Ball State University Athletics
Softball Travels To Western Michigan For Two-Game Weekend Series
May 01, 2010 | Softball
Series History: Ball State and Western Michigan have met 99 times prior to this weekend's two-game series . . . The Broncos lead the overall series 57-42 . . . In 2009, Ball State split a doubleheader with Western Michigan April 18 in Muncie, Ind. . . . The Broncos won the first game 5-4 in eight innings and the Cardinals won the second game 10-2 in five innings.
GAME RECAP:
Two-Game Sweep of Northern Illinois 10-7 and 7-6 Friday: The Ball State softball team swept Mid-American Conference opponent Northern Illinois in a doubleheader Friday at the Mary M. Bell Field in DeKalb, Ill. . . . The Cardinals topped the Huskies 10-7 in a 10-inning win in the first game and 7-6 in an eight-inning second game . . . Jessie Ware hit for the cycle in the first game and her and Montalto tied the single season record for doubles in the second . . . The two wins improve Ball State's overall record to 34-13 and its conference record to 12-4, which gives the Cardinals the top spot in the MAC West Division and ties them with Kent State overall.
PLAYER NOTES:
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 tied for first on the team with three triples against MAC opponents. . . Her batting average has improved steadily over the last three weeks and she is now batting .268 overall.
Rookie on the Rise: Freshman left fielder Amanda Carpenter is second on the team with six home runs . . . Named the MAC Player of the Week March 16, she is batting .311 overall and .346 in conference play . . . The rookie is ranked second in the conference with 36 runs scored and 32 RBI . . . She is tied for first on the team with four home runs in MAC play.
Collins Proving Clutch: Right fielder Alyssa Collins is tied for first on the team with 17 multi-hit games this season . . . The junior's .331 batting average and 53 hits are the second best marks on the team . . . Her hit count is the third best in the conference . . . Collins was named to the All-MAC Second Team and MAC All-Tournament Team in 2009.
Milian Breaking Records: Ace pitcher Elizabeth Milian owns 679 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 223 this season . . . With 77 career wins, Milian is tied with Coffman in this category and needs just one win 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 is tied for first on the team and in the conference with 14 doubles . . . She leads the conference with 41 RBI and also leads the team with eight home runs and slugged her eighth this season against Northern Illinois Friday . . . Montalto has been walked a team and conference-high 23 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 30 steals this season . . . With 107 stolen bases in three years, she owns the Ball State career record in this category . . . She also set Ball State career records March 24 and April 16 this season in walks, 78, and runs, 118, respectively . . . The redshirt junior is second on the team in conference play, batting at a .396 clip and has tallied 21 hits against MAC opponents, four of which are extra base hits . . . She hit consecutive triples April 24 . . . Rozanski's single season record for stolen bases is 43, which she tallied in 2008 to become the school's leader
Ware a Triple Threat: Jessie Ware, a senior transfer from Arizona State, has set three Ball State single season records this year and tied one . . . Her first record was set April 9 against Central Michigan when she hit her 10th triple, she now has 12 . . . She also became the school's single season leader in runs and total bases April 23 against Bowling Green with 50 and 119 to date, respectively . . . She is batting at a team-leading .415 clip and also leads the team with 66 hits and a .748 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 .301 clip, owns a .516 slugging percentage overall . . . 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 121-103 at Ball State . . . He owns an 844-193 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 34-13 overall, Ball State is ranked No. 45 in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the highest in the MAC . . . The Cardinals played 31 non-conference games this season and concluded their non-conference schedule April 21 against Purdue . . . The team finished with a 22-9 record 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.
