Ball State University Athletics
Softball Returns To Action At Auburn's Tiger Invite
February 12, 2015 | Softball
► THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team continues its 2015 season this weekend, when it travels to Auburn, Ala., for the Tiger Invitational ... The Cardinals will play Georgia State (2:45 p.m. CT) and host No. 17/17 Auburn (5:15 p.m. CT) Friday ... Ball State will battle Mercer (9:45 a.m. CT) and Winthrop (12:15 p.m. CT) Saturday, before closing the tournament vs. Eastern Illinois (9:45 a.m. CT) Sunday.
► LISTEN LIVE: Audio for all five of this weekend's games will be streamed LIVE and FREE on BallStateSports.com, with Torey Fox returning for his third season as the play-by-play announcer for the Cardinals ... Fans can tune in by calling up http://BallStateSports.com/liveevents on their favorite web browser.
► MORE WAYS TO FOLLOW THE ACTION: Cardinals fans can also follow the action at the Tiger Invitational with live stats for all five games on the live stats page of BallStateSports.com (http://BallStateSports.com/livestats) ... Fans can also get regular updates by following the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, Instagram: @BallStateSB and Facebook: BallStateSoftball.
► CARDINALS ALL-TIME: After opening the 2015 season with a 3-1 mark at the Music City Classic, the Ball State softball program enters the Tiger Invitational with an 890-935-4 (.488) all-time record in 40-plus seasons of play ... Established as a varsity program in 1975, Ball State has won five Mid-American Conference regular season titles (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014), two MAC Tournament championships (1998 and 2010) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice (1998 and 2010).
► BACK TO AUBURN: Ball State will be playing in a tournament hosted by Auburn for the second consecutive season ... At last year's War Eagle Classic (March 14-15), the Cardinals scored wins over Alabama A&M (12-0/5 inn.) and Radford (7-4), before losing to then-No. 23 ranked Auburn (15-3/5 inn.) and in-state rival IPFW (2-0).
► HEAD COACH TYRA PERRY: After leading Ball State to a 12-4 league record, the 2014 MAC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the 2014 MAC Softball Tournament, Tyra Perry became the first first-year coach in program history to earn MAC Coach of the Year accolades ... A two-time Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year (2009 & 2013), Perry was named the eighth head coach in Ball State softball history Aug. 6, 2013 ... Perry enters the Tiger Invitational with a 378-364-1 (.508) career record, including a 36-20 ledger at Ball State ... Prior to Ball State, Perry had six-year head coaching stints at both Western Kentucky (2008-13) and Birmingham-Southern (2002-07) ... In 2013, Perry guided WKU to the program's first-ever NCAA Regional appearance and to a final ranking of 26th in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the highest final ranking in program history ... The Lady Toppers also posted the program's first 40-plus win season (43-18) under Perry's tutelage in 2013, and earned its first SBC regular season title with a 20-3 league record.
► SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: Ball State enters the Tiger Invitational with a 3-1 overall record ... At last weekend's Music City Classic, the Cardinals scored extra-inning wins over South Dakota (11-8/9 inn.) and IUPUI (5-4/8 inn.) before falling to Indiana State (6-5) ... The Cardinals rebounded to end the tournament with a win over 2014 NCAA Regional runner-up Lipscomb (14-2/6 inn.) ... Ball State turned in a .310 team batting average over the four games and out-scored opponents 35-20 ... BSU's players combined for nine doubles, three triples and four home runs of their 39 hits ... In the circle, the Cardinals' pitchers turned in a 3.60 ERA and held opponents to a .195 average ... Senior left fielder Hanne Stuedemann leads the squad with a .462 batting average, while junior utility player Sammi Cowger blasted two of the team's four home runs ... Cowger also leads the team in the circle with a 0.00 ERA and a .095 batting average over 6.0 innings of work.
► THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
GEORGIA STATE: The Panthers open the 2015 season at this weekend's Tiger Invitational ... GSU, which was picked to finish third in the Sun Belt Preseason Softball Poll, returns eight starters and four pitchers from last season's squad which posted a 30-26 overall record and a 12-9 mark in its first season in the Sun Belt ... The Panthers hold a 4-1 lead in the all-time series, including a 5-2 victory in the latest meeting, Feb. 27, 2011.
AUBURN: The Tigers enter the week ranked 17th in both the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll and the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll ... Auburn went 6-0 to open the season, starting with a Thursday win over Troy (15-5 / 5 inn.) ... At its own Plainsman Invite, Auburn scored five more five-inning wins over UAB (11-2), Evansville (12-0), George Washington (8-0), Appalachian State (9-0) and Chattanooga (12-1) ... Emily Carosone leads the team with a .643 batting average, while the team as a whole is batting .434 ... Lexi Davis started three of the games in the circle, throwing a team-high 10.0 innings and compiling a 2.80 ERA, 11 strikeouts and a .211 opponent batting average ... As a team, Auburn's pitching staff has a 1.87 ERA and is holding opponents to a .209 average ... The Tigers hold a 5-1 lead in the all-time series, including a 15-3 (5 inn.) at last season's War Eagle Classic (March 5).
MERCER: The Bears enter the Tiger Invitational after starting the season 4-1 at the Mercer Invitational ... Mercer opened the season with wins over IPFW (11-1/5 inn.) and Valparaiso (12-4/6 inn.), before falling to Jacksonville State (10-7) ... The Bears rebounded from the loss by defeating Valparaiso (5-4) for a second team, and exacting revenge on Jacksonville State (13-6) in a game played in Macon, Ga. ... Natalie Shiver leads the team with a .538 batting average, while the team as a whole is batting .403 ... Kirsten Stevens started three of the games in the circle, throwing a team-high 14.0 innings and compiling a 4.50 ERA, 14 strikeouts and a .333 opponent batting average ... As a team, Mercer's pitching staff has a 4.81 ERA and is holding opponents to a .284 average ... Mercer co-head coach Stephanie DeFeo was an assistant coach at Ball State from 2007-12, helping the Cardinals earn three MAC Regular Season Championships ... The all-time series is currently tied at 1-1, with Ball State winning the last meeting (Feb. 26, 2011) by a score of 8-1
WINTHROP: The Eagles enter the Tiger Invitational after posting a 3-2 mark at the Red & Black Showcase ... Winthrop opened the tournament with wins over Illinois (5-1), Coppin State (19-5) and Murray State (8-6), before falling to Murray State (8-4) and then-No. 10/12 Georgia (10-2/5 inn.) ... Sara Allen and Haley Zuehlke lead the squad with .571 batting averages, while the team as a whole is batting .307 ... Allen also made three appearances in the circle, throwing a team-high 11.2 innings and compiling a 8.49 ERA, five strikeouts and a .368 opponent batting average ... As a team, Winthrop's pitching staff has a 6.55 ERA and is holding opponents to a .307 average ... Ball State holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series despite Mercer winning the latest meeting 7-2 on March 5, 2004.
EASTERN ILLINOIS: The Panthers enter the Tiger Invitational with a 2-3 record after competing at last weekend's Louisiana-Lafayette Classic ... EIU opened the season with losses to No. 19 LSU (6-1) and No. 9 Louisiana (17-0/5 inn.), before scoring back-to-back wins over Incarnate Word (6-1 & 7-4) ... Eastern Illinois closed play in the event with a 9-0 (5) loss to Louisiana ... Amber Toenyes and Bailey O'Dell lead the squad with .462 batting averages, while the team as a whole is batting .246 ... Jessica Wireman made four appearances in the circle, throwing a team-high 18.2 innings and compiling a 4.12 ERA and nine strikeouts ... As a team, EIU's pitching staff has a 6.28 ERA and is holding opponents to a .363 average ... The Panthers hold a 10-8 lead in the all-time series which has not seen a game since the team's split a April 22, 2008 doubleheader ... EIU won the first game 3-2 (8), while the Cardinals won the nightcap 3-2 (8).
► OFF TO AN EARLY START: Ball State's thrilling 11-8 (9 inn.) win over South Dakota last Friday (Feb. 6) marked the earliest start to a season in program history ... The previous mark for earliest start was set last season, when Ball State scored a 7-2 win at Texas State on Feb. 8 in the Century Link Classic ... Prior to the Tyra Perry era, the earliest Ball State had played a softball game was Feb. 12, 2005, when it picked up an 8-0 (6 inn.) victory over Southern Illinois at the Ole Miss Tournament.
► CLASS OF THE MAC: Ball State's three-member senior class, which includes Jessica Craft, Hanne Stuedemann and Loren Cihlar, are in the position to do what no Mid-American Conference senior class has ever done, finish their careers as four-time MAC regular season champions ... In fact, the three comprise one of only two classes in league history to win three consecutive titles, joining last season's Ball State senior class of Audrey Bickel, Jennifer Gilbert, Taylor Rager and Lauren Schroeder.
► PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF: Junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski picked up right where she left off the 2014 season, providing a pair of clutch extra-inning at bats to drive in the game-winning runs versus South Dakota and IUPUI ... Dabkowski smashed a ninth inning three-run home run to give BSU the win over the Coyotes, while her eighth inning sacrifice fly versus the Jaguars drove in the game's final run ... Last season, Dabkowski tied for first on the team by helping account for 13 game-winning runs ... She scored the scored the winning run eight times, while adding five game-winning RBI.
► DOUBLE AWARD WINNER: For her part in guiding the Ball State softball team to a 3-1 record at last weekend's Music City Classic, junior utility player Sammi Cowger was named both the Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week and the College Sports Madness MAC Softball Player of the Week ... Cowger, who earns both awards for the first time in her career, started all four games at first base for the Cardinals and also made an appearance in the circle in relief ... She finished the weekend with a .308 (4-for-13) batting average, a team-high eight RBI, two runs scored, two walks and a pair of home runs from the batter's box, while picking up a win and posting a 0.00 ERA, a .095 opponent batting average and four strikeouts in the circle.
► THE LONG BALL; 2015 EDITION: Senior outfielder Hanne Stuedemann enters the Tiger Invitational as Ball State's active career leader with 18 home runs ... The total currently ranks seventh in program history ... Junior shortstop Selena Reyna leads Ball State's active players with three career grand slams, while Stuedemann, Emily Dabkowski and Sammi Cowger each have one ... Reyna is 13th on Ball State's career list with nine home runs, while Dabkowski is tied for 15th with seven.
► MAKING A RUN FOR IT: Senior outfielder Loren Cihlar ranks first in program history with a .908 (29-for-32) career stolen base percentage ... She went 9-for-10 in stolen base attempts last season, after finishing the 2013 campaign as one of only two players in program history to finish a year with a perfect stolen base percentage (min. 10 attempts), going 11-for-11 ... Cihlar also ranks 12th in program history with 92 career runs scored.
► MAKING A RUN FOR IT PART 2: Sophomore outfielder India Steward has reached base safely seven times this season and boasts a .438 on-base percentage over the first four games of the season ... Of the seven times Steward has reached base, she has scored five runs ... In addition, Steward has been placed on second twice in extra-innings and went on to score the game-winning run on both occasions; versus South Dakota and IUPUI.
► JERSEY WATCH 2015: Ball State is 1-0 in its black uniform, 1-1 in its red uniform and 1-0 in its white uniform this season.
