Ball State University Athletics
Softball on the Road for Four MAC Games
April 05, 2006 | Softball
Ball State continues Mid-American Conference play with four road games this weekend . . . The Cardinals, 8-13 overall and 2-2 in the MAC, opened league action last weekend with a pair of series splits . . . BSU took the first game against Akron in a doubleheader Friday and then the first game in a two-game series against Ohio Saturday.
ON DECK: Ball State will take to the road for four games this weekend . . . The Cardinals travel to DeKalb, Ill., to face Northern Illinois in a twinbill Friday at 2 p.m. (EST) . . . BSU continues play with single games Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) at Western Michigan.
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 217-266-1 mark at BSU and a 369-514-3 overall ledger in her 19 years as a collegiate head coach.
RECAPPING THE WEEKEND: Ball State opened Mid-American Conference play with a split against its two opponents . . . The Cardinals began the week Friday with a 1-0 victory over Akron . . . BSU fell to the Zips 7-6 in the nightcap . . . Ball State continued their schedule with a 6-1 win over Ohio Saturday and then ended the weekend with a 7-2 loss . . . Amanda Pick earned the decision over Akron, going the distance and scattering just three hits while striking out three . . . Taylor Yancey scored the winning run on an error after a single up the middle . . . BSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in game two, but then succumbed to seven runs in three innings by the Zips . . . Pick led the way with a 3-of-4 performance from the plate plus two RBI . . . Yancey had two hits, including a triple . . . She scored two runs and knocked in three more . . . The Cardinals tied their season high in hits and runs with 11 and six, respectively, in the win over Ohio . . . BSU blasted OU with four runs on five hits in the second and then added two more in the fourth . . . Cortney Patteson went 3-of-3 . . . Kelli Jeziorski plated five runners on one home run and one double . . . Pick earned her second victory of the weekend in the game . . . She struck out six, while allowing her only run of the weekend . . . BSU ended the week with Sunday's loss to Ohio . . . The Bobcats had 13 hits compared to just three for the Cardinals.
SCOUTING NIU/WMU: Northern Illinois is 10-14 overall and 0-4 in the MAC . . . The Huskies, who fell 3-1 to No. 16 Northwestern Tuesday, were swept by Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan last weekend . . . NIU owns the sixth-best ERA in the MAC at 3.03 plus ranks eighth in team batting average at .234 . . . Western Michigan, which dropped back-to-back games to No. 12 Michigan Tuesday, is 15-10 overall and 3-1 in the league . . . The Broncos' lone loss over the weekend was a 6-5 decision in a split with Eastern Michigan . . . The Broncos also swept CMU . . . WMU ranks No. 5 in the MAC with a .244 team batting average plus is second with a 1.86 ERA . . . Kristi Stange is first on the team and third in the league with her .351 batting average . . . Krysten Shumaker is the top pitcher in the MAC with her 0.95 ERA . . . She has accumulated eight wins and 101 strikeouts.
• BSU is 13-30 in its all-time series with Northern Illinois, which began in 1981 . . . The Cardinals have lost nine straight against the Huskies with the last win coming in the Indiana Tournament in 2002 . . . BSU has dropped 15 of 22 games played at NIU . . . Ball State is 41-52 in the all-time series with Western Michigan, which extends back to 1978 . . The teams split their series last year after WMU had won five-straight leading up to the season . . . Prior to that, the Cardinals had won 14-of-17 over a five-season span . . . The Broncos own a 27-16 record on their home field.
MAC STATS: In the latest MAC stats, Amanda Pick places No. 7 with her .362 batting average . . . She also ranks No. 7 with a 1.79 ERA . . . In addition, Pick places eighth in on-base percentage (.431) . . . Abby Gross is 10th in slugging percentage (.500) . . . Taylor Yancey is tied for third with two triples.
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 . . . BSU managed its second shutout of the spring with its 1-0 win over Akron Friday . . . Amanda Pick earned the victory . . . Pick went 2-0 last weekend, throwing two complete games with nine strikeouts, 10 hits -- none for extra bases -- and just one earned run . . . Taylor Yancey topped a group of four players who hit .300 or better over the weekend . . . Yancey led the way with a .467 batting average, including seven hits, three runs scored and three RBI . . . Cortney Patteson was second at .444 . . . Kelli Jeziorski knocked in a career-high five runs in BSU's win over Ohio . . . She had a three-run double and then a two-run home run . . . She accounted for both of BSU's runs against OU Sunday with her two-run homer . . . 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.
