April 2, 2003
Final Stats
Despite dominating most of the afternoon versus the Ball State Cardinals (9-13-1, 5-4-1), the Miami RedHawks (11-13, 5-2) left with a double-header split, after dropping the first game, 3-2, and then coming back to win the second game, 6-5, at the BSU Softball Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
The RedHawks started blazing in Muncie, Ind. when junior Jamie Carey (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) earned an infield single, junior Jessica Zogaib (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) bunted her way onto first and senior Angie Gerber (La Salle, Mich./Mason) was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. With the bases loaded, freshman Becca Garcia (Martinez, Calif./College Park) came through in the clutch by singling to center to score Carey and Zogaib and give Miami a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
Ball State got one run back in the second when Ruth Hjelmeland singled to lead off the inning, was sacrificed to second and then scored on a Jodi Willis single down the right field line.
The score stayed at 2-1 until the sixth when Katie Shea, who has the second highest batting average in the Mid-American Conference, hit a two-run homerun over the centerfield wall with the wind blowing out.
Although Miami out-hit Ball State 9-5, the RedHawks were unable to recover from the late rally by the Cardinals. Miami left eight runners on base and squandered a five-hit, three-run pitching performance out of freshman Courtney Salmon (Auburn, Wash./Auburn).
The second game looked much like the first through six innings. The RedHawks got out to an early 2-0 lead when Gerber led off the third inning with a walk. After a Garcia double and an out, sophomore Jackie Poggendorf (Phoenix, Ariz./Shadow Mountain) singled to center to score both RedHawk runners.
Miami added to the lead in the fourth inning when junior Jacque Molinaro (Follansbee, W.Va./Broooke) singled to lead off the fourth and advanced to second on a Carey walk. Both runners moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Zogaib. Gerber added the next run when she singled in Molinaro to give Miami a 3-0 advantage through the top of the fourth.
In the bottom half, Shea earned the first hit of the game for Ball State when she hit her second home run of the day over the right field wall.
Just like the first game, Ball State took the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a home run. With two outs, Kris Burdine singled and advanced to third on an error in right field. Mandy Snyder brought Burdine home on another Miami error. After a Shea single, Hjelmeland homered to bring three Cardinal runners home and take a 5-4 lead.
The RedHawks fought back in the top of the seventh after sophomore Sarah Buffie (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Poggendorf doubled to centerfield to put two runners in scoring position. Sophomore Keri McCready (Phoenix, Ariz./North Canyon) reached on an error by the pitcher which knotted the scored at 5-5. Poggendorf scored the game-winner when Molinaro singled down the right field line.
Poggendorf earned her second straight win and her third of the year with Salmon taking home her first save of her collegiate career. Poggendorf went 5-for-7 with two runs scored on the day while Carey hit 3-for-6 from the dish with one run scored.
Despite the win in the second game, Miami left 12 runners on base and out hit Ball State 12-5. The RedHawks dominated most of the day, by out-hitting the Cardinals 21-10.
Miami will face Marshall in a three-game home series on Saturday and Sunday. Action on both days starts at 1 p.m.
