Tigers, Blackhawks fall in Semi-State

By Zach Carter / 3 days ago

The Yorktown Tigers and Cowan Blackhawks attempted to reach the promised land as they continued their journey in the state tournament. But there are no longer any Delaware County teams left as both teams had their quests cut just short as they were defeated in Saturday’s semi-state. In the first game of the 3A semi-state, the Tigers (17-9, 4-3 Hoosier Heritage) trailed Leo (26-2, 6-1 Northeast Eight) 4-1 in the seventh inning. But after a walk by Freshman Emma Reynolds, Yorktown hoped for a comeback at Twin Lakes High School. 

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REGIONAL SOFTBALL

Cowan walks-off Tri for third straight regional championship

By Zach Carter / May 30, 2023

When the state tournament for high school sports rolls around in Indiana, communities come together to show their support. Win or lose, they are always there. But when they see their team play great defense, never give up, and hit a walk-off single on their home turf, it becomes something that they will never forget. That’s what the Cowan faithful saw today as the Blackhawks softball team defeated the Tri Titans 2-1 for their third straight regional championship.

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SECTIONAL SOFTBALL

Cowan defeats Wes-Del for third straight sectional championship

By Zach Carter / May 26, 2023

“Foul Ball, USA, hit the ball the other way, Aruba, uh uh, Jamaica, uh uh Hawaii, uh uh Aloha.” That was one of the chants that the Cowan softball team screamed from their dugout during the 1A Sectional #55 championship game. But when the seventh inning at Daleville Junior/Senior High School came to a close, those chants turned into cheers as the Blackhawks defeated Wes-Del 5-1 and became back-to-back-to-back sectional champions. 

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SOFTBALL

Cardinals fall to Miami in first game of MAC Tournament

By Zach Carter / May 11, 2023

The Cardinals believed that they needed to open the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament with energy and needed to “leave everything on the field.” For the first three innings, Ball State did that. In the top of the third, they scored four runs after multiple hits and walks. But after a three-run home run on a two-strike, two-out pitch, the No. 4 team in the tournament could not make up ground and fell in their first game to the No. 1 Miami Redhawks 8-4.

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SOFTBALL

Cardinals are “glued together” on and off the field as they prepare for MAC tournament

By Zach Carter / May 9, 2023

One year after missing the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament by one spot, Ball State softball is heading to Miami University (Oxford, OH) for this year's edition of the conference tournament. It will also be head coach Lacy Schurr’s first time coaching in the tournament. The Cardinals finished the 2023 campaign with a 27-24 record. They went 17-12 in the MAC which set them up to clinch the fourth spot in the conference. Besides fifth-year Amaia Daniel and senior Jazmyne Armendariz, no other Cardinal on the roster has made the postseason. 

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SOFTBALL

Ball State defeats Akron, clinches MAC Tournament berth

By Zach Carter / April 30, 2023

In the middle of its season, Ball State softball was in a slump and sat in seventh place in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). To make the tournament, you have to be in the top four. Cardinal fans might have wondered, can this team pull themselves out of their funk? This weekend, that question was answered. After bouncing back and defeating Akron in their final regular season series, the Cardinals clinched a tournament berth.

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GRAD ISSUE

With Ball State Softball, Amaia Daniel found her 'second family'

By Zach Carter / April 29, 2023

When you ask Amaia Daniel about Ball State softball, she has three words: “A second family.” She won’t boast about her achievements with the Cardinals, even though she ranks in the top 20 of 17 different statistical categories in program history and in the top 10 of eight of those categories. She won’t talk about her love of the game; she will speak of her love for her teammates, her “second family.”  “There's people on this team who have known me for that long, and there's people who I deeply trust with many, many things, and I respect them deeply,” she said. “I could honestly call them family, and I could treat them like family.”

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SOFTBALL

Ball State falls to Miami, remains in fourth place in MAC

By Zach Carter / April 27, 2023

After sweeping back-to-back Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponents, Ball State softball fell in a mid-week series against Miami. A big reason for that was the Redhawks' starting pitcher: Brianna Pratt. In the first game of the series, Miami’s ace was at her best. After she gave up five hits and had nine strikeouts, the Redhawks (29-17, 16-7 MAC) defeated the Cardinals 6-0. 

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SOFTBALL

Ball State sweeps Bowling Green, move to the 4th spot in Mid-American Conference

By Zach Carter / April 23, 2023

Three weeks ago, Ball State Softball sat in seventh place of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). On the field, they seemed lost and could not finish simple plays.  “It was just the type of softball that we were playing at that point in time,” the Cardinals head coach Lacy Schurr said. “... We weren't playing our kind of softball.” But since then, Ball State (24-21, 14-9 MAC) has swept two MAC opponents in consecutive series. This weekend, they did it on the road against Bowling Green. Schurr believes it was the little things that have hoisted the Cardinals’ success. 

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SOFTBALL

Cardinals sweep Buffalo, return to .500

By Zach Carter / April 16, 2023

Ball State (21-21, 11-9 MAC) opened its weekend home series with a doubleheader. In game one, the Cardinals used solid offense and good pitching to capture a 4-1 victory.

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SOFTBALL

Ball State drops third MAC series in a row against Western Michigan

By Zach Carter / April 12, 2023

In a mid-week road series against Western Michigan, Ball State softball fell 2-1, the Cardinals have now lost three Mid-American Conference (MAC) series in a row. In the series opener, Ball State was run-ruled 10-2 and the Cardinals rounded out the series by splitting Wednesday’s doubleheader.

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SOFTBALL

Ball State falls to Toledo in first home-series loss, drops to seventh in MAC

By Zach Carter / April 9, 2023

The Cardinals returned home for a Mid-American Conference (MAC) series with Toledo. After three games, the Cardinals fell 2-1 in their first home-series defeat.  “We've just gotta get the ball rolling,” Cardinals head coach Lacy Schurr said. “This team is very, very capable and I think we just need a little bit of momentum going into the right time of the year.”

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SOFTBALL

Ball State falls to Notre Dame, suffers fourth loss in a row

By Zach Carter / April 5, 2023

On Tuesday evening, Ball State softball looked to get back in the win column after being swept by Ohio. This time, they traveled to South Bend to tangle with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. But after the lights were shut down and Melissa Cook Stadium went silent, the Cardinals (16-17, 6-5 Mid-American Conference) hopped on the bus with another loss.

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SOFTBALL

Cardinals get swept in weekend series against Ohio

By Zach Carter / April 2, 2023

After taking over first place in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) last week, Ball State Softball looked to hold that position. But after being swept by the Ohio Bobcats in Athens, Ohio, the Cardinals are  now in fifth place while the Bobcats top the conference. 

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SOFTBALL

Cardinals earn two wins over Northern Illinois to take the lead in MAC

By Zach Carter / March 29, 2023

After some mid-week Mid-American Conference (MAC) play at home, Ball State is now the No. 1 team in the conference. To do so, they defeated Northern Illinois 2-1.

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SOFTBALL

Ball State sweeps Central Michigan in first home series

By Zach Carter / March 26, 2023

In Ball State’s first home series of the 2023 campaign, the Cardinals were able to bring out the brooms as they swept Central Michigan. “There's something special about this team when we're playing at home,” head coach Lacy Schurr said. “You know, this is my third season [as Ball State head coach] and there's something about being at home. If we have strikes and outs left on the board, we're still in the game.”

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SOFTBALL

Cardinals split away series against Kent State

By Zach Carter / March 18, 2023

In the first game, the Cardinals fell 4-3 after the Golden Flashes hit a walk-off double. As a team, the Cardinals (11-12, 1-1 MAC) only had five hits. But the second game was a much different story as they launched a season high of 16 hits to win 15-9.  

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SPORTS

Ball State Softball wins one, loses three in Liberty Flames Classic

By Staff Reports / March 13, 2023

After splitting a mid-week series with East Tennessee State (4-16), Ball State Softball went 1-3 in the Liberty Flames Classic. The Cardinals (10-11) fell to Liberty (13-9), No. 23 Maryland (19-4) and split two games with Sacred Heart (7-8). A game was supposed to be played March 12 against Fairfield (3-9), however, it was canceled.  

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SOFTBALL

Ball State win three games at Bulldog classic

By Zach Carter / March 5, 2023

Over the weekend, the Cardinals played five games in the Bulldog Classic. They ended their stay in Athens, Georgia, with a 3-2 tournament record. 

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SOFTBALL

Ball State goes 3-2 at Velvet Milkman Invitational

By Zach Carter / February 26, 2023

Ball State traveled to Kentucky to take part in the Velvet Milkman Invitational. In the event hosted by Murray State, the Cardinals won three games out of five.