The Ball State softball team suffered a 3-2 defeat to the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday. With the loss, the Cardinals have been eliminated from the 2013 Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Ball State ends the 2013 season with a 37-17 record overall, and an 18-3 mark in MAC play. The team took its fourth regular-season league title in the past five years.
Northern Illinois got the best of Ball State twice in the championship bracket. The No. 1 Cardinals opened the tournament with a 3-1 loss to the No. 4 Huskies.
The Cardinals moved into the loser’s bracket and defeated Toledo 10-0. Freshman pitcher Kelsey Schifferdecker pitched the complete shutout game to help the Cardinals advance in the tournament.
The team’s third tournament game was played Saturday morning against Ohio. Junior first baseman Taylor Rager carried the Cardinals past a gritty Bobcats team with her late-game heroics.
Though the Cardinals jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, Ohio was able to rally in the top of the sixth to tie the game at six runs heading into the seventh inning.
Rager drilled a walk-off RBI triple to close the game. Rager went 3-for-5 at the plate on Saturday with five RBIs, one run scored and two walks.
Junior left fielder Jennifer Gilbert, voted the MAC Player of the Year, extended her single-season home run record in the win over Ohio. Gilbert’s long ball early in the game moved her total to 23 on the year.
The Cardinals had just over 15 minutes to rest after the emotional win over Ohio before taking the field against Northern Illinois.
Schifferdecker remained in the circle for Ball State, and went on to pitch the complete game. The freshman allowed 12 hits, but gave up just three runs.
All of the Huskies’ runs came in the second inning, but the pivotal second proved to be enough to put the game out of reach for Ball State.
Gilbert would collect one RBI in the game, moving her season total to 70. The mark is both a Ball State and MAC record.
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