Ball State Softball (4-6) won three of its five games at the Winthrop Eagle Invitational Feb. 18-20. The Cardinals beat Towson 3-2, beat West Carolina 7-6 and outlasted Winthrop 7-5. Ball State suffered its first loss to Robert Morris 8-5 and lost its third game of the weekend to Albany 3-2.

Here are three takeaways from the invite:

Victory without appointment

After losing its opener to Robert Morris, Ball State trailed Towson 2-1 before a sacrificed steal late in the sixth inning by sophomore shortstop Kayla Lissy allowed sophomore center fielder Remington Ross to tie the game. Late in the eighth inning, senior left fielder Faith Hensley stepped in at bat with the bases loaded. Towson senior pitcher Julia Jackson walked Hensley, pushing all base runners forward, and sophomore outfielder Kaitlyn Mathews walked to base for the 3-2 victory.

Returning Cardinals

In their second game on February 19, the Cardinals entered the seventh inning lead with a 6-2 loss to West Carolina. After a strikeout, grad student Delanie Johnson was pinched and converted a home run to cut the lead to three. With two runs, Hensley hit the tying home run, before a field error allowed Lissy to score the winning run with a single to give the Cardinals the 7-6 victory.

Ball State is holding back

In the final Invitational game, Ball State scored a run in each of the first four innings to hold a 7-1 lead against the Eagles after the fourth inning. Ball State and Winthrop each went scoreless in the fifth, but the Eagles scored two runs in the sixth and seventh innings. However, the comeback fell through as the Cardinals held on to win, sophomore left-handed pitcher Emma Eubank was credited for the win.

The Cardinals return to action in the Coach B Classic in Carbondale, Illinois from March 4-6.