Ball State University Athletics
Softball Travels to Notre Dame Tuesday/Returns to Muncie for Weekend
April 10, 2006 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State takes a break from Mid-American Conference play Tuesday when it travels to Notre Dame for a single game against the Fighting Irish, which will be televised locally on Comcast . . . The Cardinals, who return to Muncie for four league games this weekend, are 9-16 overall and tied for third with a 3-5 mark in MAC play.
ON DECK: Ball State is on the road Tuesday at Notre Dame for a single game against the Fighting Irish beginning at 5 p.m. . . . The contest, which will be played at Ivy Field, will be televised by Comcast Local of Michigan and shown live in Muncie . . . Fans may also follow the game live on Gametracker by going to the official web site of Notre Dame athletics (www.und.collegesports.com), choosing "softball" from the women's sports menu, selecting "schedule" from the top or right menu and then scrolling down to the Ball State game.
• Ball State returns home to host Bowling Green in a doubleheader Friday beginning at 1 p.m. . . . The Cardinals meet Toledo in single games Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) and then entertain Dayton in a non-conference twinbill next Monday with first pitch slated for 2 p.m.
TELEVISION: Ball State will make its first-ever appearance on television Tuesday when it travels to Notre Dame for a 5 p.m. matchup with the Fighting Irish . . . The game will be carried by Comcast Local of Michigan and shown live on Muncie, Channel 5 . . . Comcast Local is a regional sports network based in Michigan, which produces high school, college and professional sports contests around the region . . . Ben Holden will call the action, while Joe Jason will provide color commentary.
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 . . . The package includes all four MAC games over the weekend plus the non-conference doubleheader against Dayton next Monday.
THE TERRI LAUX SHOW: The second season of the Terri Laux show will begin this Thursday evening at 6 p.m. . . . The one-hour show will run weekly throughout the remainder of the season . . . Karl Mandik, the play-by-play voice for BSU's games, and Kelly Schroering, team manager for the Cardinals, will co-host and produce the show.
WEEKEND FESTIVITIES: Ball State will welcome back its softball alumni this weekend . . . All alum in attendance will be introduced prior to Saturday's game . . . The four senior members of BSU's team -- Quincy Duran, Nicki Hellem, Katie Pilger and Kristen Raney -- will be recognized prior to Sunday's games.
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 218-269-1 mark at BSU and a 370-517-3 overall ledger in her 19 years as a collegiate head coach.
RECAPPING THE WEEKEND: Ball State posted a 1-3 mark against MAC opponents over the weekend . . . The Cardinals split a doubleheader at Northern Illinois Friday -- falling 4-2 in game one and then recovering for a 6-3 verdict in the nightcap . . . BSU fell 4-2 to Western Michigan Saturday before dropping a 9-8 decision to the Broncos Sunday.
• Ball State piled up a season-high 12 hits in the win over Northern Illinois . . . Four players -- Amanda Pick, Abby Gross, Sarah McGregor and Katelyn Gunderson -- had two hits apiece to lead the team . . . McGregor was first with three RBI, while Pick led BSU with two runs scored . . . Abby Zollman earned the victory on the mound . . . She threw four innings, allowing just one unearned run . . . The Cardinals out-hit NIU 6-5 in game one, but stranded nine runners . . . Starting pitcher Pick took the loss . . . Quincy Duran threw three scoreless innings, scattering one hit over the final three innings.
• Ball State came up short in both games against MAC West Division leader Western Michigan . . . Despite just two hits, the Cardinals led 2-1 before yielding two home runs -- including a walk-off two-run blast -- in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday . . . Pick had a two-run homer in the top of the third . . . Zollman took the loss . . . In Sunday's wild battle, the teams combined for eight errors -- five by Ball State -- and just 14 hits -- 10 by the Broncos . . . The Cardinals saw an early 4-0 lead vanish with four-straight runs by the Broncos, who knotted the score after three innings . . . Gross' first collegiate grand slam home run put BSU back on top 8-4 after four innings . . WMU added one run in the fifth and then four more in the sixth to take the series . . . Zollman was charged with the loss after giving up four runs -- two earned -- in the sixth.
SCOUTING THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Notre Dame is 23-12 overall and has won 12 of its last 14, including a sweep of Pittsburgh Sunday . . . The Fighting Irish, who received four votes in last week's USA Today/NFCA Top-25 Softball Poll, are led offensively by Stephanie Brown and Meagan Ruthrauff with .357 and .323 batting averages, respectively . . . Heather Booth is UND's top hurler with a 1.21 ERA, a 12-8 record and 142 strikeouts . . . Bowling Green is 23-14 overall and 6-2 in MAC play prior to a single non-conference game Tuesday at Michigan State . . . The Falcons rank No. 1 in the MAC with a 1.58 team ERA . . . The Falcons' top pitcher is Emily Gouge, who is 6-0 with a 1.26 ERA . . . Liz Vrabel, the 2005 MAC Pitcher of the Year, has 10 victories, 132 strikeouts and a 1.74 ERA . . . Three-time First-Team All-MAC selection Gina Rango tops the Falcons with a .365 batting average . . . Toledo entered the week at 11-23 overall and 2-5 in MAC play . . . Gina Muratori tops the Rockets with her .370 batting average . . . Erica Singer is second at .337 . . . Sierra Pereira is first for UT with a 5.13 ERA and 53 strikeouts.
• BSU is 4-5 in its all-time series with Notre Dame, which began with a 5-3 loss in 1991 . . . The Cardinals won the next four meetings against the Irish, but fell in the latest five . . . After a nearly 10-year hiatus in the series, the teams matched up again last spring when Notre Dame posted a 4-1 home field win . . . BSU is 27-40 in its all-time series with Bowling Green, which dates back to a 2-0 win in 1981 . . . The Cardinals won a majority of their games against BG during the late 80's and early 90's and then again from 1996 to 2002 . . . Since then, the Falcons have won nine straight, including both games last season . . . BSU is 34-39-1 in its all-time series against Toledo, which began with an 8-1 victory during the 1983 campaign . . . The Cardinals had won 18-of-23 matchups versus the Rockets prior to last season, when UT posted a three-game home field sweep.
MAC STATS: In the latest MAC stats, Amanda Pick places No. 7 with her 1.81 ERA . . . She also ranks No. 8 with a .347 batting average . . . In addition, she ranks No. 7 in opponents' batting average at .226 . . . Taylor Yancey is tied for third with two triples . . . In MAC games only, Pick ranks second with her 1.00 ERA . . . Kelli Jeziorski tops the league with 10 runs scored over the eight-game span plus is tied for fourth with two home runs and two stolen bases . . . Jeziorski and Abby Gross tie for sixth with seven RBI . . . Jeziorski and Sarah McGregor tie for sixth with five walks . . . Abby Zollman and Quincy Duran tie for 10th with five appearances . . . Pick ties for second with one shutout, ties for sixth with four games started, ties for eighth with two complete games plus ties for ninth with two victories.
THIS AND THAT: Amanda Pick continues to be the ONLY player in the MAC to rank in the top 10 in both batting average and ERA . . . Her .181 ERA is seventh, while her .347 batting average ranks eighth . . . Ironically, she is in only her first full season of pitching after making just three appearances last year . . . This season, she has played in all 25 games with nine starts on the mound, eight at second base, seven at shortstop and one as the designated player.
• BSU managed a .229 batting average over the weekend, thanks to a .310 mark in two games against Northern Illinois . . . In the series with the Huskies, BSU out-hit its host 18-11 plus managed a .310 to .234 batting average . . . Six players hit .300 or better, including a .500 mark by Sarah McGregor.
• Abby Gross' fifth home run at Ball State might be her most memorable . . . With two outs and bases loaded in the fourth inning of game two at Western Michigan, Gross went wood to clear the bases and give BSU a short-lived 8-4 advantage over the Broncos . . . On the day, Gross had a career-best five RBI, including a sacrifice fly in the first.
• Kelli Jeziorski scored six of BSU's 18 runs over the weekend . . . Her 10 runs in eight league games ranks No. 1 in the MAC . . . Jeziorski is hitting .292 in MAC games and ranks among league leaders in five categories . . . She has scored a team-high 18 runs overall this season and has the team's current longest hitting streak at four games.
• Amanda Pick tops Ball State with seven multiple hit games, including three with two or more . . . Abby Gross is second with six multiple-hit outings . . . Pick and Gross also lead the Cardinals in multiple RBI games with three each . . . Gross and Kelli Jeziorski tie for first with one single-game five RBI contest each.
• Four BSU opponents are either ranked or the recipients of votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll -- No. 6 Oregon State, No. 14 Washington and No. 23 Fresno State . . . Notre Dame received four votes . . . DePaul has dropped out, but was ranked 25th two weeks ago.
