Ball State University Athletics
Softball Continues Spring Trip At UNF And Stetson
March 06, 2012 | Softball
►STAYING SOUTH: The Ball State softball team continues its spring break trip in Florida this week starting with a Wednesday doubleheader at North Florida . . . First pitch is set for 3 p.m. . . . BSU will then play in the three-day Stetson Classic, where it will face host Stetson twice and Northern Colorado three times.
►FOLLOW LIVE: Ball State fans can follow the action this week with live stats for all seven games . . . In addition, Stetson will offer live video for both of the Ball State vs. Stetson games.
►CARDINALS ALL-TIME: After compiling a 3-2 record at the Citrus Classic last week, the Ball State softball program moved its all-time record to 785-889-4 (.469) 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 continues his sixth season as Ball State's head coach with a 172-136 (.558) record at BSU, including an 8-6 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 an 895-226 (.798) career coaching record including his 723-90 mark in 11 years at Central Arizona.
►A GLIMPSE AT THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:
NORTH FLORIDA enters the week with a 10-6 record after going 2-2 at its own Osprey Invitational . . . The hosts won games versus McNeese State (1-0) and Mount St. Mary's (7-0 in 8 innings), surrounded by losses to St. Bonaventure (4-3) and Delaware State (2-1 in 8 innings) . . . Mariah Reynolds leads the Osprey with a .370 batting average and 15 RBI, while Kaylie Wallace leads UNF's pitching corps with a 5-1 record and a 1.36 ERA in 36.0 innings of work . . . North Florida hits .297 as a team, while limiting opposing hitters to a .259 batting average . . . On the hill, UNF has a 2.20 team ERA compared to a 4.28 ERA for opposing staffs . . . The Osprey hold a 2-0 lead in the all-time series versus the Cardinals, winning both games of a March 15, 2007
STETSON enters the week with a 10-5 record after losing three games at last weekend's UCF & Holiday Inn Select Spring Fling . . . SU suffered losses to Illinois-Chicago (5-2), Penn (3-2 in 9 innings) and UCF (3-1) . . . Carolyn Boyd leads the Hatters with a .361 batting average, while Meredith Owen has a 4-1 record and a 0.70 ERA in seven appearances on the mound . . . Stetson hits .309 as a team, while limiting opponents to a .224 mark . . . SU's pitching staff has combined for a 1.17 ERA, while opposing staffs have a 4.72 ERA . . . The Cardinals hold a 5-2 lead in the all-time series, but have not played the Hatters since the 1991 season.
NORTHERN COLORADO enters the week with a 9-6 overall record, but have not played a game since completing the PCSC Crossover Tournament at St. Mary's College on Feb. 26 . . . UNC went 1-3 at the event, with its lone win coming against tournament host St. Mary's (9-1) . . . Lindsey Smith leads the Bears with a .429 batting average, 18 RBI and three home runs, while Megan Wilkinson has a team-best 6-1 record and a 3.54 ERA . . . UNC is batting .317 as a team, while its opponents have a .329 average . . . Bears' pitchers have a combined 5.05 ERA, while opposing staffs are at 4.97 . . . Ball State holds a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series versus Northern Colorado with a 5-0 victory at the USF Under Armour Showcase March 20, 2010.
►SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: The Ball State softball team improved to 8-6 this season after going 3-2 at the Citrus Classic at the EPSN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort last weekend . . . BSU picked up wins over Temple (8-0 in five innings), Lipscomb (2-0) and LIU Brooklyn (8-1 in 5 innings), while suffering losses to South Alabama (3-0) and St. John's (8-7) . . . Sophomore first baseman Taylor Rager enters the week as Ball State's top hitter, boasting a .400 batting average and three home runs on the year . . . As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .286 with 105 hits, including 12 home runs . . . On the mound, senior right-hander Audrey Workman has a 1.55 ERA and a 4-5 record over 54.1 innings of work, while classmate Kim Mazzapica is 4-1 on the mound with a 2.67 ERA in 36.2 innings of work . . . As a staff, the Cardinals have a 1.98 ERA, while limiting opposing hitters to a .220 batting average and 72 total hits . . . Combined, BSU has out-scored its opponents 69-42 so far this season.
►STUEDEMANN STEPS UP: In just her third week of collegiate play, outfielder/designated player Hanne Stuedemann put together one of the best weekends for a freshman in program history, reaching base in 11 of 13 plate appearances for a .846 on base percentage over four games . . . Stuedemann, who officially hit .667 (4-for-6) at the Citrus Classic, also drew six walks and was hit by a pitch to reach base 11 total times . . . She blasted her first career home run in the win over Temple (a two-run shot), tallied her first career triple in the win over Lipscomb (to bring home one run) and added her first career double against LIU Brooklyn (driving home two runs) . . . Both her five RBI and five runs scored were tournament-highs for the Cardinals . . . She recorded at least one hit, run and walk in all four games . . . Stuedemann entered the week the Citrus Classic with a .083 batting average (1-for-12) and just one walk.
►MONTALTO DOUBLES UP: Senior catcher Amanda Montalto smashed her 40th career double at Troy (Feb. 19) to become BSU's all-time career doubles leader, passing the previous record of 39 set by Kate Shae (2000-03) . . . With six doubles so far this season, Montalto enters the week with 44 career two-baggers . . . Montalto also entered the season as BSU's career home runs leader and has tagged two long balls so far this year to up her career total to 25 . . . Montalto also ranks second on BSU's all-time career list for RBI (109) and third for walks (83).
►MORE ON MONTALTO: Amanda Montalto enters the week with a seven-game hitting streak, which ties as the longest of her career . . . She has also reached base safely in a career-best 18 consecutive games going back to last season . . . Her .395 batting average this year is second on the squad, while her .763 slugging percentage is first . . . Of her 15 hits this season, nine have been for multiple bases including six doubles, a triple and two home runs.
►"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.
►GILBERT GIVES PITCHERS THE CHILLS: Jennifer Gilbert enters the week with team-highs of 13 RBI and 12 runs scored . . . A .286 hitter this season, Gilbert has 14 hits including five doubles and three home runs . . . She has also drawn three walks . . . Of her 14 hits, eight have come with runners on base and four with runners in scoring position.
►WORKMAN DEALING: Senior right-handed pitcher Audrey Workman continued to dominate opposing hitters at the Citrus Classic, limiting her foes to a .194 batting average in four appearances . . . She picked up her second complete game shutout of the season versus Lipscomb, limiting the Lady Bison to just two hits over 7.0 innings . . . She also picked up a win over LIU Brooklyn, limiting the Blackbirds to six hits and one run over five innings . . . Workman enters the week ranked among the league's leaders with a 1.55 ERA and 38 strikeouts.
►WEEKLY WINNERS: So far this season, the Cardinals have claimed two MAC West Division Player of the Week awards thanks to sophomore infielders Taylor Rager (Feb. 21) and Audrey Bickel (Feb. 29), and one MAC West Division Pitcher of the Week from Audrey Workman (Feb. 21) . . . This week's winners have not been announced as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 6.
