Ball State University Athletics
Softball Opens Season Saturday at Austin Peay Tournament
February 18, 2011 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State Softball opens the 2011 season this weekend at the Austin Peay Spring Tournament in Clarksville, Tenn.
The Cardinals begin at 9 a.m. Saturday against the Belmont Bruins, followed by a contest versus the Cleveland State Vikings at 11 a.m. Ball State will complete its play in the tournament Sunday against UMKC at 11 a.m. and host Austin Peay at 3 p.m.
Ball State returns seven starters and 17 of 19 letterwinners from a phenomenal 2010 season in which the Cardinals recorded an overall mark of 43-16 and a Mid-American Conference tally of 17-5. The squad claimed a share of the MAC regular season championship, the program's second MAC Tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA championships.
Ball State also earned top billing alongside Miami in the 2011 MAC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Cardinals are led by fifth-year head coach Craig Nicholson, assistant coach Stephanie DeFeo and graduate assistant coach Lyndsay Mouse.
"We are looking forward to opening up the season this weekend," Nicholson said. "I know this team is prepared and I expect us to build upon our success from last year. Obviously every season brings new challenges and new opportunities and this group believes in their ability to meet those challenges and take advantage of their opportunities."
The squad is led by the return of four all-MAC players in Lisa Rozanski (Tampa, Fla./Daytona Beach CC), Alicia Barkley (Oklahoma City, Okla./Putnam City), Kate Wilczynski (Tucson, Ariz./Canyon Del Oro) and Amanda Montalto (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde). Rozanski leads a five-member senior squad, as the outfielder ranked second on the Cardinals last season with a .349 batting average. She is joined by classmates Barkley, Wilczynski, Alyssa Collins (Fortville, Ind./Mt. Vernon) and Kristy Stratton (Paw Paw, Mich./Paw Paw).
Four juniors round out the experienced upperclassmen group, including Montalto, who led the Cardinals with eight home runs and 17 doubles, Kim Mazzapica (Palm Harbor, Fla./East Lake) and transfers Audrey Workman (Wickenburg, Ariz./Wickenburg) and Alison Mercado (Perris, Calif./Arizona Western).
Sadie Robertson (Fenton, Mo./Rockwood Summit), Amanda Carpenter (Santee, Calif./Santana), Hannah Zimmerman (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina Memorial) and Audra Sanders (Lynnville, Ind./Tecumseh) make up the four-member sophomore class, while freshmen Audrey Bickel (Munster, Ind./Andrean), Julie Cortez (Colorado Springs, Colo./Chaparrel), Jennifer Gilbert (McKinney, Texas/McKinney), Katrina Morales (Whittier, Calif./St. Paul), Taylor Rager (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) and Lauren Schroeder (Greenfield, Ind./New Palentine) join redshirt freshman Lauren Williamson (Anderson, Ind./Highland) as the other underclassmen on the 2011 roster.
Saturday's game stands as the second meeting all-time between Ball State and Belmont, with the Cardinals winning the first contest, 8-6, Feb. 23, 2007 at the Middle Tennessee State Tournament. In 2010, Belmont finished league play with an overall record of 10-44 and 3-17 mark in A-Sun play.
Ball State and Cleveland State have met on one other occasion with the Vikings winning the sole contest. Cleveland State finished the 2010 season with a 44-16 overall record and 22-2 tally in the Horizon League.
UMKC finished the 2010 season with a 22-26 record (12-10 Summit League), while Austin Peay went 16-35 (8-14 OVC). The contest versus Austin Peay marks the seventh contest between the squads as the Cardinals own a 6-0 record against the Governors. Ball State claimed an 8-1 victory last season during the Chattanooga Frost Classic when the two teams last met.
Nicholson and the team open the home portion of the 2011 season in a doubleheader versus Dayton at the BSU Softball Complex, beginning at 3 p.m. on March 24.
