Ball State University Athletics
Softball Heads to Miami for More MAC Action
April 07, 2011 | Softball
MUNCIE, Ind. - The Ball State softball team returns to action this weekend as the squad travels to Oxford, Ohio for a pair of weekend contests with Miami (OH) at the MU Softball Complex.
The Cardinals enter weekend play with a 22-14 overall record after going 3-1 last weekend against the Ohio Bobcats and the Akron Zips. Ball State begins with a contest versus Miami Saturday at 2 p.m. and will complete play Sunday at 1 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: Ball State Softball closed out its four-game Mid-American Conference road series with a 1-0 loss to Akron Sunday afternoon at the Lee R. Jackson Field. With the loss, the Cardinals dropped to 22-14 overall and 3-1 in league play.
Ball State limited its opponents to a .223 batting average and the squad's pitching staff allowed 11 runs, posting a 2.96 ERA on the weekend.
Senior right fielder Alyssa Collins (Fortville, Ind./Mt. Vernon) tallied a .533 batting average (8-for-15), while freshman first baseman Taylor Rager (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) recorded one of three home runs on the weekend, including her first career grand slam against Ohio, and drove in seven of the Cardinals' 22 runs.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: As a team, Ball State owns a .328 batting average, while its opponents are batting .266, in addition to scoring 198 runs (5.5 runs/game), while allowing 132 runs (3.7 runs/game).
Collins leads the Cardinals offensively with a .412 batting average, in addition to four doubles and 17 RBI. Senior shortstop Alicia Barkley (Oklahoma City, Okla./Putnam City) ranks second on the squad with a .408 batting average with seven doubles, two triples, 11 RBI and a team-high 15 stolen bases.
From the circle, sophomore Audra Sanders (Lynnville, Ind./Tecumseh) leads the team in 23 appearances with a 2.88 ERA in 124.0 innings, while junior Kim Mazzapica (Palm Harbor, Fla./East Lake) has made 15 appearances and owns a 3-1 mark on the season with a 2.89 ERA in 43.2 innings of work. Junior Audrey Workman (Wickenburg, Ariz./Wickenburg) owns a 4.38 ERA in 62.1 innings pitched with 15 appearances.
Workman helped to lead a strong defensive unit in Ball State's 7-1 victory versus Akron Saturday, as she threw a shutout up until the bottom of the seventh , giving up only one run. After seven innings of work, Workman gave up one run off two hits, improving to 7-5 on the season with the win for the Cardinals.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: The weekend matchups mark the 79th and 80th times Ball State and Miami will meet, as the Cardinals own the 41-37 series advantage. The two squads last met during the 2010 season as BSU and Miami split the series in Muncie, Ind.
The RedHawks own a 16-13 overall record after dropping their home midweek contest to the IPFW Mastadons, 4-2. Freshman Kayla Ledbetter, a native of Gahanna, Ohio, leads Miami's charge, batting .375, including six doubles, one triple, one home run and 14 RBI. Pitcher Jessica Simpson, from North Canton, Ohio, has made 25 appearances and owns a 14-8 record on the season with a 1.70 ERA in 152.1 innings of work.
IN THE MAC: Ball State's standings in the MAC:
|
Individual Stats (Top 5) |
|
|
Individual Batting: |
Collins: 5th, .412; Barkley: 6, .408 |
|
Hits: |
Barkley: 1st, 51 (1.42 H/G) |
|
Collins: 2nd, 49 (1.36 H/G) |
|
|
Jennifer Gilbert: 3rd, 42 (1.17 H/G) |
|
|
Amanda Carpenter: T-4th, 38 (1.06 H/G) |
|
|
Home Runs: |
Gilbert: 4th, 6 (.17 HR/G) |
|
Triples: |
Barkley: T-1st, 2 (.06 3B/G) |
|
Runs Scored: |
Barkley: 1st, 33 (.92 R/G) |
|
Gilbert: T-3rd, 25 (.69 R/G) |
|
|
Carpenter: T-3rd, 25 (.69 R/G) |
|
|
Lisa Rozanski: T-3rd, 25 (.69 R/G) |
|
|
Doubles: |
Gilbert: 1st, 11 (.31 2B/G) |
|
Amanda Montalto: T-2nd, 10 (.29 2B/G) |
|
|
Carpenter: T-5th, 9 (.25 2B/G) |
|
|
RBI: |
Gilbert: 1st, 32 (.89 RBI/G) |
|
Rager: 2nd, 21 (1.11 RBI/G) |
|
|
Stolen Bases: |
Barkley: 1st, 15 (.42 SB/G) |
|
Total Bases: |
Gilbert: 1st, 73 (2.03 TB/G) |
|
Barkley: 2nd, 65 (1.81 TB/G) |
|
|
Walks: |
Lisa Rozanski: 2nd, 19 (.52 BB/G) |
|
Kate Wilczynski: T-3rd, 17 (.65 BB/G) |
|
|
Slugging Percentage: |
Montalto: 5th, .658 |
|
Wins: |
Sanders: 2nd, 12-8 |
|
Workman: T-5th, 7-5 |
|
|
Innings Pitched: |
Sanders: 2nd, 124.0 (5.39 IP/G) |
|
Strikeouts: |
Sanders: 2nd, 98 (5.53 SO/G) |
|
Appearances: |
Sanders: T-2nd, 23 |
|
Saves: |
Mazzapica: T-1st, 2 |
|
Games Started: |
Sanders: 2nd, 19 |
|
Shutouts: |
Workman, Sanders: T-4th, 2 |
|
Complete Games: |
Sanders: 2nd, 13 |
|
Team Stats (Top 3) |
|
On Base Percentage: 1st, .402 |
|
Runs Scored: 1st, 198 |
|
Hits: 1st, 323 |
|
RBI: 1st, 178 |
|
Doubles: 1st, 61 |
|
Triples: 1st, 4 |
|
Total Bases: 1st, 449 |
|
Total Plate Appearances: 1st, 1131 |
|
At Bats: 1st, 985 |
|
Walks: 1st, 113 |
|
Strikeouts: 2nd, 154 |
|
Sac Flies: 1st, 9 |
|
Stolen Bases: 2nd, 65 |
|
Steal Attempts: 2nd, 77 |
|
Grounded Into DP: 1st, 4 |
|
Innings Pitched: 1st, 231.0 |
|
Batters Struck Out, 2nd, 179 |
|
Wins: 1st, 22 |
|
Saves: T-1st, 3 |
|
Sac Bunts Allowed: 1st, 26 |
|
Hit Batters: 3rd, 20 |
|
Fielding Percentage: 2nd, .972 |
|
Chances: 1st, 949 |
|
Putouts: 1st, 693 |
FOUR MORE FOR THE RECORD: Montalto sits at second place in the record book with 16 home runs, just three shy of tying former Cardinal Abby Gross' (2005-08) career record of 19 career home runs. With four 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 this weekend's trip to Oxford, Ohio, 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 last weekend, 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 has a home contest with Wright State Tuesday, starting at 3 p.m. from the BSU Softball Complex and the squad will continue league action Friday, April 15 in a doubleheader versus Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
