Softball Sweeps MAC West Weekly Honors
March 16, 2010 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State posted a perfect 5-0 record in the second week of its annual spring break trip to Clearwater, Fla. and two of these games were shutouts. The Cardinals batted .345 with a .442 on-base percentage as a team. Hitting, the Cardinals tallied 15 extra base hits, including two homeruns, 25 runs-batted-in and stole 18 bases in 19 attempts. Ball State's bullpen, consisting of Elizabeth Milian (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Grand Blanc) and Audra Sanders (Lynnville, Ind. / Tecumseh), tallied a combined earned run average of 0.82 and garnered individual ERA's of 0.70 and 1.00, respectively, in 34 innings pitched.
This week also marked head coach Craig Nicholson's 100th win at Ball State. The 100-mark was earned March 13 in a 7-0 shutout against Temple. Nicholson, now 102-95 at Ball State, owns a career coaching record of 825-185, for a .817 winning percentage.
The Mid-American Conference office took note of Ball State's performance and awarded two Cardinals weekly conference awards Tuesday. Milian was named the MAC West Division Pitcher of the Week and Amanda Carpenter (Santee, Calif. / Santana) was named the MAC West Division Player of the Week.
Pitcher of the Week - Elizabeth Milian
Milian, Ball State's senior pitcher, has been named the MAC West Division Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday. Milian has won the MAC West weekly honor three times this season and nine times over her career, including a Player of the Week nod in 2008.
Going 3-0 this week in Clearwater, Fla., Milian, now 11-1 this season, pitched 27 strike outs in 20 innings and recorded a 0.70 earned-run-average. She started the week with a 7-1 victory over Radford, where she allowed just two hits and one run while throwing 10 strike outs. Next, she earned her 100th season strike out in an 8-0 shutout against Stony Brook where she allowed zero hits, four runs, walked only one batter and recorded nine strikeouts. Her third win of the week came in an 8-2 defeat against the strong batting line-up of Middle Tennessee State. In this game, Milian gave up two runs in the first inning, but held the Blue Raiders at two for the remainder of the game and hurled eight strike outs. This game marked Milian's 100th career start.
Thanks to Milian's pitching prowess, the Cardinals are on an eight game winning streak and 15-5 this season.
Player of the Week - Amanda Carpenter
Carpenter, a freshman outfielder for the Cardinals, has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday. This marks Carpenter's first MAC award.
Carpenter led the Cardinals this week by scoring in every game and recording six runs, six RBI and a slugging percentage of .824. She was also two-for-two in stolen bases and posted a .412 batting average in 17 at bats. Her best day of the week was March 13 when the Cardinals faced Temple and Stony Brook. Against Temple, the rookie had two hits, including one triple, and two runs with three at bats. Her accuracy held against Stony Brook as she posted a perfect three-for-three at bats, one of which was a homerun.
