Junior forward Emily Maggert sported a ripe black eye and a new protective face mask for last night's game against Northern Illinois University after being elbowed attempting a steal in Saturday's win at Western Michigan University.
With the regular season coming down to its stretch run and trying to gain momentum for the Mid-American Conference Tournament, Ball State University picked up a 66-60 victory over Northern Illinois University on Tuesday night.
Over the next month, the Cardinals have eight matches to gear up for the Mid-American Conference Championships. Four of those matches happen in the next two weeks as the team finishes up their homestand.
Three Ball State University softball players on Monday were placed on the Phyllis Rafter Memorial All-Tournament Team after the Cardinals participated in the tournament in Woodstock, Ga. over the weekend.
Arkansas has hosted four NCAA Regionals and one Super Regional in Baum Stadium. The field can hold more than 10,000 fans, and looks more like a minor league ballpark. Since it opened, both Baseball American and rivals.com have named it the best collegiate stadium in the nation.
Halfway through the season, the Ball State University gymnastics team now knows where it stands in regard to advancing to the NCAA Central Regionals on April 10.
Chief reporter and women's basketball beat writer Daniel Sipocz breaks down the matchups in tonight's Ball State-Northern Illinois game.
Three Ball State University athletes earned Mid-American Conference weekly honors, as announced by the MAC office Monday afternoon. Baseball's Kolbrin Vitek and Morgan Coombs and men's basketball's Randy Davis were selected for their productive weeks for the Cardinals.
Ball State used only two pitchers Saturday. Cal Bowling started the game and pitched four innings, allowing one run. Morgan Coombs (1-0) relieved the sophomore and threw five gutsy innings for the victory. The right-hander was in trouble throughout his outing, but was able to escape jam after jam. Arkansas had at least one runner on base in each of the first eight innings and stranded 12 in all.
Ball State returns to MAC play Wednesday as it plays host to Eastern Michigan University in its final home game of the regular season. The Cardinals look to avenge a 57-53 loss to the Eagles in Ypsilanti, Mich., on Jan. 23.
The Cardinals return to the field Friday as they begin play in the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. Ball State faces East Tennessee State, Wright State, Austin Peay, Central Connecticut State and Tennessee-Martin in the three-day event.
Ball State last defeated a ranked team last year, when they pounded No. 23 Ohio State University 20-8 April 22. It was also Ball State's first win against a school from the Southeastern Conference since the 2006 NCAA Tournament, when it upset the University of Kentucky.
The win over Saint Francis snaps a two-match losing streak for the Cardinals, who had lost three of their last four going into the match.
The team was soundly beaten by the University of Cincinnati, 6-1, extending its losing streak to four matches. Now with a 4-5 record, the Cardinals have fallen under .500 for the first time this season.
Ball State (11-15, 5-8 MAC) returns to play Tuesday as it plays host to Northern Illinois University with a 7 p.m. tipoff at Worthen Arena.
If the Cardinals are going to win today, they place they will need to minimize mistakes is on the balance beam. Ball State had three consecutive falls on the beam last week, which caused its loss to Bowling Green State University.
The non-conference win moved Ball State to 8-4 (2-3 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) with a pair of conference matches at home this week. The Cardinals play host to IPFW on Thursday before hosting Lewis University on Friday.
Ball State completes play in the tournament today with a 10:30 a.m. first pitch against Southern Illinois University (7-2), winners of five in a row.
In what was a very competitive meet, Ball State won the vault with a season-best 48.525 along with the floor Sunday. Illinois State took the beam honors and Texas Woman's triumphed on the bars.
