Ball State University Athletics
Softball Hosts Purdue In Doubleheader Action Wednesday
April 19, 2010 | Softball
Series History: Ball State and Purdue have met 23 times prior to Wednesday's doubleheader . . . The Boilermakers lead the overall series 15-8 . . . Purdue owns the most recent win in the series, defeating Ball State, 7-1, April 15, 2009 in West Lafayette, Ind. . . . The last time the Cardinals defeated the Boilermakers was April 16, 2008 in a 7-3 victory in Muncie, Ind.
CARDINALS RECAP:
Caught by Kent State 3-2 and 6-5: Ball State lost two one-run games to Kent State with scores of 3-2 and 6-5 Saturday and Sunday, respectively . . . The consecutive losses mark the first time since Feb. 26 that Ball State has lost two games in a row...Elizabeth Milian took the mound for the Cardinals in both games and although she gave up just eight hits in two games, her season record slid to 20-4. . .Batting and slugging 400 against the Golden Flashes, Alicia Barkley led the Cardinals batting line-up...Alyssa Collins and Jessie Ware were just behind Barkley, each batting at a .375 clip...Collins and Hannah Zimmerman were the only Cardinals to not be struck out by Kent's Kylie Reynolds who is the Mid-American Conference career leader in strikeouts.
Ware a Triple Threat: Jessie Ware, a senior transfer from Arizona State, tallied her tenth triple of the season April 9 against Central Michigan to become Ball State's all-time single season leader in the category . . . She is batting at a team-leading .400 clip and also leads the team with 52 hits, 40 runs and a .723 slugging percentage . . . With 10 doubles, she is second to Amanda Montalto who owns 11 . . . Ware, Montalto and Amanda Carpenter are tied with four homeruns apiece . . . She is second to Rozanski with 18 stolen bases to Rozanski's 22 . . . Ware leads the MAC in hits, runs scored, triples and total bases . . . On third base, Ware has 50 putouts and a .916 fielding percentage . . . She was named MAC West Division Player of the Week March 2 and March 30.
Milian Breaking Records: With 195 strikeouts this season, Milian surpassed Ball State's career strikeout leader, Bernie Coffman (1986-89), who amassed 628, against Indiana April 14 . . . To date, Milian has 651 career strikeouts . . . Milian already owns the school's single season record for strike outs, accumulating 204 in 2009 . . . With 73 career wins, Milian is second to Coffman in this category and needs just five wins to take the lead . . . Milian was chosen as the Mid-American Conference West Pitcher of the Week (April 13), her fifth nod this season and 11th 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.
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 . . . 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.
Additional Team Leaders: 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 and conference-leading 22 steals in 27 attempts this season . . . 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 is batting .268 overall and a team-leading .355 in conference play...Kate Wilczynski recorded her 27th start in 39 games played Sunday and is second on the team with a .312 batting average and .558 slugging percentage...Wilczynski has tallied 12 extra base hits for the Cardinals, including three home runs.
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 115-101 at Ball State . . . He owns an 838-191 career coaching mark for a .814 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 championships and eight regional titles in his 11 seasons.
2010 Season: Currently 28-11 overall, the Cardinals were on a six-game winning streak until this weekend's losses to Kent State . . . Their longest winning streak this season spanned nine games (March 6-19) and they lost just two games out of 16 during the month of March . . . One of these March wins was a 2-1 upset against then-ranked No. 3 Missouri.
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.
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.
