Ball State University Athletics
Softball Hosts Central Michigan in Doubleheader Friday
April 08, 2010 | Softball
TWITTER UPDATES: @BallStSoftball
Game Information: Returning to play after a narrow 4-5 loss to IPFW Tuesday, the Ball State Cardinals (21-8) host the Central Michigan Chippewas (15-10) in a doubleheader at the BSU Softball Complex in Muncie, Ind., Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. . . . The Cardinals currently lead the Mid-American Conference in pitching and fielding, while the Chippewas claim the MAC lead in batting.
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 108-98 at Ball State . . . He owns an 831-188 career coaching mark for a .816 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: Having played 26 consecutive road games at the beginning of the season and upsetting then-ranked No. 3 Missouri, the Cardinals began home play April 3 and are now 1-2 at home . . . Their longest winning streak this season spanned nine games (March 6-March 19) . . . 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 Stumble Against IPFW: Senior third baseman, Jessie Ware went three-for-three at bat against IPFW, including two triples, and Kate Wilczynski slugged her first home run of the season, but these efforts weren't enough to erase the four runs scored by the Mastodons in the first inning, Tuesday . . . Freshman Audra Sanders was on the mound for the Cardinals and struck out eight batters while allowing five hits.
Ball State Pitching and Fielding Leads the MAC: The Cardinals own a conference leading 1.73 earned run average . . . The three-player staff has posted 211 strike outs and walked only 34 batters in 194.2 innings . . . Ball State's ace, Elizabeth Milian, owns a conference-leading 1.11 ERA, .175 opponent batting average, 15 wins, 15 complete games and seven shutouts . . . In the field, Ball State leads the conference with only 19 errors and a .973 fielding percentage.
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 .424 clip . . . She also leads the team with 42 hits, 32 runs, 9 triples and a .818 slugging percentage . . . She notched her ninth triple April 6 to tie Cindy Sands (1987) for the single season record at Ball State . . . With 19 RBI, she is second to Amanda Montalto who owns 22 . . . Montalto and Ware are tied with nine doubles and four homeruns apiece . . . In the MAC, Ware leads in runs scored, triples and total bases . . . She shares the top-spot in the conference for doubles with Montalto . . . On the field, Ware has 37 putouts and a .920 fielding percentage . . . She was named MAC West Player of the Week March 2 and March 30.
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 .286 batting average with 26 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 23 total bases in 92 at bats, including 19 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.
