Ball State University Athletics
Softball Continues MAC Play Friday
April 14, 2011 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State softball team returns to Mid-American Conference action this weekend as the squad heads north for contests with Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan.
Ball State enters weekend play with a 25-14 overall record and 5-1 tally in league play after sweeping Miami last weekend in Oxford, Ohio and defeating Wright State Tuesday at the BSU Softball Complex. Ball State starts with a twin bill Friday versus Eastern Michigan at 1 p.m., followed by games versus Central Michigan Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals swept the RedHawks Saturday and Sunday by scores of 5-3 and 1-0 at the MU Softball Stadium and broke from league play Tuesday to shut out the Raiders, 9-0, in five quick innings.
Versus Wright State, BSU limited its opponents to a .125 batting average and junior pitchers Audrey Workman (Wickenburg, Ariz./Wickenburg) and Kim Mazzapica (Palm Harbor, Fla./East Lake) combined for a perfect 0.00 ERA on the day. After four innings of work, Workman allowed two hits, while striking out three Raiders batters to improve to 8-5 on the season with the win. Coming in as a reliever in the fifth, Mazzapica fanned two Wright State batters.
Junior catcher Amanda Montalto (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) recorded a standout day for Ball State, going a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate with her seventh home run of the season to right center field to drive in seniors Alyssa Collins (Fortville, Ind./Mt. Vernon) and Alicia Barkley (Oklahoma City, Okla./Putnam City) for a 2.500 slugging percentage.
In the fourth, freshman Jennifer Gilbert (McKinney, Texas/McKinney) also added a two-run home run, her eighth of the season, to right center field to drive in senior Lisa Rozanski (Tampa, Fla./Daytona Beach CC), helping Ball State secure its 9-0 victory.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: As a team, Ball State owns a .328 batting average, while its opponents are batting .262, in addition to scoring 213 runs (5.5 runs/game), while allowing 135 runs (3.5 runs/game).
Collins leads the Cardinals offensively with a .408 batting average, in addition to four doubles, one triple and 17 RBI, while Barkley ranks second on the squad with a .403 batting average with seven doubles, two triples, one home run, 12 RBI and a team-high 15 stolen bases.
From the circle, Mazzapica has made 17 appearances with a 2.55 ERA in 49.1 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. Workman owns a 4.28 ERA in 68.2 innings pitched with 17 appearances.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES: The matchup marks the 86th and 87th time Ball State and Eastern Michigan will meet, as the Cardinals own the 51-34 series advantage. The two squads last met during the 2010 season in Muncie, Ind. as Ball State swept its opponent by scores of 3-1 and 4-3.
Eastern Michigan owns a 20-8 overall record and a 5-1 mark in MAC play after splitting a doubleheader with Oakland Tuesday in Ypsilanti, Mich. Junior Kaylee Tolliver from Amanda, Ohio leads the Eagles at the plate, batting .500 with three doubles and six RBI, while junior McKenna Russ, a native of North Canton, Ohio, is 34-for-70 with eight doubles, five home runs and 20 RBI.
From the circle, Jenna Ignowski has made 18 appearances and owns an 11-3 record on the season with a 1.20 ERA in 81.2 innings of work. For the second consecutive week and third time this season, the Niles, Mich. native earned MAC West Pitcher of the Week honors after going 2-0 this weekend against Bowling Green and Toledo, maintaining a 0.00 ERA.
SCOUTING THE CHIPPEWAS: The weekend contests stand as the 87th and 88th meetings between Ball State and Central Michigan, as the Chippewas own the 66-20 series advantage. The teams last met during the 2010 season in Muncie, Ind. during a nine-game home stand in which the Cardinals and Chippewas split a doubleheader.
Central Michigan owns a 20-13 overall record and 1-6 mark in league play after falling to No. 4 Michigan Wednesday in Ann Arbor, Mich., 3-0. Junior Molly Coldren, a native of West Bloomfield, Mich., is batting 26-for-74, with two doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 22 RBI for a team-high .730 slugging percentage. From the circle, sophomore Kara Dornbos has made 18 appearances with a 1.41 ERA in 84.2 innings of work, while senior Kari Seddon owns a 7-6 mark on the season with a 1.89 ERA in 74.0 innings of work.
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: 4th, .402 |
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Individual Pitching: |
Mazzapica: 5th, 2.61 |
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Collins: 2nd, 51 (1.34 H/G) |
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Gilbert: 5th, 44 (1.16 H/G) |
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Triples: |
Barkley: T-5th, 2 (.05 3B/G) |
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Runs Scored: |
Barkley: 1st, 34 (.89 R/G) |
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Doubles: |
Gilbert: 4th, 11 (.29 2B/G) |
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Carpenter: T-5th, 10 (.26 2B/G) |
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RBI: |
Gilbert: 1st, 37 (.97 RBI/G) |
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Taylor Rager: T-4th, 28 (.78 RBI/G) |
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Stolen Bases: |
Barkley: T-4th, 15 (.39 SB/G) |
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Total Bases: |
Gilbert: 1st, 78 (2.05 TB/G) |
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Walks: |
Rozanski: 4th, 19 (.50 BB/G) |
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Kate Wilczynski: 5th, 18 (.64 BB/G) |
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Slugging Percentage: |
Montalto: 4th, .675 |
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Wins: |
Sanders: 2nd, 13-8 |
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Innings Pitched: |
Sanders: 2nd, 131.0 (5.46 IP/G) |
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Strikeouts: |
Sanders: 2nd, 104 (5.56 SO/G) |
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Appearances: |
Sanders: T-4th, 20 |
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Saves: |
Mazzapica: T-1st, 2 |
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Games Started: |
Sanders: 2nd, 20 |
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Shutouts: |
Sanders: T-5th, 3 |
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Complete Games: |
Sanders: 2nd, 14 |
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Team Stats (Top 3) |
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On Base Percentage: 2nd, .399 |
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Runs Scored: 2nd, 204 |
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Hits: 1st, 337 |
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RBI: 2nd, 184 |
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Doubles: T-3rd, 62 |
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Triples: 2nd, 5 |
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Total Bases: 1st, 472 |
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Total Plate Appearances: 1st, 1194 |
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At Bats: 1st, 1041 |
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Walks: 1st, 120 |
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Strikeouts: 3rd, 170 |
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Sac Flies: 1st, 9 |
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Stolen Bases: 2nd, 65 |
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Caught Stealing: T-3rd, 14 |
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Grounded Into DP: T-1st, 4 |
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Innings Pitched: 1st, 245.0 |
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Batters Struck Out, 3rd, 186 |
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Batters Struck Out Looking: 3rd, 57 |
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Saves: T-2nd, 3 |
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Sac Bunts Allowed: 2nd, 27 |
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Fielding Percentage: 1st, .972 |
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Chances: 2nd, 1011 |
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Putouts: 1st, 735 |
TWO MORE FOR THE RECORD: Montalto sits at second place in the record book with 18 home runs, just one shy of tying former Cardinal Abby Gross' (2005-08) career record of 19 career home runs. With two more, she will move into sole possession of first place in program history and break her 2010 single season total of eight.
TERRIFIC FRESHMAN: Gilbert is continuing a phenomenal start to her collegiate career, as the freshman is 35-for-99 with 10 runs scored since the start of the season, including a team-high eight home runs and a grand slam. Also making a standout impact at the plate, freshman Taylor Rager (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) owns a .354 batting average with five doubles and four home runs, including one grand slam recorded at Ohio, and 29 RBI.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Ball State has traveled a total of approximately 5,950 miles so far this season after visiting 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 heads to Bloomington, Ind. for a midweek contest with Indiana at 3 p.m. Wednesday before returning to league action Friday in a doubleheader versus Kent State at the BSU Softball Complex. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
