Going into the top of the seventh inning Sunday against Northern Illinois, Ball State saw itself in familiar territory: a late-inning lead negated by a home run.
In a 13-5 loss to the Huskies on Saturday, Ball State gave up a three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning to Northern Illinois junior Krista Matsui to tie the game at 4-4.
On Sunday, Northern Illinois returned to its late-inning heroics. Freshman infielder Shelby Miller jacked a three-run home run to left field in the seventh inning to give the Huskies a 6-4 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Ball State freshman first baseman Taylor Rager gave the Cardinals some life with a single to the right side. But a fly out by senior third baseman Kate Wilczynski to Northern Illinois freshman left fielder Stephanie Tofft ended the hope of a Cardinals comeback.
Coach Craig Nicholson said despite the loss, Ball State played better than it did on Saturday.
"I liked our effort a little bit better today and I thought we executed a little bit better," Nicholson said. "We played the game the right way today. We just came out on the wrong end."
At the start of the game, Northern Illinois grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Sophomore catcher Adriana Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Tofft and sophomore shortstop Amanda Sheppard hit an RBI groundout that drove in senior first baseman Andrea Colosimo.
After holding Northern Illinois scoreless in the top of the second inning, freshman left fielder Jennifer Gilbert smacked a two-run home run to center field to tie the score at 2-2. It was Gilbert's 14th home run of the season.
In the top of the third inning, Northern Illinois took a 3-2 lead after sophomore first baseman Jennifer Barnett doubled to right center to drive in freshman catcher Erika Oswald.
Ball State tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom half of the inning after Gilbert hit an RBI single to the right side of the field, driving in senior right fielder Alyssa Collins.
After both teams failed to score in the fourth and fifth inning, Ball State broke the tie. Senior center fielder Lisa Rozanski and junior second baseman Alison Mercado performed a double steal, forcing an inaccurate throw by Sanchez to throw out Mercado stealing second. Rozanski scored on the throw to second base.
Ball State's 4-3 lead would soon diminish in the top of the seventh inning. After a hit batsman and single up the middle, freshman infielder Shelby Miller came up to the plate in hopes of another late-inning win for the Huskies. With one swing of the bat, she gave Northern Illinois that opportunity. Miller gave them a 6-4 lead after smacking a three-run home run to left field that drove in sophomore pitcher Whitney Owens and Sheppard.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Ball State had an opportunity to negate the three-run home run. A fly out by Wilczynski, however, would end the game for the Cardinals and its hopes of a late-inning rally.
Collins said despite the effects of the loss in terms of seeding going into the Mid-American Conference Tournament, Ball State doesn't care who it plays this week.
"We just have to worry about ourselves and take care of what we need to get done and clean up," Collins said. "As long as we play like we can, it doesn't matter who we play."
Ball State will travel to Akron, Ohio Wednesday to play Eastern Michigan in the opening round of the MAC Tournament. First pitch is at 11 a.m.
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