Ball State University Athletics
Softball Hosts Wright State Tuesday
April 11, 2011 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State softball team breaks from Mid-American Conference play for a midweek contest with Wright State Tuesday afternoon at the BSU Softball Complex.
The Cardinals enter the week with a 24-14 overall record and 5-1 tally in league play after sweeping the Miami RedHawks (16-15, 2-4) Saturday and Sunday. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: Ball State posted two league road victories against Miami by scores of 5-3 and 1-0 last weekend at the MU Softball Stadium in Oxford, Ohio.
Ball State limited its opponents to a .229 batting average and the squad's pitching staff allowed three runs, posting a 1.50 ERA on the weekend.
Freshman first baseman Taylor Rager (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) tallied a .500 batting average (2-for-4), while classmate Jennifer Gilbert (McKinney, Texas/McKinney) and junior catcher Amanda Montalto (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) tallied both home runs on the weekend.
In Ball State's 5-3 victory Saturday, Gilbert hit her first career grand-slam, bringing home senior shortstop Alicia Barkley (Oklahoma City, Okla./Putnam City) and senior right fielder Alyssa Collins (Fortville, Ind./Mt. Vernon), who both reached on fielding errors, and Rager, who drew a walk. The home run marked Gilbert's seventh of the season.
Sunday, in the Cardinals' 1-0 shutout victory, junior catcher Amanda Montalto (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) blasted a homer through center field, going a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: As a team, Ball State owns a .324 batting average, while its opponents are batting .264, in addition to scoring 204 runs (5.4 runs/game), while allowing 135 runs (3.6 runs/game).
Collins leads the Cardinals offensively with a .402 batting average, in addition to four doubles, one triple and 17 RBI, while Barkley ranks second on the squad with a .397 batting average with seven doubles, two triples, one home run, 11 RBI and a team-high 15 stolen bases.
From the circle, junior Kim Mazzapica (Palm Harbor, Fla./East Lake) has made 16 appearances with a 2.61 ERA in 48.1 innings of work, while sophomore Audra Sanders (Lynnville, Ind./Tecumseh) has made 24 appearances and owns a 13-8 mark on the season with a 2.73 ERA in 131.0 innings of work. Junior Audrey Workman (Wickenburg, Ariz./Wickenburg) owns a 4.55 ERA in 64.2 innings pitched with 16 appearances.
SCOUTING THE RAIDERS: The matchup marks the 11th time Ball State and Wright State will meet, as the Cardinals own the 8-2 series advantage. The two squads last met during the 2010 season during the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. as Ball State shutout its opponent, 10-0.
The Raiders own a 18-16 overall record and a 7-2 mark in the Horizon League after defeating Green Bay in a twin bill Sunday at the WSU Softball Field, 5-2 and 8-1. Junior Chelsea Archer, a native of Thornville, Ohio, paces the Raiders at the plate, batting .429 with three doubles, one triple and nine RBI. From the circle, Chelsea Contant has made 16 appearances and owns a 5-2 record on the season with a 2.49 ERA in 50.2 innings of work, while Krystian DeWitt owns a 2.83 ERA in 143.1 innings pitched with 27 appearances.
IN THE MAC: Ball State's standings in the MAC:
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Individual Stats (Top 5) |
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Individual Batting: |
Collins: 5th, .412; Barkley: 6, .408 |
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Hits: |
Barkley: 1st, 51 (1.42 H/G) |
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Collins: 2nd, 49 (1.36 H/G) |
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Jennifer Gilbert: 3rd, 42 (1.17 H/G) |
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Amanda Carpenter: T-4th, 38 (1.06 H/G) |
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Home Runs: |
Gilbert: 4th, 6 (.17 HR/G) |
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Triples: |
Barkley: T-1st, 2 (.06 3B/G) |
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Runs Scored: |
Barkley: 1st, 33 (.92 R/G) |
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Gilbert: T-3rd, 25 (.69 R/G) |
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Carpenter: T-3rd, 25 (.69 R/G) |
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Lisa Rozanski: T-3rd, 25 (.69 R/G) |
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Doubles: |
Gilbert: 1st, 11 (.31 2B/G) |
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Montalto: T-2nd, 10 (.29 2B/G) |
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Carpenter: T-5th, 9 (.25 2B/G) |
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RBI: |
Gilbert: 1st, 32 (.89 RBI/G) |
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Rager: 2nd, 21 (1.11 RBI/G) |
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Stolen Bases: |
Barkley: 1st, 15 (.42 SB/G) |
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Total Bases: |
Gilbert: 1st, 73 (2.03 TB/G) |
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Barkley: 2nd, 65 (1.81 TB/G) |
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Walks: |
Rozanski: 2nd, 19 (.52 BB/G) |
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Kate Wilczynski: T-3rd, 17 (.65 BB/G) |
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Slugging Percentage: |
Montalto: 5th, .658 |
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Wins: |
Sanders: 2nd, 12-8 |
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Workman: T-5th, 7-5 |
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Innings Pitched: |
Sanders: 2nd, 124.0 (5.39 IP/G) |
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Strikeouts: |
Sanders: 2nd, 98 (5.53 SO/G) |
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Appearances: |
Sanders: T-2nd, 23 |
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Saves: |
Mazzapica: T-1st, 2 |
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Games Started: |
Sanders: 2nd, 19 |
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Shutouts: |
Workman, Sanders: T-4th, 2 |
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Complete Games: |
Sanders: 2nd, 13 |
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Team Stats (Top 3) |
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On Base Percentage: 1st, .402 |
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Runs Scored: 1st, 198 |
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Hits: 1st, 323 |
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RBI: 1st, 178 |
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Doubles: 1st, 61 |
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Triples: 1st, 4 |
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Total Bases: 1st, 449 |
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Total Plate Appearances: 1st, 1131 |
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At Bats: 1st, 985 |
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Walks: 1st, 113 |
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Strikeouts: 2nd, 154 |
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Sac Flies: 1st, 9 |
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Stolen Bases: 2nd, 65 |
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Steal Attempts: 2nd, 77 |
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Grounded Into DP: 1st, 4 |
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Innings Pitched: 1st, 231.0 |
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Batters Struck Out, 2nd, 179 |
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Wins: 1st, 22 |
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Saves: T-1st, 3 |
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Sac Bunts Allowed: 1st, 26 |
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Hit Batters: 3rd, 20 |
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Fielding Percentage: 2nd, .972 |
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Chances: 1st, 949 |
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Putouts: 1st, 693 |
THREE MORE FOR THE RECORD: Montalto sits at second place in the record book with 17 home runs, just two shy of tying former Cardinal Abby Gross' (2005-08) career record of 19 career home runs. With three more, she will move into sole possession of first place in program history and break her 2010 single season total of eight.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Following the Cardinals' trip to Oxford, Ohio last weekend, Ball State has already traveled a total of approximately 5,950 miles so far this season. The Cardinals have already visited Clarksville, Tenn. for the Austin Peay Tournament and a round-trip total of 718 miles, in addition to the 1,149 mile venture to Woodstock, Ga. for the Phyllis Rafter Memorial and back.
The cruise to the Under Armour Invitational and Under Armour Showcase racked up approximately 2,138 miles round trip, in addition to a 211.5 mile pit-stop to Orlando in-between. Then, a voyage over to Troutville, Va. for the Radford Tournament added another 933 miles and the excursion to Oxford, Ohio for the Miami Tournament added 150 miles, before Ball State started MAC play in Athens, Ohio and Akron, Ohio, adding an additional 650 miles to the squad's tally.
CARDINALS ADD FIVE: Ball State head coach Craig Nicholson announced that five student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to join the Ball State softball program for the 2012 season. Loren Cihar (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North), Taylor Cox (Garden Grove, Calif./Pacifica), Jessica Craft (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte), Haley Smith (Baytown, Texas/Lee) and Hanne Stuedemann (Mattawan, Mich./Mattawan) will be joining the returning Cardinals next season.
CARDINALS PICKED FIRST IN MAC WEST: Ball State was picked to finish first in the MAC West Division in the preseason coaches' poll, followed by Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Toledo. In the East Division, Miami was selected to win, followed by Ohio, Kent State, Bowling Green, Buffalo and Akron. The RedHawks were also predicted to win the 2011 MAC tournament title.
Live stats will be provided for all games on BallStateSports.com and updates can be found by following @BallStSoftball on Twitter.
COMING UP FOR THE CARDINALS: Ball State continues league action Friday, April 15 in a doubleheader versus Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
