Tuesday's doubleheader at Purdue marked the beginning of a string of 10 games where the softball team has to play the role of road warriors.
The Cardinals (11-14, 3-4 Mid-American Conference) venture to Ypsilanti, Mich. this weekend for a three-game series with Eastern Michigan featuring a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and a 1 p.m. single game on Sunday.
With both teams vying for one of six slots in the MAC championship tournament, the series carries major postseason implications.
"It's still early in the MAC season but I'm not going to kid around and say this weekend isn't important because it is," Cardinal head coach Terri Laux said. "Three wins could go a long way toward getting us into the MAC tournament. We need to help ourselves this weekend."
Both teams enter the series after non-conference games earlier in the week. The Cardinals dropped a pair of games to Purdue in West Lafayette, 6-3 and 2-1, while the Eagles (12-16, 5-5) swept a doubleheader from Oakland on Wednesday, winning 1-0 and 6-3.
How the teams perform on offense will be a critical element to the series.
Junior Katie Shea had a 10-game hitting streak snapped last weekend against Kent State and sophomore Kris Burdine picked up the first two triples of her career against the Golden Flashes. Eastern is led by Tiffany Brown, who boasts a .383 batting average.
But both teams have also had their share of offensive struggles this season. Ball State ranks ninth of 13 teams in the MAC in team batting average (.226) while Eastern is last, with a team average of .205. The two squads also rank near the bottom of the conference in runs scored and hits.
"They've had a tough time scoring runs this season," Laux said. "They also could have a tough time hitting our pitching. We have the edge there. And coupled with our defense, I think we're ready to go. But we need to do a better job getting our runners in from scoring position, too."
The Cardinals also have some extra motivation going into the weekend.
They will be facing a former teammate who transferred to Eastern at the end of the 2001 season. Cardinal senior Carrie Lively called Eastern the team's "new rival" because of the transfer, but Laux warns against focusing too much on one player and forgetting the other 19 players in the Eagles' dugout.
"This weekend isn't about Ball State versus an individual player," Laux said. "It's about Ball State versus Eastern Michigan. We can't lose sight of that, but we need three wins this weekend.
"So, whatever the women need to do to get that done, so be it."
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