Ball State University Athletics
Softball Resumes Season at Iowa
March 23, 2006 | Softball
After an unplanned 14-day hiatus from play, Ball State, which is 4-8 overall, continues its 2006 softball campaign Saturday and Sunday, when it travels to Iowa to compete in the Hawkeye Classic . . . The Cardinals, whose original schedule included an 11-day break, lost two dates this week due to inclement weather conditions.
ON DECK: Ball State travels to Iowa City, Iowa, to compete in the Hawkeye Classic for the third-straight season . . . The three-day event includes single round robin competition between host Iowa, BSU, Loyola, North Dakota State and South Dakota State . . . The Cardinals launch their slate Saturday at 10 a.m. against SDSU, followed by a noon matchup versus Loyola . . . BSU tackles NDSU Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and the Hawkeyes at 3:30 . . . Last season, Ball State posted a 2-2 mark at the event.
HEAD COACH TERRI LAUX: Terri Laux (Ohio State '84) is in her 10th season at the helm of Ball State's softball program . . . The sixth coach in the 32-year history of the sport at the university, Laux has guided four of her teams -- 2002, 2001, 2000 and 1998 -- to berths in the MAC's post-season tournament . . . She reaped MAC Coach of the Year accolades after leading the 1998 team to the school's first-ever league title, a berth in the NCAA Championship Tournament, a school record 39 wins and the program's first national ranking of 31st in the Final USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Poll . . . Laux is the winningest coach in school history . . . She has tallied a 213-261-1 mark at BSU and a 365-509-3 overall ledger in her 19 years as a collegiate head coach.
WEATHER WOES, PART II: Ball State's first competition of the season -- Feb. 18-19 at the UT-Martin Tournament -- was cancelled due to inclement weather conditions . . . The Cardinals lost at least four games on their schedule . . . In addition, BSU's doubleheader earlier this week against Butler, which was rescheduled once because of weather, was cancelled.
SCHEDULE CHANGE: Ball State's single game versus Indiana, originally slated for March 22, has been moved to April 24 with a 4 p.m. starting time.
RECAPPING FSU BULLDOG CLASSIC: Ball State turned in a fifth-place 1-5 finish at the Fresno State Bulldog Classic . . . The seven-team round robin event included four nationally-ranked teams . . . BSU opened with a 3-2 win over San Diego and finished the event with a 6-4 loss to 17th-ranked Washington . . . Amanda Pick led the Cardinals offensively with a .278 batting average, including five hits, a pair of runs and one RBI . . . Sarah McGregor and Abby Gross each posted .267 averages . . . Gross, who knocked in a team-high four runs, was perfect in 28 total chances from the field . . . Laura Masch got her first collegiate pitching victory in her debut, throwing all seven innings against SDSU in the opener.
GROSS EARNS ALL-TOURNEY HONORS: Sophomore catcher Abby Gross was honored with her selection to the seven-team Bulldog Classic Bingham Toyota All-Tournament Team . . . Gross hit .267 with four RBI over the six-game span . . . She had an RBI double and a two-run home run against then 17th-ranked Washington . . . In addition, Gross posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in six games.
HAWKEYE CLASSIC FIELD: Iowa brings a 13-12 mark into its home opener . . . Stacy May tops the squad with a .413 batting average, including 31 hits and 17 runs scored . . . Ali Arnold owns a 3.09 ERA with five wins and 58 strikeouts . . . Brittany Weil has totaled 104 strikeouts and eight wins . . . Loyola is 4-14 overall after back-to-back losses to Western Michigan March 21 . . . Nora Schober leads the Ramblers with a .306 batting average . . . Laura DeLoan is the top hurler with a 2.70 ERA and three wins . . . North Dakota State brings a 6-18 mark into the Classic . . . Lynnae Foshag leads the Bison with her .288 batting average, including 21 hits and 16 runs scored . . . Amber Garrett's 2.65 ERA with 54 strikeouts is tops for NDSU . . . South Dakota State is 12-11 overall . . . Chris Pesqueira is hitting .371 with 23 hits, 14 RBI and 12 runs scored . . . Kim Westandorf has compiled a team-leading 2.86 ERA with six wins and 40 k's.
• BSU is 1-0 in its all-time series with South Dakota State . . . The Cardinals posted a 3-2 win in the only meeting between the teams, which took place at the 2005 Hawkeye Classic . . . BSU is also 1-0 versus North Dakota State after a 2-0 win in last year's Classic . . . The Cardinals own a 2-0 lead in their series with Loyola, which includes a pair of wins during the 1989 campaign . . . BSU and Iowa have met 11 times with the Hawkeyes victorious in all of the meetings . . . Last season, UI won three times versus the Cardinals, including twice in the Hawkeye Classic.
MAC STATS: In the latest MAC stats, Amanda Pick places No. 4 with her .406 batting average . . . In addition, she ranks No. 10 with a 2.59 ERA . . . Pick also places second in on-base percentage (.500) . . . Abby Gross is 10th in slugging percentage (.543) and tied for 10th with five doubles.
THIS AND THAT: Amanda Pick is the ONLY player in the MAC to rank in the top 10 in both batting average and ERA . . . This weekend marks a homecoming for BSU senior Katie Pilger, who hails from Burlington, Iowa, just a short drive from Iowa City . . . When the Cardinals face Loyola Saturday, it will match head coach Terri Laux against her former school . . . Laux spent nine seasons as head coach of the Ramblers (1988-96) . . . She led Loyola to two of the top four single-season win totals in school history in 1994 and 1995 . . . Four BSU opponents are ranked in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll -- No. 8 Oregon State, No. 14 Washington, No. 23 Fresno State and No. 25 DePaul.
