Alec Runyan / Ball State Sports Link
Two seniors make their mark in BSU history as both tennis teams continue to win in impressive fashion. Find out more in this week’s “Cardinals In The Crowd.”
Danilo Kovacevic – Tennis
The Ball State men’s tennis team made quick work of MAC opponents Buffalo and Binghamton to wrap up the regular season.
No. 1 singles player Danilo Kovacevic dominated in both of his matches, only dropping seven games between the two matches.
Kovacevic started his weekend with a 6-4, 6-0 win Saturday before finishing the season with another win in straight sets Sunday afternoon on senior day.
The junior Kovacevic has help lead Ball State to a 17-5 record, including a stretch of 10 straight wins, from the No. 1 singles spot.
Kayla Lissy – Softball
In a busy week consisting of six games in six days, the Ball State softball team split a doubleheader with Miami on Tuesday before winning three out of four in a series against Ohio over the weekend.
Freshman Kayla Lissy’s performance made an impact in numerous ways for the Cardinals. The shortstop went 10-17 at the plate with an RBI and six runs scored. Lissy also successful on all seven stolen base attempts to improve to a perfect 13-13 on the season.
In the midst of her first season, Lissy had arguably her best game in Sunday’s victory over Ohio. She went 4-4 with three singles and a double, scored three runs and stole three bases all in the matter of seven innings.
Ball State (25-12, 19-2 MAC) now prepares for another two-game series with Miami (31-7, 21-1 MAC) at home Tuesday, April 27.
John Baker – Baseball
In a program that has seen four pitchers named MAC Pitcher of the Year and a total of 35 pitchers drafted, no one has thrown more strikeouts than senior John Baker.
Baker became the all-time strikeout leader in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Going for his second complete game of the season, Baker went nine innings only giving up one run on four hits to go along with eight strikeouts.
Not only does Baker find himself at the top of Ball State’s all-time strikeout list with 359, he’s also the leader amongst all active Division I players.
Following a four-game sweep against Norther Illinois this past weekend, the Cardinals sit atop the MAC standings with a 16-4 conference record. BSU will head to Bowling Green this weekend, for a four-game series beginning Friday, April 30 at 3 p.m.
Liz Kim – Golf
The Ball State women’s golf team wrapped up their season this past weekend at the MAC Championships played at Silver Lake Country Club in Stow, Ohio.
The Cardinals finished in sixth place, moving up on place on the final day. Freshman Kiah Parrot led BSU with a low score of 238 (+22) followed by Morgan Lewis (+23).
Senior Liz Kim showed consistent play throughout the 54 holes, shooting 81-82-81 to finish +29 and tie for 36th.
Kim was also awarded with the MAC Sportswoman of the Year, becoming just the third golfer in school history to win.
Mariya Polishchuk – Tennis
With two matches left, the Ball State women’s tennis team has already clinched the title of regular season MAC Champions.
After a close match with Miami on Friday that ended 4-3 in BSU’s favor, the Cardinals beat Western Michigan on Sunday 6-1 to improve to 12-0 in conference and clinch the number one spot.
Freshman Mariya Polishchuk won both of her singles matches from the No. 3 spot in straight sets while only dropping six games between both matches.
Polishchuk and her partner Jessica Braun also won both of their matches from the No. 3 spots in doubles as well.
BSU now prepares for their final home match Friday, April 30 at 1 p.m. against Northern Illinois before heading to Toledo for the final match of the regular season on Sunday, May 2.
