Upcoming homestand
Date Opponent Time
Friday Western Michigan 1 p.m.
Friday Western Michigan 3 p.m.
Saturday Northern Illinois 2 p.m.
Sunday Northern Illinois 1 p.m.
Tuesday Indiana 4 p.m.
The Ball State softball team appeared to have Butler beat.
Up 4-2 with two outs in the seventh and final inning, Butler's Riley Carter hit a two-run home run and tied the game.
Bulldogs' pitcher Kristin Gutierrez shut down a Cardinals' offense in the four extra innings of play to earn the win.
Butler's offense also struggled against Ball State's Kelsey Schifferdecker, who saw her first extended period of play since returning from injury. Schifferdecker pitched 3.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a pair of strikeouts. She threw 60 pitches, while taking her first loss of the season.
"We shouldn't have struggled on offense after that home run," Ball State head coach Tyra Perry said."We have to get better at playing after something like that happens."
Butler took a 6-4 lead in the top of the 11th inning, scoring two runs on three hits.
Though the Cardinals offense struggled during the extra innings, the top of the order performed well early.
Leadoff hitter Selena Reyna went 3-for-5 with a walk. Loren Cihlar, Ball State's No. 2 hitter in the lineup, finished 4-for-4, all singles, with a walk.
Three Cardinals took the the mound, with freshman Carolyn Wilmes starting. Wilmes pitched 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts.
Sophomore Jocelyn Rivera followed Wilmes, pitching two innings and also allowing two runs.
With the loss, Ball State falls to 21-20 on the season and their two game winning streak ended.
The Cardinals return to Mid-American Conference play on April 17, hosting Western Michigan for a double header. The first game will begin at 1 p.m. at the Varsity Softball Complex.