Ball State Offense Leads To Sweep Over Akron

Saturday, March 31

Akron, Ohio

Noon

University of Akron

1-25-1, 0

Ball State University

22-10, 0

Ball State

Akron

Photo by: Jeff Harwell

March 31 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

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Game One: Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
Game Two: Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
Video Highlights

AKRON, Ohio – An offensive outburst by Ball State on day two of a three-game series resulted in a pair of wins as the Cardinals defeated the Akron softball team 9-1 and 16-5 to complete the sweep on Saturday afternoon at Lee Jackson Field.

Akron now stands 1-26-1 and 0-6 in Mid-American Conference play, while Ball State improved to 23-10 and 5-1 in league play.

In game one of the twinbill, Ball State scored four runs in the first two innings and an additional two runs in the top half of the fourth inning to take a 6-0 lead.

The Zips got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when junior Maddy Clowdus (Eastvale, Calif.) got a hold of a ball and lifted her fourth home run of the season over the left field fence.

Three more runs were added by Ball State to push the Cardinals lead to plus-eight in the fifth inning and Akron came up to their last at-bat.

To keep the game alive, the Zips needed to score one run in the bottom of the fifth inning due to the NCAA run rule. Senior Caitlin Gambone (Canton, Ohio) singled with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and third on a passed ball, while redshirt junior Kimberly Rodriguez (Las Vegas, Nevada) walked. With runners on the corners and two outs, Gambone had to score to keep the game alive. Senior Cassie Gillespie (Sylvania, Ohio) put a ball into play but it was tracked down to end the game.

Senior Kooper Vertz (Dilsboro, Ind.) started game two just as she did in game one of the weekend. Vertz tossed 2.1 innings, gave up five runs on six hits and struck out three. Redshirt freshman Shaye DeLeonardis (Martins Ferry, Ohio) entered the contest out of the pen and tossed 2.2 innings surrendering five hits and four runs.

The Zips were in control of game two early before the Cardinals offense found a groove.

After Ball State scored a run in the top half of the first inning, Akron countered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to claim a 2-1 lead. With the bases loaded and one out, Gillespie launched a shot into the gap in right-center field for a two-RBI double scoring Gambone and Clowdus from third and second.

Akron extended its lead to plus-four (5-1) by putting a three-spot on the scoreboard in the second inning. Freshman Kayla Wulf (Maumee, Ohio) led off the inning with a single and redshirt Sydney Jascoe (Commerce, Mich.) doubled with one out to move freshman Mikayla Newland (Chillicothe, Ohio) to third who entered the game as a pinch-runner. With runners in scoring position, Gambone sent a ground ball to the Ball State third baseman who mishandled the ball allowing the Gambone to reach safely and Newland to score from third.

Gambone stole second base without a throw down by Ball State and Jascoe remained on third. A wild pitch by the Cardinals allowed both runners to move up scoring Jascoe and moving Gambone to third. With two outs, Rodriguez sent a ground ball to the shortstop who bobbled the ball allowing the Zips right fielder to reach safely and Gambone to score the Zips fifth run of the contest.

After Akron scored its fifth run, Ball State took control of the game scoring 15 runs combined throughout the next three innings en route to a run-rule victory in the fifth inning.

The Akron offense tied a season-high nine hits in a contest and had multiple chances to score later on in the contest, but the Zips could not convert those into runs and ended the game leaving eight runners on the base path.

Wulf had a pair of hits in the second contests against Ball State while seven other Zips garnered a hit. Defensively, critical errors by the Akron defense kept innings alive for the Cardinals who took advantage of the extra outs. Freshman Kayla Kmett (San Clemente, Calif.) started for Akron and gave up 10 runs in 3.2 innings, however only two of those runs were earned.

The Zips hit the road for their first MAC road trip of the season when Akron travels to Buffalo, N.Y. Akron is scheduled for a twinbill with the Bulls on Tuesday, April 3 starting at 2 p.m.