Ball State University Athletics
Softball Opens Home Slate Wednesday vs. IPFW
March 17, 2015 | Softball
► THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team opens the home portion of its 2015 schedule Wednesday, with a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader versus IPFW on the Softball Field at the First Merchants Ballpark Complex ... The Cardinals will also host Western Kentucky in a Saturday doubleheader (1 p.m.) and a Sunday single game (1 p.m.).
► FOLLOW THE ACTION: Cardinals fans can follow the action this week with live stats for all five games on the live stats page of BallStateSports.com (http://BallStateSports.com/livestats) ... Fans can also get updates by following the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, Instagram: @BallStateSB and Facebook: BallStateSoftball.
► CARDINALS ALL-TIME: With a 10-13 record so far in 2015, the Ball State softball program enters the week with an 897-947-4 (.486) 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).
► 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 week with a 385-376-1 (.506) career record, including a 43-32 (.573) 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 week with an 10-13 overall record after ending spring break with a pair of losses in the Louisville Softball Classic (March 8) ... Ball State is batting .278 as a team, with junior shortstop Selena Reyna leading the squad with a .370 average, 27 hits and eight doubles ... Junior Nicole Steinbach leads the Ball State pitching staff with a 5-7 record, two saves and a 4.70 ERA ... She has compiled 71 strikeouts over 73.0 innings of work ... Ball State's staff has a combined 5.92 ERA and is holding opponents to a .310 batting average.
► THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS
IPFW: The Mastodons enter the week with a 0-18 overall record, including a 9-2 setback to Indiana to close play in the Hoosier Classic last Sunday (March 15) ... IPFW is struggling to find offense, scoring just 22 runs on the year and batting .193 as a team ... The Mastodon's pitchers have a combined 10.50 ERA and have struck out just 32 batters over 96.0 innings of work ... Ball State holds a slim 8-6 lead in the all-time series versus IPFW, with the Mastodons winning the latest meeting (March 15, 2014) by a score of 2-0 in last season's War Eagle Classic hosted by Auburn ... IPFW also won the latest game played in Muncie by scoring a 5-4 victory April 6, 2010.
WESTERN KENTUCKY: The Hilltoppers enter the week with a 10-5 overall record and will play at Tennessee Tuesday before traveling to Muncie ... WKU opened Conference USA play last weekend by going 2-1 at Marshall ... After suffering a hard-fought 2-0, 10-inning setback in a game which spanned two days due to weather, the Hilltoppers rallied for two wins over the Thundering Herd to close out the series ... As a team, Western Kentucky boasts a .297 team batting average, with Larissa Franklin leading the squad at .436 ... Miranda Kramer is the team's ace in the circle, boasting a 7-4 overall record, 130 strikeouts and a 1.29 ERA over 70.1 innings of work ... WKU's staff as a whole has a 2.50 ERA and 147 strikeouts ... The all-time series is currently tied at one game apiece, as the team's split a March 3, 2000 doubleheader ... Western Kentucky won the first game 3-0, while the Cardinals took the nightcap 9-3.
► THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CONNECTION: In addition to Ball State head coach Tyra Perry coaching at WKU from 2008-2013, Cardinals' sophomore outfielder India Steward played her first collegiate season for the Hilltoppers in 2014 ... Steward saw action in 50 games at Western Kentucky last season, making 31 starts in the outfield … She finished the season with a .160 batting average, recording 13 hits in 18 at bats … Steward recorded her first collegiate hit with a RBI triple in the 2014 season opener versus Liberty (Feb. 7), while earning her first career stolen base versus Robert Morris (Feb. 14) ... Steward also finished the 2014 campaign with a 1.000 fielding percentage, with 46 putouts and one outfield assist.
► 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.
► SETTLING IN: Ball State freshman pitcher Carolyn Wilmes is starting to find her grove in the circle, allowing just two earned runs in her last two starts ... Wilmes was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week after recording her first career victory versus Stephen F. Austin (Feb. 28), allowing just one unearned run in 5.2 innings of work ... She followed by earning her first career complete game victory against Detroit (March 3), allowing just one run and two hits over 6.0 innings of work.
► 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 four of Ball State's 10 wins 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 ... She blasted a two run home run in the fifth inning versus Stephen F. Austin (Feb. 28) to give Ball State the 3-1 victory ... 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.
► DABKOWSKI CLAIMS FIRST MAC WEEKLY HONOR: For her play in the Purple & Gold Challenge hosted by then-No. 7 LSU, Emily Dabkowski was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week (March 3) ... Dabkowski hit .389 over the Cardinals' five games in the tournament with at least one hit in all five games, including three two-run home runs ... She also led the Cardinals with nine RBI and scored four runs over the three-day event.
► STEINBACH MOVING UP THE CHARTS: With a pair of saves at the Purple & Gold Challenge, junior pitcher Nicole Steinbach moved into a tie for first in program history with eight career saves ... She also enters the week ranked seventh in program history with 34 career pitching victories ... Steinbach broke into the top 10 on BSU's career strikeouts chart after fanning a season-high nine batters in the win over Eastern Illinois (Feb. 15) ... Steinbach is currently eighth on the list with 277 career strikeouts.
► THE LONG BALL; 2015 EDITION: Senior outfielder Hanne Stuedemann enters the week as Ball State's active career leader with 20 home runs ... The total currently ranks sixth in program history ... Junior shortstop Selena Reyna leads Ball State's active players with three career grand slams, while five other players have one ... Reyna is also tied for ninth on Ball State's career list with 12 home runs.
► WELCOME TO THE @BALLSTATESB #BOMBSQUAD: Sophomore outfielder India Steward provided one of the most memorable moments in Ball State's 12-1 (6) win over Detroit (March 3) by blasting her first career home run with a two out, third inning grand slam down the right field line ... India is the ninth player on Ball State's active roster to record a home run, and the sixth to post a grand slam ... The only other active player to record a grand slam as her first career home run is Selena Reyna, with a third inning homer in a 14-0 (5 inn.) victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Feb. 23, 2013.
► 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 week ranked sixth in program history in runs scored (113) and seventh in RBI (108).
► MAKING A RUN FOR IT: Senior outfielder Loren Cihlar ranks first in program history with a .892 (33-for-37) career stolen base percentage ... Cihlar picked up her first stolen base of the 2015 season versus Georgia State (Feb. 13) and is currently 4-for-5 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 105 career runs scored.
► BURNING UP THE BASE PATHS: So far this season the Cardinals have stolen 37 bases, which is already eight more then they stole the entire 2014 campaign when they finished the year 29-for-40 ... Emily Dabkowski leads the team at 7-for-8 this year.
► JERSEY WATCH 2015: Ball State is 4-7 in its black jersey, 3-4 in its red jersey and 3-2 in its white jersey this season.
