Ball State University
East Tennessee State
Softball Team Improves to 4-1 at Frost Classic
March 01, 2010 | Softball
Ball State won its fourth game in a row with a 5-0 win over UT-Martin Sunday in its final game of the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. The loss was the first of the season for UT-Martin, and was due in large part to the dominance of Ball State pitcher Elizabeth Milian, who gave up only one hit through seven innings.
The Cardinals improved their record to 6-4 overall, and 4-1 at the Frost Classic Inspired by Memorial.
It was a pitching battle between Ball State and UT-Martin with the first hit not coming until the top of the fourth inning. UT-Martin's shortstop Jenny Bane hit a single to shortstop Alicia Barkely, who made a great play deep in the hole to even get to the ball. Bane barely beat out the Barkley throw to give UT-Martin its first and only hit.
The Cardinals had to wait until the bottom of the fifth inning to get their first hit, but it was well worth the wait as third baseman Jessie Ware led off the inning with a triple. Meredith Nash came in to pinch hit and laid down a bunt to score Ware from third on the squeeze play. After a walk to first baseman Kate Wilcznski, pinch runner Jackie Durment and Nash scored on the second triple of the inning. This time it came from the bat of left fielder Amanda Carpenter to give the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
The Cardinals added on to their lead when they scored again in the bottom of the sixth inning. In the inning, Barkley got a single and was replaced on the bases when Ware grounded into a fielder's choice. After catcher Amanda Montalto's single trough the middle advanced Ware to third, Montalto advanced herself to second on the throw. Ware and pinch runner Hannah Zimmerman later advanced home on a pair of wild pitches from UT-Martinsville's reliever Kate Vanderham to give Ball State a 5-0 lead.
The real story of the game had to be the continued excellence of Elizabeth Milian. Two days removed from a five inning no hitter, she about repeated the performance giving up only one hit in seven innings. For the game she had nine strikeouts compared to only one walk. She faced only one batter above the minimum. In two starts and two relief appearances in the tournament, she gave up a total of two hits over 16 2/3 innings.
Saturday
GAME 4: Ball State improved to 2-0 on the day with a 12-3 win over the Central Connecticut State Saturday afternoon. In the game the Cardinals out hit the Blue Devils 16 to five, while playing error free softball. With the victory the Cardinals have now won three in a row and are 3-1 overall in the Frost Classic Inspired by Memorial. Ball State is 5-4 on the season.
Ball State and Central Connecticut traded scoreless first and second innings, but the Cardinals were able to hang a crooked number on the scoreboard in the top of the third to take the lead. Centerfielder Lisa Rozanski hit into a fielder's choice reaching first safely, but for the second time today a Ball State runner took advantage of what the defense gave, and stole second while no one was covering the bag. She later scored on a two-out triple by shortstop Alicia Barkley to give the Cardinals the lead 1-0. Barkley's triple was followed by third baseman Jessica Ware's two-out RBI base hit to extend the lead to 2-0.
Ball State kept up its scoring in the fourth inning with a pair of doubles. The first was by first baseman Alyssa Freiling, who later advanced on a wild pitch and scored on second baseman's Kate Wilczynski's double, to make it 3-0.
Central Connecticut fought back in the bottom of the frame to bring the game back to a tie. The Blue Devils were finally able to get to Ball State's Kim Mazzapica, who pitched well in her second career start.
After tying the game at 3-3, Elizabeh Milian came in and shut the Blue Devils down the rest of the game in her second relief effort of the day.
It was all Cardinals from there on out as Amanda Montalto's homerun hit in Ware, who had previously reached on an error put Ball State up 5-3. They would never relinquish the lead due to another great outing by Milian. She went three and a third innings giving up only one hit with no walks and six strikeouts.
Ball State cemented the victory when it piled on seven runs in the top of the seventh inning. The Cardinals had five doubles in the inning -- two by Ware, one by Jen Reifschneider, one by Wilczynski and another by Freiling. This brought Ball State's extra base hit total up to nine for the game and 15 for the day.
Ball State will look to extend their winning streak Sunday when it faces undefeated UT-Martin (8-0) at 12:30.
GAME 3: Ball State dominated Austin Peay and tallied an 8-1 victory on its way to a second consecutive victory behind the pitching of Audra Sanders and equally impressive hitting of Jessie Ware. The win improved the Cardinals to 2-1 in the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn., and evened the team's overall record at 4-4.
The score remained 3-0 until the top of the fourth inning when Austin Peay responded with a homerun of their own. The single homerun brought Austin Peay to within two runs at 3-1, while the hit was the first hit given up by a Ball State pitcher in eight innings.
Ball State used some great defense with double plays in the fourth and fifth to keep Austin Peay from scoring. That combined with an error free game helped the Cardinals keep Austin Peay at bay for the first five innings.
Shortstop Hannah Zimmerman got her first hit of the tournament with a single through the left side and thanks to some crafty base running got to second when she realized no one was covering the bag. Ware got her second big hit of the morning with a triple, scoring Barkley from second, and taking the lead up to 4-1. Ware then scored from third on a squeeze play executed to perfection by pinch hitter Meredith Nash, making the score 5-1. The final hit of the inning came from second baseman Alyssa Freiling as she singled through the left side to score pinch runner from third
Ball State pitcher Audra Sanders ran into a little bit of trouble in the top of the sixth as she walked the bases loaded. Head coach Craig Nicholson then went to his bench and brought in pitcher Elizabeth Milian, who was coming off a five inning no-hitter the day before, Milian continued her dominance coaxing the third and final out of the inning on a lineout to third. Sanders finished the game with an impressive line of five and two-thirds innings, three hits, seven strikeouts, two walks and only one earned run allowed.
Ball State got on the board again in the bottom of the sixth inning when Barkley got her second single of the day, this time through the right side, scoring on another triple by Ware. This gave Ware 10 total bases on the morning. Ware then scored on an error by the Austin Peay second baseman, giving the Cardinals an 8-1 lead.
The Cardinals will play Central Connecticut State at 12:30 p.m.
Friday
GAME 2: Ball State defeated Wright State 10-0 in its second game of day one at the Frost Classic behind the dominance of pitcher Elizabeth Milian. Milian pitched five innings of hitless softball to get the victory for the Cardinals and only faced two batters above the minimum. Milian struck out seven batters while walking none.
Ball State jumped out to an early lead with the first score of the ball game in the top of the second. Third baseman Jessica Ware got the first hit of the game off lefty pitcher Sharon Palma. Advancing to third on a wild pitch and groundout, she then scored on a timely hit by first baseman Kate Wilcynzski up the middle giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
Ball State scored four runs in the third and added four more in the fourth to take a 9-0 lead.
Ball State still wasn't done and used a Wilczynski single followed by Freiling double to take a 10-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth. Milian ended the game as dominant as she began it, getting a pop out to second, a strikeout swinging, and a ground ball to the third base who through on to first sealing the victory and the no hitter.
GAME 1: The Ball State Cardinals lost to the Buccaneers of East Tennessee State Friday afternoon, 2-1, in the first game of the Frost Classic Inspired by Memorial.
East Tennessee State jumped out to an early lead when Cheniece Carson scored on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Katy Jett in the top of the first inning.
The Cardinals had a good opportunity to score when they led off the bottom of the second inning after a double by designated player Jackie Durment. She was followed by first baseman Jen Refschneider's single. A strikeout and a liner cauught by the pitcher that was turned into a double play short circuited the rally.
The Cardinals and Buccaneers continued to trade scoreless innings due to the pitching battle taking place. That scoreless inning streak was broken in the top of the sixth inning as the Buccaneers put another run across the board to take the lead 2-0. Carson scored her second run of the afternoon as she advanced home on a throw to second trying to catch a base runner stealing.
The Cardinals cut the lead in half with a two out rally in the bottom of the sixth. Third baseman Jessica Ware reached on an error by the second baseman as they collided at the first base bag and she dropped the ball. Montalto followed up with a clutch two out double, her second of the game, which scored Ware from first base.
Jessica Duncan of ETSU gave up seven hits through seven innings, but really locked the Cardinals down with runners in scoring position. She allowed only one unearned run. Not to be outdone, freshman pitcher Audra Sanders pitched an equally impressive game. She gave up only four hits in the game over seven innings. She also had an impressive seven strikeouts and only two walks on the game.
