Ball State University Athletics
Softball Opens MAC/Home Schedule Friday
March 28, 2006 | Softball
Ball State opens its 2006 Mid-American Conference softball season Friday when it hosts Akron in a twinbill, beginning at 1 p.m. . . . The matchup versus the Zips also marks BSU's spring home opener . . . The Cardinals bring a 6-10 record into the weekend after going 2-2 at the Hawkeye Classic in Iowa City, Iowa, last weekend.
ON DECK: The Ball State Softball Complex will be the site of four games this weekend, as the Cardinals open their home schedule with a double dip Friday at 1 p.m. against Akron . . . The schedule continues Saturday at 2 p.m. with a single game versus Ohio and then Sunday with another single game against the Bobcats, this time starting at 1:00.
RADIO COVERAGE: For the second-straight season, Ball State's student station, WCRD 91.3, will provide expanded coverage of softball games . . . This season's package includes 14 regular-season games plus all MAC Tournament competition . . . Karl Mandik will provide play-by-play for the games . . . The broadcasts can be heard locally or via the internet at www.ballstatesports.com.
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 to berths in the MAC's post-season tournament . . . She reaped MAC Coach of the Year accolades after leading the 1998 team to BSU'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 Softball Poll . . . Laux is the winningest coach in school history . . . She has tallied a 215-263-1 mark at BSU and a 367-511-3 overall ledger in her 19 years as a collegiate head coach.
RECAPPING THE HAWKEYE CLASSIC: Ball State tallied a third-place finish after logging a 2-2 record at the Hawkeye Classic last weekend in Iowa City, Iowa . . . The Cardinals opened the event with back-to-back wins Saturday -- 5-3 over South Dakota State and 3-0 over Loyola . . . A lackluster offensive performance resulted in a pair of losses for BSU Sunday -- 1-0 to North Dakota State and 5-0 to Iowa . . . Over the four-game span, Katie Pilger led the Cardinals offensively with a .400 batting average . . . She was perfect from the field with no errors in 40 total chances . . . Quincy Duran and Abby Zollman earned their first pitching decisions of the seasons with BSU's wins over SDSU and Loyola, respectively.
SCOUTING AKRON/OHIO: Akron brings an 8-12 record into this week's competition . . . The Zips, who meet Cleveland State in a single game Wednesday, tallied a 2-3 record last weekend in a swing through the state of Oregon . . . Megan MacKenzie is the team's top pitcher with 86 strikeouts and three shutouts . . . Sara Zilles ties for first in the MAC with nine stolen bases . . . Ohio opened the week with a 15-15 record . . . The Bobcats have a date with Wright State Tuesday and then Miami Friday . . . Alicia Catlette leads the team and ranks No. 8 in the MAC with a .357 batting average . . . Michelle Sauter, this week's MAC East Division Pitcher of the Week, is second in the league with her 1.01 ERA.
• BSU is 13-17 in its all-time series against Akron, which began during the 1991 campaign . . . The teams split their series the last time they played one another in 2004 . . . The Zips posted a 4-0 win in game one, while the Cardinals were victorious -- 3-2 -- in the nightcap . . . That series was played in Muncie, where BSU owns a 7-9 record against Akron . . . BSU leads its all-time series with Ohio by a 30-27-1 margin . . . The series dates back to 1978, when the Cardinals posted a 13-1 verdict . . . Last season, BSU and OU split their series in Athens . . . The Cardinals are 18-11 versus the Bobcats in games played in Muncie.
MAC STATS: In the latest MAC stats, Amanda Pick places No. 7 with her .364 batting average . . . In addition, she ranks No. 9 with a 2.33 ERA . . . Pick also places seventh in on-base percentage (.451) . . . Abby Gross is 10th in slugging percentage (.543) and tied for 11th 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 . . . Senior Katie Pilger made the most of the opportunity to play in front of hometown friends and family last weekend . . . The Burlington, Iowa, native led BSU with a .400 batting average and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in four games at the Hawkeye Classic . . . Head coach Terri Laux came out on top in her first-ever matchup against her former school, Loyola, where she spent nine seasons before coming to BSU . . . The Cardinals presented Laux with a 3-0 win . . . The 3-0 victory over Loyola marked two more firsts for BSU this season -- it was the first shutout of the spring and the first collegiate pitching decision for freshman Abby Zollman, who combined with starter Nicki Hellem for the shutout . . . Abby Gross notched her second home run of the season and the fourth of her career with her two-run shot in the fourth inning against Loyola . . . 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.
