Ball State University Athletics
Softball Signs Five for 2012 Roster
November 18, 2010 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Five student-athletes signed national letters of intent to join the Ball State softball program for the 2012 season.
Loren Cihlar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North), Taylor Cox (Garden Grove, Calif./Pacifica), Jessica Craft (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte), Haley Smith (Baytown, Texas/Lee) and Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) will be joining the returning Cardinals next season.
"We are extremely excited about the class of 2011 and what they will contribute to this program next year and over their careers," head coach Craig Nicholson said. "Our goal with this class was to continue to improve our overall athleticism and speed, and I believe we have done that with this class. This is a group of outstanding young women that will be successful in the classroom and on the softball field and we are proud to welcome them into the Ball State Softball Family."
A three-year starter for St. Charles North High School, Cihlar helped her team to an Upstate Eight Conference Championship in 2009, in addition to being the Sectional Finalist. In 2010, she recorded a .430 batting average in 135 plate appearances, a .467 slugging percentage, 19 stolen bases and 58 hits, including 19 RBI. As a junior, she hit at a .410 clip in 106 at-bats, tallied a .410 slugging percentage, 14 stolen bases and 13 RBI. Also from the 2003-09 seasons, Cihlar played in over 400 games for the Wasco Diamonds as a centerfielder.
Off the field, Cihlar co-founded Tru-Softball, which provides softball instruction and babysitting services for young girls, and volunteers as a trainer at St. Charles. Graduating in the top 40 percent of her high school class, Cihlar plans to major in Physical Therapy at Ball State.
"Loren is an outfielder with tremendous speed and athletic ability," Nicholson said. "She has the ability to contribute right away in our outfield, and be a top of the order hitter. She is what I would call a table setter because of her ability to get on base and her ability to steal bases."
A starter for Pacifica High School, Cox helped lead the squad to the Empire League title, in addition to earning first-team all-league honors. As a junior, she recorded a .409 batting average in 66 appearances at the plate, 27 hits and six RBI.
"Taylor comes to Ball State from one of the premier high school programs in the country," Nicholson said. "She is extremely quick and very sure handed and will be somebody that helps us immediately in the infield as she can play multiple positions and really understands how to handle the bat and create opportunities for herself."
Coached by Ball State alumnus Bob Severs at LaPorte High School, Craft stands as a four-year letter winner in the shortstop position. She helped her team earn all-conference honors for the past two years and all-state accolades in 2009. Last season, she tallied a .461 batting average, .775 slugging percentage, 10 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 16 RBI. Craft also played basketball for three years as a guard and earned a spot in the National Honors Society.
"Jessica will start her career as a utility player and is very important to this class because of her ability to play multiple infield positions," Nicholson said. "She is another athlete with great speed and very good power that can help us immediately. She has had an outstanding high school career and should make a smooth transition to playing at this level."
As a freshman, Smith recorded First-Team District 215-A Infield honors, in addition to Newcomer of the Year. In 2009, she also earned First-Team District 215-A Infield accolades, while collecting Offensive Player of the Year and team MVP accolades. Her junior season, Smith earned Offensive/ Defensive Player of the Year, MVP and team MVP honors after tallying a .567 batting average, 11 Doubles, nine Triples, three home-runs, 36 RBI and 46 stolen bases.
"Haley will be one of the most athletic players to ever wear a Cardinal uniform as she is a true switch hitter that handles the bat really well from the left side and hits for power from the right," Nicholson said. "She is another player with top-end speed that will help our offense right away. Defensively, she can play any position in the infield, as well as contributing in the outfield, if need be."
During the past two seasons of her high school career, Stuedemann earned first-team all-region, first-team all-district and all-conference honors. As a sophomore, she collected all-state honorable mention honors and recorded first-team all-state accolades her junior season after finishing with a .457 batting average, a .717 slugging percentage, 16 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 48 RBI. A member of the High Honor Roll for six consecutive years, she also participates with the Beverly Bandits Gold Travel Team and stands as the team captain on her high school swim team.
"Hanne is an outfielder whose strength as a player lies in what she is able to do offensively," Nicholson said. "She is the only true left handed power in this class and has very good speed to go with her ability to drive the ball. She is a line drive hitter with good power that will continue to develop throughout her career and she will provide immediate help in our outfield."
