The softball team will look to turn around a slow conference start this weekend. Ball State (15-30, 2-8 Mid-American Conference) will host a pair of MAC doubleheaders, today at 2 p.m. against Eastern Michigan and Sunday at 1 p.m. against Marshall.
An inconsistent offensive attack for Ball State led to a 1-0 loss on Wednesday against Kent State. The Cardinals only mustered two hits, and they struck out 14 times.
Coach Terri Laux said she doesn't really know where the team is currently at offensively.
"It's hard to say," Laux said. "We've been in that position before and we've came out of the funk."
Eastern Michigan (11-17) enters with a 7-7 conference record. The Eagles have struggled away from home, winning just two out of 17 games.
Eastern has also struggled at the plate this season, hitting just .202. Only five Eagles are hitting above .200, with Lauren Clark leading the way with a .304 batting average.
Clark and Liz Flack are the team's power hitters. The duo has combined to hit 10 home runs, drive in 25 runs and knock 46 hits. Flack's record of six homers ties for fourth-highest total in the conference.
Aimee Woodrum owns the best ERA (2.80) and record (6-8) on the team. She has pitched 80 innings, nearly twice as many as anyone else for the Eagles.
Marshall enters this weekend atop the MAC East with a 13-3 conference record. The Herd has won 12 of its last 15 games and has the best overall record of any team in the MAC (28-14).
Marshall also has the best batting average of any team in the league (.288). The Herd has three players batting at least .300. Rachel Folden ranks fifth in the MAC with a .408.
Marshall has used primarily two pitchers all season. Randi Neilson and Abigail Harter have combined to start all but four games. Neilson (15-6) owns a 2.28 ERA, while Harter (11-6) has a 2.62 ERA.
"If you look at it record-wise, they are probably the tougher team to beat," Laux said of Marshall. "We saw them both at the Ohio State tournament and lost to them both -- but we're at a position that we don't take anyone lightly."
Amanda Pick leads the Cardinals' offensive attack with a team-leading 34 hits and a .250 batting average. Courtney Patteson is the only Cardinal without any offensive struggles in MAC games. Patteson is hitting .353 in conference games, while Pick is second with a .222 average.
Laux said the key to success for this weekend will be the team's consistency on the offensive side.
"We know what happens when we don't hit," she said. "Conversely, we know what happens when we do hit."
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