Ball State University Athletics
Softball Hosts Miami In Home And Conference Opener This Weekend
April 01, 2010 | Softball
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Game Information: In a battle of defending Mid-American Conference Champions, the regular season MAC champion Ball State Cardinals (20-6) host the MAC tournament champion Miami Redhawks (11-14) Saturday and Sunday at the BSU Softball Complex in Muncie, Ind. These games also mark the Cardinals first home and conference games this season.
Ball State's Coach Nicholson: Ball State head coach Craig Nicholson, in his fourth season at the helm for the Cardinals and 15th year as a head coach, earned his 100th win at Ball State in a 7-0 shutout against Temple, March 13 . . . This makes him the first head coach in school history to reach 100 wins in just 195 games . . . The 2009 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year is currently 107-96 at Ball State . . . He owns an 830-186 career coaching mark for a .817 winning percentage . . . Prior to coming to Ball State, Nicholson spent 11 years as the head coach at Central Arizona College where he was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 1997, 1999, 2003 and 2005 . . . He was also the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Junior College Coach of the Year in 1997, 1999 and 2005 . . . Nicholson led Central Arizona to NJCAA National Championships in 1997, 1999, 2003 and 2005, and garnered national runner-up finishes in 1996 and 2000 . . . Central Arizona won seven conference championship and eight regional titles in his 11 seasons.
2010 Season: Having played 26 consecutive road games, the Cardinals lead the Mid-American Conference at 20-6 this season . . . On a four game winning streak, the Cardinals have won 13 of their last 14 games . . . Ball State received 11 votes in the Ultimate College Softball poll and two votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, both released March 30.
The 2009 Season: Ball State won the school's first-ever Mid-American Conference Championship with an 18-3 league mark, which was the best regular season record in school history . . . The Cardinals were 29-24 overall.
Offense Posted Double Digit Win Against IUPUI: The MAC West Division Player of the Week, Jessie Ware, led the Cardinals' batting line-up with two consecutive home runs, the second of which was inside the park Tuesday in Indianapolis . . . Amanda Montalto also slugged a home run and posted three runs-batted-in against the Jaguars . . . The 11-4 win was credited to Elizabeth Milian who struck out eight batters and is 14-1 this season . . . This marks the fourth time this year that the Cardinals' offense has hit the double digit mark in runs.
Milian Chasing Records: With 133 strikeouts this season, Milian needs just 39 to pass Ball State's career strike out leader, Bernie Coffman (1986-89) . . . Milian already owns the school's single season record for strike outs, accumulating 204 in 2009 . . . With 67 career wins, Milian is second to Coffman in this category and needs just 10 wins to take the lead . . . Milian was chosen as the Mid-American Conference West Pitcher of the Week (March 23), her fourth nod this season and ninth of her career, including a Player of the Week honor in 2008 . . . Maintaining a 3.97 grade point average as a secondary mathematics education major, Milian was named the MAC Co-Female Scholar Athlete of the Week (March 26) - the first of her career . . . She has also received recognition on ESPN.com.
Returning MAC Pitcher of the Year: Milian, a Ball State senior, was selected as the 2009 MAC Pitcher of the Year and Nan Harvey Sportswoman of the Year . . . One of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the sport of softball, Milian owns a 3.97 grade-point average on Ball State's 4.0 scale as a secondary mathematics education major . . . She tallied a 21-15 pitching record last season and was named to the All-MAC and National Fastpitch Coaches Association first teams . . . A member of the Academic All-MAC team two straight years, Milian was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team last season . . . She ranked second in the MAC in wins (21), innings pitched (224) and complete games (27) as a junior plus held opponents to a .214 batting average, which ranked third in the league.
Ware a Triple Threat: A senior transfer from Arizona State, Ware's batting average has steadily improved throughout her last four games and is now .427 . . . She leads the team with 38 hits, 30 runs, seven triples and a .809 slugging percentage . . . With 19 RBI, she is second to Montalto who has 22 . . . Montalto and Ware are tied with four homeruns apiece . . . On the field, Ware has 34 putouts and a .913 fielding percentage . . . She was named MAC West Player of the Week March 2 and March 30.
Slugfest: The Ball State batting line-up features four starters who are batting better than 300 this season: Ware (.427), Montalto (.333), Alyssa Collins (.318) and Jen Reifschneider (.316) . . . As a team, the Cardinals have hit at a .287 clip to oppenents' .184 . . . The team has 132 runs this season, of which 111 were RBIs . . . Ball State has amassed 303 total bases this season and is 68 for 79 in stolen bases.
Additional Team Leaders: Lisa Rozanski, a 2009 All-MAC First-Team choice, ranked fifth in the nation in triples and 19th in the nation in stolen bases last year . . . She has a team-leading 16 steals in 22 attempts this season, owns a .288 batting average with 23 hits, including two triples and two RBI . . . Junior Alicia Barkley was named the 2009 MAC Player of the Year after posting a .337 batting average, including hitting at a .446 clip in conference play . . . She was named to the All-MAC First Team and the NFCA All-Region First Team . . . This season, Barkley has 19 total bases in 83 at bats, including 17 hits with one triple.
Ball State's 2010 Preseason: The Cardinals were selected by the MAC head coaches as the preseason favorite to win the 2010 Mid-American Conference West Division . . . In addition, Ball State begins the 2010 season ranked No. 38 in the country in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Collegiate Top 25 Poll released Jan. 25 . . . Ball State was joined by BYU and San Diego State, who also received four votes in the poll.
Next up for the Cardinals: Following this weekend's two-game series against Miami, Ball State hosts IPFW at the BSU Softball Complex Tuesday at 3 p.m.
