Ball State (7-2), took a trip to North Carolina this weekend where they took part in the Charlotte Invitational alongside Albany (0-5), Charlotte (6-9), and Lehigh (2-7). The Cardinals left the Invitational with a record of 4-1 on the weekend.

Friday

Ball State started its weekend with a contest against Lehigh where junior pitcher Ella Whitney got the start, ultimately allowing only two hits and zero runs in seven innings.

The Cardinals got off to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after redshirt junior McKenna Mulholland contributed an RBI after a sacrifice fly to right field.

Defense was key in this matchup as Ball State didn’t allow a single hit until the top of the fourth which allowed them to have control of the contest — only giving up two total hits in the game — giving them leeway after only getting five hits themselves.

BSU added on their second and final run in the bottom of the third which came via an RBI by junior Ella Whitney. The Cardinals never looked back as they closed out the game, winning 2-0.

Game two on Friday came against the Great Danes of UAlbany where freshman pitcher Breanna Severino got the start for the Cardinals.

Unlike game one, this contest was more of an offensive battle as BSU racked up nine total runs to move to 2-0 on the day after a 9-1 victory over Albany.

The offense was propelled thanks to RBIs from Whitney, Mulholland and junior Gabbie Evans. Along with the slew of RBIs the Cardinals put together, the game was put out of hand by Evans as she knocked one out of the park for a home run in the bottom of the fourth.

Saturday

After defeating Lehigh the previous day, the Cardinals looked to repeat that in their first game of day two at the Charlotte Invitational.

Ball State got off to a slow start as they trailed 3-0 at the end of the second inning, but they were able to find their groove as they piled on six runs in the top of the third. Evans hit her second home run of the tournament to knock in two additional runs to stretch the lead from 4-3 to 6-3.

The Mountain Hawks had no answer to the Cardinals' production as they only drove in one more run after the third inning compared to Ball State’s nine.

Ball State took the game 15-3, lifting them to 3-0 after three games played.

After going unbeaten in their first three games of the tournament, Ball State had a nail-biter with the host team of Charlotte.

This matchup was an offensive bout as the Cards trailed 8-4 at the end of the fourth inning, but it wasn’t for long as Ball State racked up four more runs of their own, capitalized by a home run from redshirt junior Hayley Urban.

However, the 49ers added on a single run in the sixth to lift them above the Cardinals going into the final inning. Ball State had one last chance to tie it up or take the lead but fell short which gave them a 3-1 record in the tournament with only one more game left to play.

Sunday

The Cardinals took on the Great Danes Sunday morning for their final game of the event. Ball State looked strong on both sides going up 3-1 in the third.

The Cardinals were able to churn out a total of four home runs by senior Kara Gunter, redshirt senior McKayla Timmons, Whitney and Urban. Alongside the homers, they were also able to have five separate players with RBIs, led by Timmons’s four on the day. This helped Ball Sate defeat Albany 12-1.

The Cardinals head back on the road next week for the Middle Tennessee State University Invitational. They’ll start with a doubleheader against Middle Tennessee (4-10) and Illinois State (3-9) Friday, Feb. 21. First pitch against Middle Tennessee is scheduled for noon.

Contact Rylan Crum via email rylan.crum@bsu.edu or via X @RylanCrum.

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