Ball State University Athletics
Softball Visits Miami With MAC Title On The Line
May 01, 2015 | Softball
► THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE SOFTBALL: The Ball State softball team closes the regular season this weekend with a pair of road games at Miami ... The Cardinals and RedHawks will battle in single games Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).
► FOLLOW THE ACTION: Cardinals fans can follow the action 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.
► LISTEN LIVE: Ball State Sports Link Radio will broadcast this weekend's games LIVE and FREE on BallStateSports.com, with Mick Tidrow calling the action ... Fans can tune in by visiting http://BallStateSports.com/liveevents on their computer or purchasing the premium upgrade ($4.99) on the BallStSports app found in iTunes.
► MAC TOURNAMENT BOUND: The Ball State softball team officially punched its ticket to the 2015 MAC Softball Championship at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio, with last Friday's doubleheader split at defending tournament champion Ohio ... The Cardinals can secure the No. 1 seed in the event, and the 2015 MAC regular season title, with a pair of wins at Miami and a loss by Kent State in one of its four games this weekend ... If the Cardinals and Golden Flashes both win out, KSU will have the advantage for both the No. 1 seed and MAC title by virtue of a better winning percentage.
► MAC TOURNAMENT PART 2: With a 13-4 league record entering the Miami series, the Cardinals are assured of a top 5 seed in next week's MAC Softball Championship, which will be a straight eight-team event ... The league experimented with tournament byes in 2012 & 2013, but moved back to a standard format for last season's event.
► CARDINALS ALL-TIME: With a 28-22 record so far in 2015, Ball State softball enters the week with a 915-956-4 (.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).
► HEAD COACH TYRA PERRY: Ball State head coach Tyra Perry enters the Miami series with a 403-385-1 (.511) career coaching record, including a 61-41 (.598) ledger with the Cardinals ... She earned her 400th victory in Ball State's 19-9 (5) win over Indiana (April 21), while becoming the second-fastest coach in program history to reach 50 wins with a 7-2 victory over Eastern Illinois (April 7) ... In 2014, Perry became the first first-year coach in program history to earn MAC Coach of the Year accolades after guiding the Cardinals to the MAC regular season title with a 12-4 league record.
► MORE ON PERRY: 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 ... 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: The Cardinals enter the weekend ranked first in the Mid-American Conference in nearly every offensive category ... Ball State is the only MAC squad with a batting average above .300, at .307 ... The Cardinals' 316 runs scored are 87 more than the next best offense in Kent State at 229 ... Ball State also has more hits (421), doubles (74), triples (14), home runs (46) and walks (137) than any other league program ... In the circle, Ball State ranks ninth in the league with a 4.44 team ERA, while the staff's 236 strikeouts are fifth in the conference.
► MORE ON THE CARDINALS: Senior right fielder Hanne Stuedemann enters the week ranked first on the team and seventh in the MAC with a .376 batting average ... She is also second in the league with a .497 on-base percentage with the help of being hit by a pitch a league-leading 14 times and ranking second in the MAC with 23 walks ... Junior second baseman Emily Dabkowski enters the week ranked ninth in the league with a .370 batting average and is first in runs scored (47), second in RBI (47), second in home runs (14) and fourth in slugging percentage (.685) ... In the circle, junior Nicole Steinbach is fifth in the league in both wins (13) and shutouts (3), while her 3.66 ERA is 12th.
► IN THE RPI: Ball State enters the week ranked 92nd in the latest NCAA Division I Softball RPI rankings ... The Cardinals were also ranked 92nd last week ... Ball State is the second-highest ranked team from the MAC, trailing only Kent State who is 61st ... Miami enters the week as the fifth-best MAC team at 141st.
► STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Based on the latest NCAA Division I Softball RPI rankings, the Cardinals have played the 103rd-toughest schedule in the nation out of 295 teams ... Of Ball State's 21 losses, 15 have come versus top 90 teams, including LSU (2) and Auburn (3) ... In fact, the Cardinals only have four losses outside the top 150 ... Buffalo has the second-toughest schedule among MAC teams at 137.
► SCOUTING MIAMI: The RedHawks enter the weekend with a 30-21 overall record, including a 12-6 mark in league play ... Miami still has a chance to clinch the MAC regular season title, but would need a pair of wins over the Cardinals and three losses by Kent State this weekend ... The RedHawks rank fifth in the MAC with a .281 team batting average, while its 3.02 ERA is third ... Tiyona Marshall leads the MAC with a .457 batting average and has scored a team-best 46 runs ... Amber Logemann leads Miami in the circle with a 25-9 record and 1.58 ERA ... In 204.1 innings of work, Logemann has 197 strikeouts compared to just 77 walks.
► THE SERIES WITH MIAMI: The Cardinals hold a 52-42 lead in the all-time series versus the RedHawks, including wins in all three meetings last season ... Ball State swept the 2014 regular season series with a 2-1 win April 26 and a 9-1 (5) victory April 27 ... Ball State also topped the RedHawks by a score of 7-4 in 2014 MAC Softball Championship play May 7 ... Ball State is 23-17 all-time in games played in Miami, including a pair of wins (9-6 / 13-12) in its last trip to Oxford, Ohio, for an April 15, 2012 doubleheader.
► 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.
► CLASS OF THE MAC PART 2: Over the past six-plus seasons, the Cardinals have proven to be the MAC's premier program by compiling a 108-30 (.783) league record ... BSU has claimed five (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 & 2014) of the last six MAC Regular Season titles, the first five in program history, and won the 2010 MAC Tournament to earn the program's second NCAA berth ... Kent State has the second-best MAC record over the span at 91-48 (.655), followed by Miami in third at 89-59 (.601)
► STEINBACH MOVING UP THE CHARTS: With a pair of saves at the Purple & Gold Challenge (Feb. 27-March 1), junior pitcher Nicole Steinbach moved into a tie for first in program history with eight career saves ... She also enters the week ranked fifth in program history with 42 career wins ... Steinbach broke into the top 10 on BSU's career strikeouts chart after fanning nine batters in a win over Eastern Illinois (Feb. 15) ... Steinbach is currently sixth on the list with 354 career strikeouts.
► SCHIFFERDECKER EARNS MAC ACADEMIC HONOR: After three solid outings in the circle last weekend, Ball State softball junior pitcher Kelsey Schifferdecker has been named the MAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Week for the week of April 20-27 ... Schifferdecker, who earns the honor for the first time this season and the second time in her career, continued her inspirational comeback story by picking up two more league victories and logging a 1.91 ERA over three appearances.
► SCHIFFERDECKER CLIMBING CHARTS TOO: With her two wins last weekend, Kelsey Schifferdecker took over sole possession of eighth on Ball State's career chart with 34 pitching victories ... She is also 18th on Ball State's all-time list with 141 career strikeouts.
► STUEDEMANN BECOMES 7TH IN 100/100 CLUB: Senior outfielder 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 fifth in program history in runs scored (134) and sixth in RBI (135).
► THE LONG BALL; 2015 EDITION: Hanne Stuedemann enters the week as Ball State's active career leader with 25 home runs, which is tied with Audrey Bickel (2011-14) for fourth on Ball State's career charts ... Emily Dabkowski is seventh on BSU's all-time list with 20 career home runs, including a team-high 14 so far in 2015 ... Junior shortstop Selena Reyna leads Ball State's active players with four career grand slams, while six other players have one ... Reyna is also ninth on Ball State's career list with 18 home runs.
► THE LONG BALL; 2015 EDITION PART 2: Sophomore catcher Shelbie Scamihorn became the 10th different Ball State player to smash a home run this season when she launched her first career blast in the first inning of Ball State's 19-9 (5) win over Indiana (April 21) ... The Cardinals entered the week ranked first in the MAC with 46 home runs this season, with Kent State in second at 45.
► TRIPLE THREAT: The Ball State offense enters the week ranked first in the MAC with 14 triples ... After collecting her first career triple in the series finale versus Western Kentucky (March 22), senior catcher Jessica Craft finds herself tied for first in the league with five triples this season.
► MAKING A RUN FOR IT: Senior outfielder Loren Cihlar ranks 12th in program history with an .820 (41-for-50) career stolen base percentage ... Cihlar picked up her first stolen base of the 2015 season versus Georgia State (Feb. 13) and is currently 12-for-18 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 is also sixth in program history with 128 career runs scored.
► THE BIG INNING: Ball State has scored 11 runs in an inning twice this season, once in the fourth inning versus IPFW (March 18) and once in the seventh inning at Central Michigan (March 18) ... The effort stands as the second-best single-inning output in program history, trailing only the 16-run seventh inning at Toledo (April 13, 2007) ... Ball State also had an 11-run seventh inning versus Grambling State (Feb. 22, 2013) ... The Grambling State game marks one of only two games in program history the Cardinals have scored 20-or-more runs, as they won the contest 20-3 ... The other game was a 24-0 victory over St. Leo March 2, 1987 ... Ball State's 19 runs scored in the April 21st victory over Indiana ranks third in program annals.
► JERSEY WATCH 2015: Ball State is 11-11 in its black jersey, 7-5 in its red jersey and 10-6 in its white jersey this season.
