Ball State University Athletics
Softball Travels To Ohio To Start Conference Play
March 29, 2007 | Softball
ABOUT THE GAMES
The Ball State Cardinals will face the Ohio Bobcats in a doubleheader March 30 starting at 1 p.m. . . . The team will then travel to Akron, Ohio to play the Zips . . . The first game against Akron will be March 31 at 2 p.m. . . . Game two will be April 1 at 1 p.m.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Ball State defeated the Indiana Hoosiers 8-0 in six innings at the BSU Softball Complex. . . . The game against IU was the first home game of the season for the Cardinals and the first time they have finished an opponent due to the eight-run rule . . . Abby Gross leads Ball State with a .392 batting average and 19 RBI . . . Allie Pennock is batting .253 on the year and has a team-high 18 steals . . . Elizabeth Milian and Amanda Pick will share a majority of the innings this week . . . Pick is 2-8 with eight complete games and 48 strikeouts . . . Milian has a team-high 49 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.44.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS
The Bobcats are currently 11-16 after splitting games in a doubleheader against Cleveland State . . . Shalene Petrich leads the team batting .363 with two doubles and two triples . . . The Bobcats power hitter is senior Kelly Rodriguez . . . Rodriguez has a team-high seven doubles and 16 RBI . . . On the mound, Michelle Sauter leads the team with 50 strikeouts and a 6-7 record . . . Sauter has a thrown six complete games and has an ERA of 2.77 . . . Last season, the Cardinals and Bobcats played twice with each team picking up a win . . . Ball State leads the all-time series over Ohio 31-28.
ABOUT THE ZIPS
As of March 29, the Zips are 8-11 after splitting games in a doubleheader against Pittsburgh . . . Akron has another doubleheader scheduled for March 30 against Miami . . . Junior Katrina Moffett is batting .358 with a one double, one triple, one home run and seven RBIs . . . Senior Jaclyn Spirtos has a team-high four doubles and a batting average of .241 . . . On the mound, the Zips depend on freshman Lindsay Bodeker . . . Bodeker is 4-7 with an ERA of 1.87 . . . The freshman has thrown for 63 innings and has recorded 47 strikeouts . . . Last season, the Cardinals and Zips had two close games as each team won a game by one run . . . Akron leads the all-time series 18-14.
FIVE GAME HITTING STREAK FOR GROSS
Junior Abby Gross recorded a hit in every game during the Hawkeye Classic to start her hitting streak that is now at five after the game against Indiana when Gross hit a single to drive in a run.
HOME SWEET HOME
The game March 28 against Indiana marked the first home game of the season for Ball State . . . The next five games are on the road . . . The Cardinals will end the season playing the last 14 out of 15 games at the BSU Softball Complex . . . The Cardinals start their home stretch on April 19, in a doubleheader against Wright State . . . The season finale will be against Buffalo on May 6 . . . The only game Ball State has between those dates not at home is April 24 at Butler . . . In 2006, the Cardinals' last eight games of the season were away.
HOME RUN RECORD
The Cardinals have already set the single-season team home run record . . . The old record was 18, set by the 2005 team . . . Abby Gross broke the record by hitting a solo home run to left field against the Jacksonville Dolphins March 14 . . . Ball State currently has 22 home runs in 2007.
STEALING THE SHOW
The Cardinals have stolen 78 bases this season . . . Last year's team only stole 16 bases the entire season . . . At the current rate, BSU should break the school record of 98 stolen bases in a single season (1991).
GROSS DIGS THE LONG BALL
Junior Abby Gross currently ranks second all-time for career home runs with 11 . . . The record stands at 12 by Ruth Hjelmeland who played from 2000-03.
FAB FIVE
Kelli Jeziorski and Taylor Yancey each have five home runs in the 2007 season . . . The BSU single-season record for home runs in one season is six by Misty Snider during the 1999 season.
MILIAN ON THE MOUND
Freshman Elizabeth Milian has made an immediate impact for the Cardinals on the mound . . . Milian has started 10 games . . . In nine of those games, she has gone the distance and pitched all seven innings . . . She has the best record on the team at 6-6 and posts the best ERA on the team at 2.44.
12 STRONG
The 2007 Ball State team is complete with only 12 players. . . The team looks for leadership from the two seniors, Kelli Jeziorski and Taylor Yancey . . . Elizabeth Milian and Amanda Pick share the workload on the mound as Milian has pitched 88 innings and Pick has thrown for 68.
SEND HER HOME
The Cardinals have scored 104 runs midway through the 2007 season . . . In 2006, Ball State only had one player score over 20 runs and ended the year with 98 total . . . This year's team has three players with 15-or-more runs scored . . . The BSU record is 214, set by the 1998 team.
UP NEXT
Ball State will travel to Charleston, Ill. to play a doubleheader against Eastern Illinois April 3 starting at 4:00 p.m. . . . Eastern Illinois leads the all-time series at 10-7.
