead for the rest of the game.
In the final game of the weekend, Montalto hit a two-run home run in the top of the first to put Ball State up 2-0. The only difference was Ball State kept its lead the rest of the game, winning by a final score of 5-2.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Audra Sanders bounced back from her performance against Eastern Michigan on Friday, giving up eight hits and two runs in seven innings of work.
Sanders said the difference between Friday and Sunday was her stuff and adjustments to the weather.
"I didn't have as much stuff on Friday as I did on Sunday," Sanders said. "I worked on hitting my spots a lot better and adjusted to the weather conditions a lot more today (Sunday)."
Montalto said in terms of the upcoming games against Indiana, Kent State and Buffalo, Ball State needs to focus on what they didn't do well this weekend.
"In terms of practice, we just need to focus on the things we weren't as strong as we need to be," Montalto said. "The fact that it's our first weekend home in conference play will have us all hyped up. But we only have a minimal amount of practices this week and we need to make sure make sure we are getting the job done."
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