Ball State University Athletics
Softball Hosts IPFW Tuesday at 3 p.m.
April 05, 2010 | Softball
Game Information: Coming of a split series with Miami Saturday and Sunday, the Ball State Cardinals (21-7) host IPFW (19-10) at the BSU Softball Complex in Muncie, Ind., Tuesday at 3 p.m. The Mastodons are on a six-game winning streak and swept North Dakota State Friday and Saturday. Ball State leads the all-time games series against IPFW with a 7-3 record. The teams last met in the 2008 season and split a doubleheader at the BSU Softball Complex, April 8.
There will be live stats available on www.ballstatesports.com and updates will be provided by @BallStSoftball on Twitter.
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 108-97 at Ball State . . . He owns an 831-187 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 at the beginning of the season and knocking off then-ranked No. 3 Missouri, the Cardinals opened home play this weekend by splitting a two-game series with Mid-American Conference foe Miami . . . The Cardinals have won 14 of their last 16 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.
Cardinals Split Conference and Home Opener Against Miami: Junior outfielder, Alyssa Collins went three-for-three at bat against Miami to help secure a 4-3 win for the Cardinals, Sunday . . . She posted a .429 batting average over the two-game series . . . Jessie Ware was also clutch in the win and hit a well positioned single with the bases loaded in the seventh inning to drive home the game winning run by Lisa Rozanski . . . The Ball State offense amassed seven extra base hits . . . Ace pitcher Elizabeth Milian struck out 13 batters throughout the two-game series.
Milian Chasing Records: With 133 strikeouts this season, Milian needs just 26 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 68 career wins, Milian is second to Coffman in this category and needs just nine 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 is batting at a team-leading .406 clip . . . She also leads the team with 39 hits, 30 runs, 7 triples and a .771 slugging percentage . . . With 19 RBI, she is second to Amanda Montalto who owns 22 . . . Montalto and Ware are tied with four homeruns apiece . . . On the field, Ware has 35 putouts and a .917 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 (.406), Collins (.326), Montalto (.325) and Jen Reifschneider (.300) . . . As a team, the Cardinals have hit at a .285 clip to oppenents' .195 . . . The team has 136 runs this season, of which 114 were RBIs . . . Ball State has amassed 326 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 .287 batting average with 25 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 22 total bases in 89 at bats, including 18 hits with two triples.
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.
