Ball State University Athletics
Softball Takes On Toledo In Think Pink Weekend At Home
April 24, 2010 | Softball
TWITTER: @BallStSoftball
Game Information: Ball State (30-13; 8-4 MAC) takes on the Toledo Rockets (9-30; 3-9 MAC) Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at the BSU Softball Complex in Muncie, Ind. Sunday's game has a Think Pink theme in which the Cardinals will wear pink jerseys. The jerseys were donated by US Bank and Tom Durment and are featured in an online auction that opened April 9 and will end after the last pitch of Sunday's game. Fans are also encouraged to wear pink to the game and Ball State Athletics is assisting by selling pink leis for $1 at the BSU Softball Complex. All proceeds from the auction and the lei sale will be donated to Cancer Services of East Central Indiana, Inc.-Little Red Door. For more information on the Think Pink game and auction, click HERE.
This marks the seventh conference opponent of the year for the Cardinals who will play a total of 11 MAC teams. Live stats and audio (91.3 WCRD) will be available on www.ballstatesports.com and inning-by-inning updates provided by @BallStSoftball on Twitter.
Series History: Ball State and Toledo have met 82 times prior to this weekend's two-game series . . . The Cardinals lead the overall series 42-39 and the teams have tallied one tied game . . . Ball State posted two wins against the Rockets in 2009 with scores of 2-0 and 4-3 (in nine innings), April 11 and 12, respectively, in Toledo, Ohio . . . The last time the Rockets defeated the Cardinals was in the 2005 season in a three-game sweep in Toledo April 3-4.
CARDINALS RECAP:
Doubleheader Sweep of Bowling Green 17-4 and 12-3 Friday: The Ball State softball team overcame a four game slump by sweeping Mid-American Conference opponent Bowling Green in a doubleheader Friday at the BSU Softball Complex in Muncie, Ind. The Cardinals topped the Falcons 17-4 in the first game and 12-3 in the second, each ending in five innings. The two wins improve Ball State's overall record to 30-13 and its conference record to 8-4, which ties the Cardinals with Central Michigan for the top spot in the MAC West Division . . . Jessie Ware and Elizabeth Milian set single season records in the doubleheader . . . Ware is the new leader in runs and total bases, while Milian leads in strikeouts.
Barkley Bouncing Back: Junior shortstop 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 is leading the team with three triples against MAC opponents. . . She is batting .265 overall and is second only to Rozanski with a .378 at bat in conference play.
Rookie on the Rise: Freshman left fielder Amanda Carpenter is second on the team with 30 RBI and four home runs . . . She was named the MAC Player of the Week March 16.
Collins Proving Clutch: Right fielder Alyssa Collins leads the team with 16 multi-hit games this season . . . The junior's .329 batting average and 48 hits are the second best marks on the team . . . Collins was named to the All-MAC Second Team and MAC All-Tournament Team in 2009.
Milian Breaking Records: Ace pitcher Elizabeth Milian owns 667 strikeouts in her career and surpassed Ball State's career strikeout leader, Bernie Coffman (1986-89) who tallied 628, April 14 against Indiana . . . Ball State's single season record holder in strikeouts after accumulating 204 in 2009, Milian broke her 2009 record Friday against Bowling Green and has 211 this season . . . With 75 career wins, Milian is second to Coffman in this category and needs just three 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 . . . In 2009, Milian was named the Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Year.
Montalto on a Mission: Catcher Amanda Montalto leads the team and the conference with 13 doubles and 33 RBIs . . .She also leads the team with five home runs and slugged her fifth this season and first at the BSU Softball Complex Friday against Bowling Green . . . Montalto has been walked a team and conference-high 22 times.
Rozanski Running: Center fielder 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 and conference-leading 26 steals this season . . . With 103 steals in three years, she owns the Ball State career record in this category . . . Rozanski's single season record for stolen bases is 43, which she tallied in 2008 to become the school's leader . . . The redshirt junior also leads the team in conference play this season batting at a .385 clip and is tied for the top seed with Collins with 15 hits against MAC opponents.
Ware a Triple Threat: Jessie Ware, a senior transfer from Arizona State, has broken three Ball State single season records this year . . . Her first record was set April 9 against Central Michigan when she hit her 10th triple . . . She also became the school's single season leader in runs and total bases Friday against Bowling Green with 43 and 98 to date, respectively . . . She is batting at a team-leading .390 clip and also leads the team with 55 hits and a .695 slugging percentage . . . Ware leads the MAC in hits, runs scored, triples and total bases . . .She was named MAC West Division Player of the Week March 2 and March 30.
Wilczynski Wowing: Starting every game for the Cardinals since April 9, first baseman Kate Wilczynski is batting at a .321 clip, owns a .568 slugging percentage overall and leads the team with a .444 on-base percentage . . . Wilczynski leads the team with 12 RBI in conference play and is tied for the top team spot with five doubles and two home runs . . . She was named the MAC Player of the Week April 20.
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 117-103 at Ball State . . . He owns an 840-193 career coaching mark for a .813 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 30-13 overall, the Cardinals played 31 non-conference games this season and concluded their non-conference schedule Wednesday against Purdue . . . The team finished with a record of 22-9 in non-conference play . . . Ball State's 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 players have earned nine weekly conference awards.
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.
