After being delayed one week due to inclement weather, the Ball State University softball team will finally open their 2006 spring schedule this weekend at the Evansville Tournament.
The double round-robin tournament consists of three teams: Ball State, University of Evansville and Mississippi University, with the Cardinals scheduled to play their opening game against the Ole Miss Rebels tomorrow morning.
"[Mississippi] is a good squad, but we are not concerned with who we are playing against," coach Terri Laux said. "We are looking to get better each inning and focus on ourselves and not get caught up in who we are playing."
With Ball State focusing on themselves this tournament, one thing the coaching staff will have to contend with before the start of tomorrow's game is whether Nicki Hellem or Quincy Duran will get the start, as the Cardinals are undecided which senior pitcher will take the mound.
Last season Hellem had 36 appearances and finished the year with an 8-10 record, 3.31 ERA, 19 complete games and two shutouts. Duran only made seven appearances during the 2005 seasons and had a 7.39 ERA with a 1-5 record.
This will be the first game the softball team has played since they defeated IUPUI 3-2 in the Purdue Invitational early in October.
"We've have had a great preseason and made some more progress this week," Laux said. "Eventually though you have to play your season-opener and we are ready to play ours."
Ball State has eleven letter-winners and eight starters returning from last year's team which finished the 2005 season with a 19-37 (6-16) record and in sixth place in the Mid-American Conference Western Division.
"I think that we are going to much better this year," Laux said. "Last season we had some key injuries on the mound and we now have much more experience. Our goal is to go out their and compete for a MAC Championship."
Offensively, Ball State is led by outfielder Kelli Jeziorski and catcher/first baseman Abby Gross. Last season Jeziorski led the team with 44 hits and .272 batting average, with Gross tying for the team lead with 15 RBIs and had a .252 batting average. Also returning to the line-up will be third baseman Taylor Yancey and second baseman Amanda Pick. Pick, a freshman last year, had a .259 batting average and 12 RBI and Yancey finishing the season with 36 hits.
"We are not looking for just one individual to [produce offensively] but five kids to contribute to our line-up," Laux said. "The thing for us this year is can we be consistent enough with our bats."
In addition to the eight starters returning to their team, the Cardinals also have seven freshman on their roster, including freshman pitchers Laura Masch and Abby Zollman. Masch played her high school softball in Texas, where she finished her senior season with a 0.43 ERA, 14 shutouts and 363 strikeouts, while Zollman during her senior year had a 0.38 ERA, 13 shutouts and 274 strikeoutes.
"Both of them have different pitching style and they will have to adjust to pitching from 47 feet away," Laux said. "Sometimes though you just have to put them out there and see what they've got."
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