Daniela Torres awaits a pitch at the plate for the RedHawks March 24. (MIKE ROTH | The Miami Student)
The Miami University softball team has a busy weekend at home as they plan to host a double header against Ball State University (BSU). Earlier this week, the RedHawks fell to the Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) Mastadons 4-2.
IPFW gained an early lead with a run in the second inning followed by two runs during the third on freshman pitcher Paige Meyers. Meyers was replaced with junior Jessica Simpson who ended the inning with a final out.
Miami fought back at the bottom of the third inning. Junior Jordan McElroy singled off a bunt and was eventually sent home off hits from freshman Kayla Ledbetter and senior Meghan Mawn. Miami brought their runs up to two when Ledbetter's hit sent junior Daniela Torres home during the fifth inning.
The 'Hawks continued to load the bases against the Mastadons but the team was unable to produce any more runs.
Simpson thinks the team can learn a lot from this game.
"Our biggest problem this year so far has just been putting up runs, so I think we need to come out ready to play and get on the board early and often," Simpson said.
IPFW clinched the win 4-2 and the RedHawks fell to 16-13 on the year. The Mastadons are now 17-8-1 and have won their last seven games.
Miami will finish out their busy week this weekend as they host Ball State. The Cardinals hold a 22-14 record and are 3-1 in the Mid American Conference (MAC). BSU is currently the top hitting team in the league and was predicted to win the MAC west division title.
This is not the first time Miami faced off against the Cardinals. Last season, Miami traveled to Muncie, Ind. for a double header where they defeated BSU in the first game 5-0 but later were shut down by the Cardinals 4-3.
Freshman Allie Larrabee notices the pressures that Ball State will bring this weekend.
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"Ball State is usually a pretty good team and they've played some tough games so far this season. One of our biggest challenges will be executing in crucial situations and doing ordinary things in extraordinary situations," Larrabee said. "We feel mentally and physically prepared and we know that we'll need to score early and score often against a scrappy team like Ball State."
The first game against Ball State will be 2 p.m. Saturday and the second game will be 1 p.m. Sunday.
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