MAC Tournament scores
Ball State defeats Akron - 10-2
Ball State defeats Miami - 8-5
Ball State defeats Central Michigan - 3-2 (8 innings)
Ball State defeats Western Michigan - 11-3
The Ball State softball team is the winner of the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the first time since 2010.
The Cardinals defeated the Western Michigan Broncos 11-3 in six innings on May 9 to cap off the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record.
"Winning this tournament felt better than any of the regular season titles," senior Hanne Studemann said. "We worked hard and believed in ourselves and finally got the championship."
Ball State opened the tournament as the No. 2 seed.
Heading to the bottom of the second inning, the Cardinals trailed the Broncos 2-0. But five runs in the bottom half of the inning put Ball State on top.
Transfer India Steward hit a three-run home run in the second to power the offense.
After Western Michigan added a run in the third, junior Nicole Steinbach held the Broncos scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Steinbach pitched a complete game, allowing four hits and two earned runs. She had one strikeout.
The offense put up three runs in the fifth and sixth innings to put the game away. Stuedemann hit a three-run blast in the fifth to make the score 8-3.
Senior Jessica Craft doubled home the winning run in the bottom of the sixth.
Stuedemann finished 3-4 at the plate with four RBIs. She was named the tournament's most valuable player.
"Studemann was not only a leader with her play, but was also a leader on the field," head coach Tyra Perry said. "She was vocal in the dugout and on the field and really earned this honor."
Craft finshed 2-4 in the game. Shortstop Selena Reyna, left-fielder Loren Cihlar and catcher Shelbie Scamihorn all added to hits to the team's total of 13.
The Cardinals will now advance into NCAA Tournament play.
"We are hot right now and we feel that with the way we have been playing, we will be force in the tournament," Studemann said.
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