Ball State University Athletics
Softball Travels To Cal Poly For Mustang Classic
March 22, 2012 | Softball
►CARDINALS WRAP UP PRE-CONFERENCE SLATE: The Ball State softball team wraps up its 2012 pre-conference slate this weekend when it travels to San Luis Obispo, Calif., for the Mustang Classic hosted by Cal Poly . . . Ball State opens the tournament Friday, when it battles UNLV at 3:30 p.m. (ET) / 12:30 p.m. (PT) and Cal Poly at 8:30 p.m. (ET) / 5:30 p.m. (PT).
►FOLLOW LIVE: Ball State fans can follow the action this weekend with live stats for all five games at the link above . . . Live audio will also be available for both matches versus Cal Poly . . . BSU fans can also follow the games via twitter @BallStSoftball and by liking the Ball State Softball facebook page.
►CARDINALS ALL-TIME: After posting a 3-1 record last week, the Ball State softball program moved its all-time record to 793-890-4 (.471) in 37-plus seasons of play . . . Established as a varsity program in 1975, Ball State has won two Mid-American Conference regular season titles (2009 and 2010), two MAC tournament championships (1998 and 2010) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice (1998 and 2010).
►HEAD COACH CRAIG NICHOLSON: The fastest coach in program history to eclipse the 100-win mark, Craig Nicholson picked up his 900th collegiate coaching victory versus Northern Colorado (March 11) . . . In his sixth season as Ball State's head coach, Nicholson has amassed a 180-137 (.568) record at BSU, including a 16-7 record so far in 2012 . . . Under his guidance, the program won its first-ever Mid-American Conference regular season championship in 2009 with the best league record in program history (18-3) and repeated the feat in 2010 . . . The 2010 squad, which set program records for wins in a season (43) and winning percentage in a season (.729), also captured just the second MAC Tournament title in program history to advance to the NCAA Tournament . . . Nicholson owns a 903-227 (.799) career coaching record including his 723-90 mark in 11 years at Central Arizona.
►LEADING THE MAC: With a week left until league play begins, the Cardinals enter the Mustang Invitational with the best record in the Mid-American Conference at 16-7 (.696) . . . Bowling Green and Miami are tied for second with identical 15-9 (.625) records heading into the day Thursday . . . Western Michigan (11-9) and Central Michigan (11-11) are right behind BSU in the MAC West Division.
►A GLIMPSE AT THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:
UNLV enters the Mustang Classic with a 14-12 overall record after playing in just two games at the San Diego Classic II due to weather . . . The Rebels scored wins over Purdue (6-2) and Harvard (7-2) at the classic . . . Paige Emerson paces UNLV with a .378 batting average, and also owns team-highs of 16 runs scored and seven doubles . . . Amanda Oliveto has a team-best 9-7 record, having made 20 appearances on the mound and posting a team-low 1.84 ERA over 106.2 innings of work . . . UNLV is batting .246 as a team, with 92 runs scored in 26 games . . . Rebel's opponents are batting .260 and have scored 97 runs . . . Friday's contest will be the first meeting between BSU and UNLV in softball.
CAL POLY enters its own Mustang Invitational with a 7-13 overall record after losing six games to weather in the last week . . . The Mustangs last played March 11, suffering a 10-0 (5 inning) loss at Stanford . . . Kim Westlund leads Cal Poly with a .351 batting average, having tallied two of the team's five home runs this year . . . Rebecca Patton has a team-best 5-6 record and a 4.75 ERA in 16 appearances in the circle . . . As a team, the Mustangs are batting .237 with 64 runs over its 20 games . . . Cal Poly opponents are batting .314 with 114 runs scored . . . Friday's game will be the first for Ball State and Cal Poly in softball.
LIPSCOMB enters the Mustang Invitational with a 16-7 record and fresh off a Monday doubleheader split versus Marshall . . . The Lady Bison, which received votes in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll, suffered a 2-1 extra-inning setback in the first game before rallying to win the nightcap 4-1 . . . Whitney Kiihnl leads the squad both at the plate and on the mound owning a .457 batting average and a 13-4 record . . . In 104.2 innings of work, Kiihnl has a 1.94 ERA and has thrown six complete game shutouts . . . As a team, the Lady Bison are batting .266 with 109 runs scored in 23 games . . . Lipscomb's opponents are batting .245 with 68 runs scored . . . The Cardinals own a 3-0 lead in the all-time series versus the Lady Bison, including a 2-0 victory March 3 at the Citrus Classic.
►SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: With wins in 10 of its last 11 games, the Ball State softball team enters the Mustang Invitational with a league-best 16-7 overall record . . . In four games last week at the Miami Invitational, the Cardinals averaged 8.5 hits and 8.25 runs per game, while out-scoring its opponents 33-7 . . . Senior catcher/designated player Amanda Montalto leads the team with a .386 batting average, while sophomore first baseman Taylor Rager is second at .380 . . . As a team, the Cardinals are first in the league with a .313 batting average, including a MAC-best 25 home runs . . . On the mound, senior right-hander Audrey Workman has a 1.39 ERA and an 8-5 record over 85.1 innings of work, while classmate Kim Mazzapica is 8-2 in the circle with a 2.53 ERA over 63.2 innings . . . As a staff, the Cardinals have a 1.87 ERA, while limiting opposing hitters to a .221 batting average and just 40 earned runs in 150 innings of work . . . Combined, BSU has out-scored its opponents 143-61 so far this season.
►GOING, GOING, GONE: In addition to leading the Mid-American Conference, the Cardinals enter the week ranked 17th in the nation with a 1.09 home runs per game average . . . Taylor Rager leads BSU's sluggers and ranks 44th nationally with a 0.30 hpg average, having blasted seven homers so far this season . . . The Cardinals are on pace to shatter the school record for home runs in the season set last season at 44 . . . Through the first 23 games this season, BSU has already tallied 25 home runs, compared to 10 in the same span in 2011.
►DOUBLING UP: As impressive as the home run total is, the Cardinals are even better when it comes to two-base hits, ranking second in the nation with a 1.83 doubles per game average . . . Sophomore outfielder Jennifer Gilbert leads the charge in the category, ranking 13th nationally with a 0.39 average, having collected nine doubles so far this season . . . Amanda Montalto is close behind, ranking 31st in the country at 0.35 with eight doubles . . . BSU has collected 42 two-base hits so far in 2012, with the school record standing at 93 set in 2010.
►MONTALTO IN THE RANKINGS: Amanda Montalto enters the Mustang Classic as one of the greatest sluggers in MAC history . . . BSU's career leader in home runs (28) and doubles (46), she ranks second and third, respectively, in those categories in MAC history . . . Akron's Kelli Metzger (1996-99) is the MAC's all-time home runs leader at 57, while Ohio's Jenn Morris (1996-99) is the league's all-time doubles leader with 55 . . . Montalto also ranks second on BSU's all-time career list for RBI (115) and third for walks (85).
►"O CANADA": For the past three years, sophomore outfielder Jennifer Gilbert has played in numerous international competitions as part of the Canadian National Team Program . . . This past December, Gilbert (who was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) helped guide the Canadian Junior Women's National Team to a fifth-place showing at the ISF IX Junior Women's World Championship in Cape Town, South Africa (Dec. 6-17) . . . In the event, Gilbert hit .411 with 14 hits in 34 at bats, including a grand slam . . . Gilbert also played for the 2010 Canadian Junior Women's National Team and the 2009 Canadian Women's U16 National Team.
►CARDS DEALING: FROM THE CIRCLE: The Ball State pitching staff enters the Mustang Classic ranked second in the MAC with a 1.87 team ERA . . . Senior right-handed pitcher Audrey Workman is third in the league at 1.39, while senior right-hander Kim Mazzapica is 10th at 2.53 . . . Mazzapica and Workman are tied for fourth in the league with eight wins apiece . . . Workman is also fifth in both innings pitched (85.1) and opponent batting average (.206).
►MERCADO STEPPING IN: Senior infielder Alison Mercado, who started all 58 games for BSU last season at second base, turned in a solid weekend at shortstop during the Miami Invitational filling in for an injured Jessica Craft who had started the first 22 games in the position . . . Over the four games, Mercado ranked second on the team with a .444 (4-for-9) batting average and also drew a pair of walks . . . She posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 10 putouts and four assists in 14 chances.
►CARPENTER DRIVES IT HOME: Junior outfielder Amanda Carpenter was named the MAC West Division Player of the Week after scoring six runs, driving in five RBI and blasting two home runs at the Miami Invitational last weekend . . . After the solid all around performance, Carpenter ranks fourth on BSU's career charts in both runs scored (96) and home runs (14), while ranking fifth in career RBI (92).
►WEEKLY WINNERS: Five different Cardinals have claimed MAC West Division Player of the Week awards this season: sophomore first baseman Taylor Rager (Feb. 21), sophomore third baseman Audrey Bickel (Feb. 29), freshman outfielder/designated player Hanne Stuedemann (March 11), senior catcher/designated player Amanda Montalto (March 13) and junior outfielder Amanda Carpenter (March 20) . . . Senior pitcher Audrey Workman has also claimed MAC West Division Pitcher of the Week honors twice (Feb. 21 & March 20) . . . Both Rager and Montalto went on to earn College Sports Madness MAC Player of the Week honors for their efforts.
