(11/16/09 5:00am)
After sitting out last year with a medical redshirt, junior Ali Bishel was not about to let her shot at nationals slip away."I had already waited two years for this chance to advance to the championships," Bishel said. "I was not about to wait another year and leave with excuses."At the 2009 NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Saturday, Bishel pushed all her doubts aside and took home a seventh-place finish overall in the race."I had no physical hindrances, nothing to get in my way," Bishel said. "The biggest challenge going in was being prepared mentally."With cross country coach Randy Heisler's decision to keep the team at home for the regional, Bishel was the lone representative for Ball State University."It is not fun to succeed without a good support system to share triumphs with," Bishel said. "I was running for my teammates and for all their experiences."With her teammates in mind, Bishel sprinted to a season best 6K time of 21:07. She finished 24 seconds behind race-winner Emily Macleod of Michigan State University."Throughout the race, you could see Ali was in the zone," Heisler said. "Long distance runners learn to block out the pain in their races and keep on going somehow. From the beginning, you could see Ali was in that mode."After finishing fourth at the Mid-American Conference Championships, Bishel crossed the line first among all MAC runners in the regional meet. She beat MAC Champion Ari Fisher of Toledo University by over four seconds."I don't think I am in any better physical shape than before," Bishel said. "I think I have just gotten better mentally and grown as a runner because of that."Run on the same site as the Sam Bell Invitational, Bishel used her knowledge of the tough hills and terrain to power through the regional."It helps being familiarized with the course and what side of the hills to go on," Bishel said. "Having run the course before, I knew when to pick it up and make a move."The championships are held on a Terre Haute course with a similar terrain. Bishel has already competed on this course as well, finishing first overall. Heisler hopes to use their knowledge of this course to their advantage."This Terre Haute course has a lot of downhill grade," Heisler said. "If Ali leans into and runs downhill, she will pick up valuable time."Whatever the course brings, Heisler knows Bishel will be ready."Right now Ali's confidence is high," Heisler said. "I know that when the gun sounds, she will be right there in the front with the best runners in the country."
(03/14/09 4:00am)
Preseason rankings are often blown off by coaches as meaningless accolades.The Ball State University baseball team will get a firsthand look at why so many ignore preseason polls. The University of Missouri baseball team, the Cardinals' next opponent, began the season ranked No. 20 in the country. The Tigers have started the year 3-7, including a seven-game losing streak.Despite Missouri's struggles, coach Greg Beals said he expects a strong test for Ball State in its four-game series beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday."I'm expecting to see a very good baseball team," Beals said. "They got off to a tough start, but playing against great competition. We're expecting the same team that was picked in the preseason to be in the top 25."Included in the Tigers' losses are Arizona State University and Oregon State University, teams Beals described as "top-shelf programs in the country."Missouri also lost to Ball State's fellow member of the Mid-American Conference, Northern Illinois University, 5-2. All of the Tigers' losses came on the road before they won their home opener 8-0 against Western Illinois University on Thursday. The Cardinals enter Columbia, Mo., looking to stay hot after sweeping their two games in the Austin Peay Invitational last weekend. "We have to play our style of baseball," junior reliever Aaron Hammons said. "We did a real good job this last weekend."Ball State's offense will face tough opposition from the Tigers' pitching staff. Junior Kyle Gibson has started the year 1-1 with a 1.38 ERA. The Greenfield native played with Hammons in high school and was named a preseason All-American."Gibson is a first round draft pick," Beals said. "They're solid all the way around, but their strength is pitching. It's going to be tough."Junior catcher Trevor Coleman also earned preseason All-American honors, but has so far struggled at the plate, hitting only .216. Senior outfielder Ryan Lollis leads the Tigers offensively with a .395 average, 13 RBIs and 11 runs.Early in the season the Cardinals' bullpen has been a position of strength. Beals will need that to continue as the team enters a stretch of 10 games in 10 days."They bring a confidence that we're going to be strong in the last three innings of a game," Beals said. "If we're in a close game down the stretch we've got as good a chance as anybody to win the games."Hammons said the bullpen's experience has allowed them to start the season so well."We're veterans on the team," Hammons said. "We did this last year."After the Cardinal's successful weekend, which included beating Indiana University, the team talked about why it had a good weekend Beals said."I told them hard work at practice pays off at game time," Beals said. "We're all willing to do that. We'll pay that price during the week if we know we're going to get that payback on the weekend."Ball State at MissouriGame No. 7First pitch: 7:30 p.m.Taylor Stadium at Simmons FieldPitching matchup: RHP Brenden Stines (0-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Gibson (1-1, 1.38)Weather: 63 degrees, cloudy, from southeast 7 mphBall State at MissouriGame No. 8First pitch: 2 p.m.Taylor Stadium at Simmons FieldPitching matchup: RHP Brad Piatt (1-0, 3.00) vs. RHP Ian Berger (0-1, 6.75)Weather: 67 degrees, scattered thunderstorms, from SSW 20 mphBall State at MissouriGame No. 9First pitch: 5 p.m.Taylor Stadium at Simmons FieldPitching matchup: RHP Adam Quinn (0-0, 6.75) vs. LHP Kelly Fick (1-2, 4.85)Weather: 62 degrees, cloudy, from SSW 15 mphBall State at MissouriGame No. 10First pitch: 2 p.m.Taylor Stadium at Simmons FieldPitching matchup: RHP Kolbrin Vitek (1-1, 6.14) vs. RHP Nick Tepesch (0-1, 6.10)Weather: 51 degrees, scattered thunderstorms, from west 18 mph