Ball State University Athletics
Softball Hosts Purdue For Thursday Doubleheader
April 11, 2012 | Softball
►THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team concludes a six-game homestand Thursday, when it hosts Purdue in a 3 p.m. non-conference doubleheader . . . The Cardinals end the week by traveling to Mid-American Conference East Division rival Miami for single games Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).
►FOLLOW LIVE: Ball State fans can follow the action this week with live stats for all four games at the following link: http://ballstatesports.com/livestats . . . In addition, Sports Link Radio WCRD 91.3 FM will broadcast Thursday's doubleheader versus Purdue over the airwaves and online at the following link: http://ballstatesports.com/liveevents.
►SPORTS LINK TV: For the first time in program history, the Ball State softball team will have several of its home games televised thanks to Ball State Sports Link . . . The first and only academic program in the nation where students are totally immersed in sports and electronic media, Ball State Sports Link will produce the April 20 doubleheader versus Eastern Michigan and the April 21 series opener against Central Michigan . . . The April 22 contest versus Central Michigan could also be pick up and will serve as a rain date if one of the previous two dates are cancelled due to weather . . . The games will appear live on campus (Cardinal Vision 57) and can be watched free online at http://ballstatesports.com/liveevents . . . In addition, the games will be tape delayed on Comcast Indiana 81 and Fox College Sports with the possibility of airing live throughout the state on Comcast Indiana 81 depending on other scheduling factors.
►CARDINALS ALL-TIME: After posting a 4-1 record last week, the Ball State softball program upped its all-time record to 801-894-4 (.473) 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 188-141 (.571) record at BSU, including a 24-11 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 911-231 (.798) career coaching record including his 723-90 mark in 11 years at Central Arizona.
►THE FIRST TO 20: The first team from the Mid-American Conference to reach 20 wins this season, the Cardinals continue to own the best overall record in the league at 24-11 (.686) . . . This weekend's opponent Miami has the second-best overall record in the MAC at 23-12 (.657) . . . BSU entered the week ranked 42nd in the nation among the 289 NCAA Division I programs with its .686 winning percentage.
►A GLIMPSE AT THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS:
PURDUE enters Thursday's doubleheader with a 24-12 (7-2 Big Ten) record after going 1-3 last week . . . The Boilermakers suffered an 8-6 midweek loss to Notre Dame, before dropping the first two games of a three-game Big Ten series at Indiana . . . Lindsey Rains leads the Purdue offense with a .381 batting average, along with team-highs of 27 RBI and 30 runs scored . . . Eight of Purdue's nine starters are batting above .300, with four hitting .370-or-better . . . Lexy Moore is the ace of the Boilermakers pitching staff, boasting a 16-4 record and a 2.73 ERA in 25 appearances . . . Over 131.0 innings of work, Moore has 88 strikeouts and held opposing batters to a .287 average . . . Purdue holds an 18-8 advantage in the all-time series versus Ball State, including a 3-1 (8 inning) victory at the Miami Invitational last season (Mar. 27, 2011) . . . BSU's last win in the series was a 7-3 home victory April 16, 2008.
MIAMI entered the week with a 23-12 (6-2 MAC) record and will host Morehead State for a doubleheader Thursday, before Saturday's series opener with the Cardinals . . . Last week, the RedHawks went 4-0 by sweeping a Friday doubleheader versus Akron (4-0 and 5-0) and a two-game series versus Ohio (1-0 and 8-7 in 11 innings) . . . Daniela Torres leads the Miami offense with a .354 batting average and 21 RBI . . . Kirstie Fehrenbach is second on the team with a .336 average and has scored a team-high 24 runs . . . Jessica Simpson is the RedHawks' aces in the circle, as she leads the team and the MAC in wins (15), ERA (1.17), strikeouts (183) and opponent's batting average (.187) . . . Ball State holds a 45-39 advantage in the all-time series versus Miami, despite a season-ending 4-1 loss (May 13) to the RedHawks in the MAC Tournament a year ago . . . The Cardinals did sweep the regular season series in 2011 by scores of 5-3 (April 9) and 1-0 (April 10).
►SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 24-11 (4-2 MAC) record after posting a 4-1 record last week . . . Senior catcher/designated player Amanda Montalto leads the team with a .380 batting average, while senior shortstop Alison Mercado is second .378 . . . As a team, the Cardinals are first in the league with a .309 batting average, including a MAC-best 37 home runs . . . On the mound, senior right-hander Audrey Workman has a 2.30 ERA and an 11-8 record over 122.0 innings of work, while classmate Kim Mazzapica is 13-3 in the circle with a 2.83 ERA over 109.0 innings . . . As a staff, the Cardinals rank third in the league with a 2.53 ERA, while limiting opposing hitters to a .239 batting average and just 84 earned runs in 232.0 innings of work . . . Combined, BSU has out-scored its opponents 214-116 this season.
►GOING, GOING, GONE: In addition to leading the Mid-American Conference, the Cardinals entered the week ranked 20th in the nation with a 1.06 home runs per game average . . . Sophomore first baseman Taylor Rager leads BSU's sluggers and entered the week ranked 89th nationally with a 0.23 hpg average, having blasted eight homers this season . . . The Cardinals are on pace to shatter the school record for home runs in the season set last year at 44 . . . Through the first 35 games this season, BSU has already tallied 37 home runs, compared to 19 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, entering the week ranked second in the nation with a 1.80 doubles per game average . . . Sophomore outfielder Jennifer Gilbert leads the MAC and entered the week ranked third nationally with a 0.40 double-per-game average, while Amanda Montalto was second in the league and 30th nationally at 0.31 . . . BSU has collected 63 two-base hits so far in 2012, with the school record standing at 93 set in 2010.
►DON'T FORGET THE TRIPLES: Amanda Montalto also owns a team-best three triples this season, which ranks second in the MAC and 30th nationally . . . BSU players have combined for nine triples this year, including two by sophomore outfielder Jennifer Gilbert, and the team entered the week ranked 29th in the nation in triples per game (0.26).
►MONTALTO IN THE RANKINGS: Amanda Montalto enters the week as one of the greatest sluggers in MAC history . . . BSU's career leader in home runs (30) and doubles (49), she ranks second in both 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 collected her school-record 130th career RBI last Sunday versus Akron which ranks third in MAC annals . . . Her 98 career walks are second in both program and league history.
►"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.
►HEATING UP: Over the last 15 games, Jennifer Gilbert has been the hottest hitter on the club with a .442 batting average . . . She has recorded 23 hits during the span, including eight doubles, four home runs and a triple . . . Her 20 runs scored are also a team-high, while her 14 RBI rank third.
►SCORING MACHINE: Jennifer Gilbert is the only player in the MAC and one of just 36 players nationally to average over a run per game this season . . . Through 35 games, Gilbert has scored 37 runs to rank 20th in the nation at 1.06 runs per game . . . She also ranks third in the league with 29 RBI for a 0.83 per-game average . . . Factoring out seven RBI for her seven home runs (so the runs are not counted twice), Gilbert has been directly responsible for 59 of BSU's 214 runs this season, which equates to 27.6 percent of Ball State's scoring offense.
►WALK THIS WAY: In addition to being the league's top hitting team, the Cardinals have also shown tremendous patience at the plate with a league-leading 143 walks this season . . . Entering the week, Bowling Green was second in the league with 108 walks . . . Amanda Montalto entered the week ranked second in the MAC with 25 free passes, while sophomore third baseman Audrey Bickel was third (21) and freshman designated player/outfielder Hanne Stuedemann was fifth (18).
►CARDS DEALING FROM THE CIRCLE: The Ball State pitching staff entered the week ranked third in the MAC with a 2.53 team ERA . . . Senior right-handed pitcher Audrey Workman ranks fifth in the MAC with a 2.30 ERA, while senior right-hander Kim Mazzapica is ninth at 2.83 . . . Mazzapica leads Ball State and ranks second in the conference with 13 wins, while Workman is tied for third in the conference with 11 wins.
►CARDINALS SHOWING THE GLOVE: With BSU ranking in the top 30 nationally in nearly every offensive category, including its .309 team batting average, it's easy to forget about the Cardinals' top-notch defense . . . BSU entered the week ranked 45th among the 289 NCAA Division I teams with a 0.968 fielding percentage . . . In addition, the Cardinals have turned a MAC-best 21 double plays and rank second in the nation with a 0.60 double plays-per-game average.
