Ball State University Athletics
Softball To Host Northern Illinois And Western Michigan
April 16, 2009 | Softball
Muncie, Ind. ? With a Mid-American Conference-best 10-1 record, the Ball State softball team prepares for Northern Illinois in a double header 1 p.m. Friday at the BSU Softball Complex. The Cardinals take on Western Michigan 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday to close out the weekend. Ball State boast a 5-0 record at home.
As the Cardinals lead the MAC with a .257 team batting average, opponents trail in nearly every statistical category except home runs and RBI. Ball State has three players in the MAC's top six in hits including Alicia Barkley who leads with 17 hits in conference play. Alyssa Collins has 15, while Lisa Rozanski tallied 13. Fourth in the MAC, Collins continues her four-game hit streak with a .368 average. Rozanski is also first in the MAC with six triples overall and first in conference play with 13 stolen bases. Her 21 total stolen bases is second overall. She and Allie Pennock are also both eyeing the career stolen-bases record which stands at 70. Rozanski leads with 64, while Pennock has 62.
After earning back-to-back West Division Pitcher of the Week honors, Elizabeth Milian leads the team with a 1.85 ERA and her 15 wins are tied for first in the MAC. All four of her shutouts this season have come against conference opponents. She reached the 400th mark in her career with 150 strikeouts on the season as fourth on the all-time charts. Senior Laura Masch is right behind her with five wins and a 3.66 ERA.
ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS
With sweeps over Akron, Ohio and Bowling Green, the Huskies post a 6-4 MAC record and are 11-27 overall. Scoring a total of two runs in the past four games, Northern Illinois recently lost to Western Michigan in two shutouts at home and non-conference opponent Western Illinois in two games. The Huskies also fell to Toledo in two close games earlier in MAC play.
Posting a combined .209 team batting average, Northern Illinois is led by Andrea Colosimo who owns a .271 batting average that includes 26 hits with two home runs. In the circle, pitcher Morgan Bittner has pitched 126.2 innings in 23 appearances for a 4.90 ERA.
In 2008, the teams split in the last games before heading into the tournament, which gave Ball State its first MAC Tournament appearance since 2002. Northern Illinois faces Miami Saturday and Sunday.
ABOUT WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos (8-2 in the MAC, 14-14 overall) lead the MAC in team pitching with a 0.60 ERA. Sophomore Lexi Jager earned back-to-back West Division Player of the Week honors as she helped her team sweep Northern Illinois last weekend. She logged the game winning home run against Northern Illinois as well as the lone run for Western Michigan Sunday.
The Broncos swept Ohio and Bowling Green, and have split with Akron and Toledo. They play Miami on the road in a double header Friday.
The Cardinals' have not met since 2007 since their double header at Western Michigan was cancelled last season due to rain. The all-time series stands at 41-56 in favor of the Broncos.
All games will be available through live stats at ballstatesports.com or on local broadcast channel WCRD 91.3 FM.
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