Ball State University Athletics
Softball Rakes In 10 Postseason MAC Awards
May 07, 2009 | Softball
AKRON, Ohio - For the fourth straight season, the Ball State softball team has multiple players honored by the Mid-American Conference with postseason accolades, including Coach of the Year, Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year.
Coach of the Year - Craig Nicholson
In only his third season, head coach Craig Nicholson doubled the Cardinals' conference win record from last season improving from a 9-11 record to 18-3. It is also more than Ball State has had in the previous two years combined. He guided Ball State to its first ever regular season MAC Championship in program history, as well as giving the Cardinals a spot in the 2009 MAC Tournament for only the second time since 2002. In his tenure at the university, he has compiled a 35-28 conference record. This is the second time the program has produced the Coach of the Year, first time since 1998.
Pitcher of the Year
First Team All-MAC
Nan Harvey Sports Woman of the Year Award - Elizabeth Milian (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc)
Milian earned BSU softball's first Pitcher of the Year award, as well as the first Nan Harvey Award. She has had her best season yet earning a 20-13 record, the fourth most wins for a pitcher in a single-season at the school. With a 12-2 record in conference play, she has struck out 85 batters, 189 this season, putting her fourth all-time on the career charts in her three years. Her 1.88 ERA in conference play has helped Milian post four shutouts and one save in the 97 innings she pitched. She has limited MAC opponents to a .214 batting average as well, giving up 26 earned runs in 11 complete games.
In her first of 36 appearances, she struck out a career-high 14 batters of the 28 she faced against UNC Greensboro. She has won West Division Pitcher of the Week three times this season, including back-to-back honors in April.
On offense, she also owns a .231 batting average that includes three doubles and five RBI against MAC opponents.
Player of the Year
First Team All-MAC - Alicia Barkley (Oklahoma City, Okla./Putnam City)
A crucial element to Ball State's offense, sophomore Alicia Barkley has started all 50 games for the Cardinals, posting a .446 clip in conference play. She leads in conference games with 33 hits. She was second on the team in overall games (to various teammates) in several statistical categories including hits (54), runs (28), doubles (8), RBI (32) and stolen bases (17). Against MAC opponents, Barkley owns a .527 slugging percentage and .468 on base percentage, while stealing nine of twelve bases. She also led the team with 11 sacrifice hits, as well as 15 multiple-hit games, which included going 4-for- 5 against Akron on April 24, the most for any Cardinal this season. She logged nine multiple-RBI games as well, including three three times. She has even notched eight two-out-RBI. This is the third time a Ball State player has received the honor.
First Team All-MAC
All-Freshman Team - Amanda Montalto (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde)
In her rookie season against MAC opponents, Amanda Montalto posted a .609 slugging percentage and .370 batting average, which is second on the team against players with more than 10 at bats. Starting 27 games, she logged 26 hits, seven doubles, two home runs (in back-to-back games), and 16 RBI. She also tallied seven multiple-hit games and four multiple-RBI games, including four off just two hits against Western Michigan April 18. Montalto was named West Division Player of the Week April 21 for her stellar offensive performance. At catcher, she owns a .974 fielding percentage with one error and 36 putouts.
First Team All-MAC ? Lisa Rozanski (Tampa, Fla./Dayton Beach CC)
At 5th in the nation, Lisa Rozanski is one shy of tying the national leader with seven triples. She is also 19th in the nation with 31 stolen bases. As a sophomore, Rozanski already owns the Ball State single-season stolen bases record at 43, as well as the career stolen bases record with 74. She is also fourth on the Cardinal roster batting at a .325 clip and .465 slugging percentage as the lead-off hitter.
Second Team All-MAC ? Alyssa Collins (Fortville, Ind./Mt. Vernon)
Alyssa Collins leads the Mid-American Conference in batting average for batters with more than 100 at bats. The sophomore has started every game for the Cardinals as the clean-up hitter and right fielder. She has scored 24 runs, 21 RBIs and a .395 slugging percentage. She has had 14 multiple-hit games and the team's longest hitting streak at 11 consecutive games. Collins also has four doubles, a triple and 13 stolen bases on the year. She has a .960 fielding percentage in right field.
Additional Nominees:
Player of the Year: Alicia Barkley, Ball State
Pitcher of the Year: Elizabeth Milian, Ball State
Freshman of the Year: Meredith Whitney, Western Michigan
Coach of the Year: Craig Nicholson, Ball State
Nan Harvey: Elizabeth Milian, Ball State
First Team All-MAC
Pitcher- Elizabeth Milian, Ball State
Pitcher - Kylie Reynolds, Kent State
Pitcher ? Meredith Whitney, Western Michigan
Catcher - Ashlee Hein, Kent State
First Base - Bailey Ouellette, Northern Illinois
Second Base - Emily Gooding, Northern Illinois
Shortstop - Alicia Barkley, Ball State
Shortstop - Sarah Billstrom, Miami
Shortstop - Alexis Zambrana, Ohio
Third Base - Melissa West, Bowling Green
Outfield - Lisa McLean, Akron
Outfield - Lisa Rozanski, Ball State
Outfield - Lexi Jager, Western Michigan
Utility (Non-Pitcher) - Amanda Montalto, Ball State
Utility (Pitcher) - Hayley Wiemer, Bowling Green
Second Team All-MAC
Pitcher - Jessica Simpson, Miami
Pitcher - Morgan Bittner, Northern Illinois
Catcher - Jenna McGivney, Miami
First Base - Deanna Hartsough, Ohio
First Base - Brittney Reist, Western Michigan
Second Base - Brooke Morgart, Ohio
Shortstop ? Stacie Skodinski, Eastern Michigan
Shortstop ? Jessica Carmichael, Kent State
Third Base - Alexia Javier, Miami
Outfield - Alyssa Collins, Ball State
Outfield - Jenny Scherer, Eastern Michigan
Outfield - Jordan McElroy, Miami
Outfield ? Shalene Petrich, Ohio
Utility (Non-Pitcher) - Melissa Bonner, Ohio
Utility (Pitcher) - Heather Bauer, Akron
All-Freshman Team
Andrea Arney, Akron
Amanda Montalto, Ball State
Melissa West, Bowling Green
Molly Coldren, Central Michigan
Kaylee Tolliver, Eastern Michigan
Jessica Simpson, Miami
Jordan McElroy, Miami
Morgan Bittner, Northern Illinois
Alexis Zambrana, Ohio
Meredith Whitney, Western Michigan
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