Sophomore designated hitter Madison Lee had two of only four hits holding Ohio starting pitcher Danielle Stiene back from a complete-game shutout. Punching the ball through the left side of the field in the fifth inning and adding an RBI single in the seventh, Lee's performance wasn't enough.
Ending the last meeting of a three-game series with a loss, Ball State softball (25-18, 9-2 MAC) dropped today’s game to Ohio (26-10, 7-4 MAC) 3-2.
Stiene shut down Ball State's offense, tallying six strikeouts in seven innings. Besides walking two, Steine only allowed four runners to touch base. This is Steine's ninth win of the season to put her at 9-4.
Keeping the Bobcats scoreless through two full innings, freshman right hander Alyssa Rothwell ran into trouble in the bottom of the third. Taylor Saxton lead off for Ohio nailing a triple to center field, her first of the season. Working with her fourth full count of the game, Rothwell walked the next batter.
Having runners at the corners with no outs, a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly put the Bobcats on the board with one run.
Next game:
When: Wednesday
Time: 3 p.m.
Where: Dekalb, Illinois
Opponent: Northern Illinois
Rothwell had four walks, allowing two earned runs. Grabbing her fifth loss of the season, she added four strikeouts on the season. Junior right hander Carolyn Wilmes was called up to relieve Rothwell in the bottom of the fourth inning. But first, Rothwell gave up a solo shot to left field to extend the Bobcat's lead to two.
Wilmes came in grabbing one strikeout, and giving up one run to Ohio freshman short stop Mikayla Cooper's solo home run.
Entering the seventh inning trailing the Bobcats 3-0, the Cardinal's offense had a trio of base hits by junior first baseman Danae King and freshman right fielder Kennedy Wynn, while Lee added another of her own.
Ball State was unable to execute the seventh inning rally, as they lost 3-2.
Going 2-1 on the weekend, Ball State remains at the top of the Mid-American Conference standings, although ending an eight-game winning streak. Ohio ended a six-game losing streak to Ball State in their last six meetings, while also snapping a three-game losing streak overall.