Ball State University Athletics
Softball Heads To LSU For Purple & Gold Challenge
February 26, 2015 | Softball
► THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team opens a 10-day, 13-game spring break road trip Friday, when it battles Northwestern State (2:30 p.m. CT) and No. 7 LSU (7:30 p.m. CT) on the first day of the Purple & Gold Challenge hosted by LSU ... The Cardinals play Stephen F. Austin (12:30 p.m. CT) and Northwestern State (2:30 p.m. CT) Saturday, before closing the tournament Sunday versus Florida Atlantic (9 a.m. CT).
► FOLLOW THE ACTION: Cardinals fans can follow the action at the Purple & Gold Challenge 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: With a 6-8 record so far in 2015, the Ball State softball program enters the Purple & Gold Challenge with an 893-942-4 (.487) 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).
► THE LSU CONNECTION: Ball State head coach Tyra Perry will be returning to familiar territory this weekend when the Cardinals play at LSU ... Perry was a two-year letterwinner for the Tigers (1997-98) and helped the program post a combined 102-28 (.758) record over her career, including a 58-14 (.806) mark in Southeastern Conference play ... She also helped the Tigers pick up their first two SEC West Division titles and make the program's first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament appearance, in 1998, where it finished second.
► IN HER PLAYING DAYS: In her first season at LSU, Perry led the Tigers with a .345 batting average, 11 home runs, 40 runs scored, a .416 on-base percentage and a .612 slugging percentage ... Those numbers helped her earn recognition on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-South Region Second Team, as well as first-team All-Louisiana honors and a slot on the SEC's all-tournament team ... Perry led the team with five homers in 1998, while posting a .324 average with 29 runs scored and 38 RBI ... Off the field, she was twice named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll ... Prior to her career at LSU, Perry played two seasons at Nicholls State (1994-95) ... Perry's .402 batting average as a freshman at Nicholls State still stands at the fourth-best single-season average in program history, while her career-long 14-game hitting streak as a freshman stood as the longest in program history until the 2012 season.
► 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 Purple & Gold Challenge with a 381-371-1 (.507) career record, including a 39-27 (.591) 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 Purple & Gold Challenge with a 6-8 overall record after going 1-4 at last weekend's South Alabama Invitational ... Ball State is batting .284 as a team, with sophomore third baseman/designated player Amanda Arnett boasting a team-best .360 average ... Junior shortstop Selena Reyna leads the Cardinals with 16 hits, including a team-best six doubles ... Junior Nicole Steinbach leads the Ball State pitching staff with a 4-3 record and a 2.89 ERA ... She has compiled 46 strikeouts over 43.2 innings of work ... Ball State's staff has a combined 5.61 ERA and are holding opponents to a .302 batting average.
► THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
NORTHWESTERN STATE: The Lady Demons enter the Purple & Gold Challenge with an 8-8 overall record and have won six straight games ... NSU concluded play in last weekend's Jackson State Tournament with wins over Belmont (10-3) and Morehead State (10-5) ... Northwestern State is batting .288 as a team, with Natalie Landry owning a team-best .439 average ... Micaela Bouvier is NSU's ace in the circle with a 4-3 record and 2.29 ERA over 36.2 innings of work ... The Lady Demons have a 3.57 team ERA and are holding opponents to a .275 average ... NSU won the only two previous meetings between the two teams by scores of 2-1 and 4-2 on March 3, 1990.
LSU: The Tigers enter their third home tournament of the year ranked seventh in both the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll ... LSU is 16-0 on the year and has not lost a regular season non-conference game since a 5-3 setback in game two of an April 16, 2014 doubleheader at Hofstra ... The Tigers have out-scored their opponents a combined 108-19 this season and are out-hitting foes .352 to .194 ... Bianka Bell has a team-best .490 batting average and is one of two players with six home runs on the year ... Allie Walljasper leads the Tigers in the circle with a 0.59 ERA and 6-0 record over 35.1 innings of work ... LSU has won both previous meetings in the all-time series by scores of 4-2 (Feb. 15, 2008) and 10-2/6 inn. (Feb. 17, 2008).
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN: The Ladyjacks enter the weekend with a 5-6 overall record and have not played since a 15-3 (5 inn.) win in its home opener versus Texas Southern Feb. 18 ... Brittany Lewis paces the squad with a .438 batting average, while the team as a whole is batting .251 ... Makayla Sikes has a team-best 3.49 ERA in the circle, having started five games and thrown 28.1 innings ... SFA staff has combined for a 4.54 ERA and is allowing opposing batters to hit for a .272 average ... Stephen F. Austin holds a 4-2 lead in the all-time series, despite the Cardinals winning the last meeting 1-0 on March 11, 1989.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC: The Owls enter the weekend with a 13-1 overall record, including 12 straight wins ... This week, they received votes in both the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll ... FAU is batting .292 as a team, with Delaney Rickey owning a team-best .412 average ... In the circle Amanda Wilson has thrown a team-high 21.0 innings and owns a 3-1 record and 1.00 ERA ... Florida Atlantic's staff boasts a 1.42 ERA and is holding opponents to a .215 average ... Ball State scored a 2-0 win in the only previous meeting versus the Owls; March 1, 2013.
► OFF TO AN EARLY START: Ball State's thrilling 11-8 (9 inn.) win over South Dakota 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 has picked up right where she left off the 2014 season, providing the game-winning run in three of Ball State's six wins so far this season ... Dabkowski smashed a ninth inning three-run home run to give BSU the win over the South Dakota (Feb. 6) ... Her eighth inning sacrifice fly versus the IUPUI (Feb. 7) drove in the game's final run ... Dabkowski's three-run homer in the third inning versus Mercer (Feb. 14) provided what proved to be the game-winning run ... Last season, Dabkowski tied for first on the team by helping account for 13 game-winning runs ... She scored the winning run eight times, while adding five game-winning RBI.
► STEINBACH MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Junior pitcher Nicole Steinbach enters the Purple & Gold Challenge tied for seventh in program history with 33 career pitching victories ... She is also tied for second in program history with six career saves ... Steinbach broke into the top 10 in program history for career strikeouts after fanning a season-high nine batters in the win over Eastern Illinois (Feb. 15) ... Steinbach is currently eighth in program history with 252 career strikeouts.
► THE LONG BALL; 2015 EDITION: Senior outfielder Hanne Stuedemann enters the Purple & Gold Challenge as Ball State's active career leader with 19 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 junior utility player Sammi Cowger each have one ... Reyna is tied for 12th on Ball State's career list with 11 home runs, while Dabkowski is tied for 14th at eight.
► STUEDEMANN BECOMES 7TH IN 100/100 CLUB: Hanne Stuedemann became the seventh player in program history to score 100 runs and drive in 100 RBI with a RBI fielder's choice in the first inning versus Jacksonville (Feb. 21) ... She scored her 100th career run in the first inning at Lipscomb (Feb. 8) ... She enters the Purple & Gold Challenge ranked eighth in program history in both runs scored (107) and RBI (101).
► MAKING A RUN FOR IT: Senior outfielder Loren Cihlar ranks first in program history with a .914 (31-for-34) career stolen base percentage ... Cihlar picked up her first stolen base of the 2015 season versus Georgia State (Feb. 13) and is currently 2-for-2 on the year ... 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 ninth in program history with 97 career runs scored.
► JERSEY WATCH 2015: Ball State is 1-4 in its black jersey, 3-3 in its red jersey and 2-1 in its white jersey this season.
