Ball State University Athletics
Cardinals Host Kent State And Buffalo
May 03, 2007 | Softball
ABOUT THE GAMES
The Cardinals have an overall record of 20-32, including a 6-12 record in the Mid-American Conference . . . Ball State returns to conference action May 4 as they host Kent State for a doubleheader . . . Game one of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the BSU Softball Complex . . . The Cards will also host Buffalo in a two-game series . . . Game one will be May 5 at 2 p.m. , with game two May 6 at 1 p.m.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Ball State defeated the Butler Bulldogs 3-1, to record 20 wins on the season . . . Abby Gross leads Ball State with a .331 batting average and leads the MAC with 38 RBI . . . Taylor Yancey is batting .286 for the Cards including five doubles, five triples, eight home runs, 23 RBI and 23 stolen bases. . . Elizabeth Milian and Amanda Pick will share a majority of the innings this week . . . Pick is 6-11 with 14 complete games and 85 strikeouts . . . Milian is 12-18, has a team-high 101 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.34.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN FLASHES
Kent State comes into Friday's doubleheader with a 27-16 overall record and a 12-2 mark in conference play . . . Most recently the Flashes split a doubleheader with the University of Pittsburgh . . . The Golden Flashes won the first game 3-0 while the Panthers took the nightcap 5-3 . . .Kylie Reynolds limited the Panthers to three hits while striking out 12 in seven innings, Amy Hair smacked a two-run home run to secure the win . . . Jaime Fitzpatrick leads the team with a .331 batting average . . . Fitzpatrick has six doubles and leads the MAC in home runs with 12 . . . On the mound, Reynolds is 13-6 with an ERA of 1.19 . . . Reynolds leads the MAC with 242 strikeouts . . . Brittney Robinson is 11-9 with a 2.75 ERA and has 147 strikeouts . . . Kent State swept Ball State last season 3-0 and 10-0 . . . Kent State leads the all-time series 37-24.
ABOUT THE BULLS
Buffalo is currently 3-41 after being swept by Kent State 10-0 and 5-1 . . . The Bulls were shut out by Kylie Reynolds who threw a no-hitter in game one . . . Buffalo will battle Miami in a doubleheader May 4 . . . Erin Zilka leads the team with a .235 batting average including six doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI . . . On the mound, Sharon Barr has a record of 2-17 with an ERA of 5.75 . . . She has 54 strikeouts in 143 innings pitched . . . Buffalo defeated Ball State in game one last year 2-1, but the Cardinals came back to win game two 10-1 . . . The all-time series between BSU and Buffalo is tied at 2-2.
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 205 innings and Pick has thrown for 118.
RUNNING OVER THE COMPETITION - YANCEY BREAKS RECORD
Taylor Yancey leads the team and the MAC with 41 runs scored . . . Yancey's total is a new single-season BSU record . . . The old BSU record was 36 by Heather Hinkle in the 1998 season.
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 32 home runs in 2007.
SWEET SIXTEEN
Ball State trailed Toledo in game two of a doubleheader April 13, 7-1 in the top of the seventh inning . . . Ball State scored 16 runs in the inning to win the game 17-10 . . . Abby Gross hit a grand slam at her first at-bat, then followed with a double . . . Amanda Pick recorded three at-bats during the seventh inning . . . She hit a double during her first at-bat, followed by a two-run home run and finished with another double . . . The Cards recorded 12 hits in the inning; five singles, five doubles and two home runs.
STEALING THE SHOW - CARDS SET NEW RECORD
The Cardinals have stolen 121 bases this season . . . Last year's team only stole 16 bases the entire season . . . BSU broke the old school record of 98 stolen bases in a single-season set by the 1991 team.
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MILIAN MOWS DOWN BIG TEN
Freshman Elizabeth Milian is 2-1 against Big Ten opponents in 2007 . . . Milian faced the Wisconsin Badgers in Tampa, Fla. while pitching in the USF Speedline Tournament . . . Milian threw a one-hitter to shut out the Badgers and give Ball State a 3-0 win . . . The Cardinals had Milian on the mound for thier home opener against Indiana . . . Against the Hoosiers, Milian threw another one-hitter and allowed the Cardinals to win 8-0.
JEZIORSKI BREAKS SINGLE-SEASON HOME RUN RECORD
Kelli Jeziorski hit her seventh home run of the year against Michigan (April 10). . . The solo home run by Jeziorski broke the individual single-season home run record . . . The BSU single-season record for home runs in one season was previously six, held by Misty Snider during the 1999 season.
YANCEY ALSO BREAKS SINGLE-SEASON HOME RUN RECORD
Taylor Yancey hit a home run in the seventh inning against IPFW (April 20) to put the Cardinals ahead 6-0 . . . The solo shot took her season total to eight a team-high and out right leader of the single-season home run record . . . Teammate Kelli Jeziorski was the first to break the record and currently has seven on the year.
SPEAKING OF HOME RUNS, GROSS BREAKS CAREER HOME RUN RECORD
Abby Gross hit a grand slam against Toledo (April 13) to record her fifth home run of the season and then homered against IPFW (April 20) in the seventh inning to break the BSU career home run record with 13 home runs . . . Gross added to her record with a solo home run against Butler (April 24) to give her 14 career home runs . . . Gross had two home runs in 2005 and five in 2006 . . . The old BSU record of 12 was held by Ruth Hjelmeland during 2000-03.
MILIAN ON THE MOUND
Freshman Elizabeth Milian has made an immediate impact for the Cardinals on the mound . . . Milian has started 27 games . . . In 24 of those games, she has gone the distance and pitched all seven innings . . . She has the best record on the team at 12-18 and posts the best ERA on the team at 3.34.
NEW AND IMPROVED - CARDS REACH 20 WINS
Under first year head coach Craig Nicholson the Cardinals have already recorded more overall wins in 2007 than they did in 2006 . . . The Cards have reached 20 wins for the first time in five years . . . The last 20 win season came in 2002 . . . The Cardinal's MAC record is currently at 6-12, with four conference games left on the schedule . . . Last year's team only recorded six MAC wins.
HOME SWEET HOME
The game March 28 against Indiana marked the first home game of the season for Ball State . . . The Cardinals will end the season playing 12 out of the last 15 games at the BSU Softball Complex . . . The Cardinals started their home stretch April 19, in a doubleheader against Wright State . . . The season finale will be against Buffalo May 6 . . . The only games Ball State had between those dates not at home was an April 20 doubleheader at IPFW and an April 24 matchup at Butler . . . In 2006, the Cardinals' last eight games of the season were away.
GROSS TIES BSU RBI SINGLE-SEASON RECORD
Abby Gross has recorded 38 RBIs on the season which places her in a tie for first all-time on the BSU single-season RBI chart . . . Gross singled to right field against Central Michigan (April 29) to record her 38th RBI. . . Amy Doyle holds the BSU single-season RBI record with 38.
SEND HER HOME - 11 RUNS AWAY FROM SCHOOL RECORD
The Cardinals have scored 203 runs in 2007 . . . In 2006, Ball State only had one player score over 20 runs and ended the year with 98 total . . . This year's team has one player with 41 runs scored, two players with 30-or-more runs scored and five players with 10-or-more . . . The BSU record is 214, set by the 1998 team.
