Ball State University Athletics
Steinbach Earns Third MAC West Pitcher of the Week Award This Season
March 21, 2016 | Softball
CLEVELAND, Ohio - - After having a hand in both Ball State softball wins at the Maryland Invitational, senior pitcher Nicole Steinbach (Merrillville, Ind./Andrean) has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season and the 13th time in her career.
Steinbach, who also earned the honor March 1 and March 9 of this season, finished play in the Maryland Invitational with a 2-0 record in the circle, a 1.27 ERA and a .205 opponents batting average. Over 11.0 innings of work, she also struck out nine betters while issuing just three walks.
Steinbach opened the tournament by picking up her third complete game shutout victory of the season, limiting UMass to four hits and a pair of walks over 7.0 innings Friday. Steinbach retired the Minutewomen in order twice, including the seventh inning in which she ended the game with her fifth strikeout of the day.
After the Cardinals two Saturday games were rained out, Steinbach earned her second victory of the week in a 4.0 inning relief appearance Sunday versus Boston. She held the Terriers to four hits and a pair of earned runs in her fourth relief appearance of the season. After Boston rallied within one run in the bottom of the fifth, Steinbach answered by retiring six of the final seven batters she faced, including her fourth strikeout of the game to end a perfect seventh inning.
Steinbach enters the week with an 11-5 record in 2016, while maintaining a 3.13 ERA and holding opposing batters to a .266 average. She has struck out 70 batters on the season and yielded just 44 earned runs over 98.1 innings of work.
Over her career, Steinbach ranks fourth in program history with 59 career pitching victories and is tied for the program record with eight career saves. She also ranks fifth on Ball State's career charts in innings pitched (611.1) and strikeouts (440), while her 15 career shutouts tie for fourth.
Steinbach and the Ball State softball team closes the pre-conference portion of its 2016 schedule Wednesday, when it travels to Butler for a 4 p.m. first pitch. The Cardinals open Mid-American Conference play Friday, with a scheduled 3 p.m. first pitch at Miami.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State softball, follow the team on Twitter: @BallStateSB, @CoachCBartlett & @BallStateSports / Instagram: ballstatesb / Facebook: BallStateSoftball.
