Although the Ball State University softball team lost three of its four games this weekend, coach Craig Nicholson said the team played better than its record showed.
Ball State (8-17) concluded the Iowa Tournament Sunday with a 5-0 win against South Dakota State University. The Cardinals lost their other games to North Dakota State University 3-1, the University of Iowa 9-2 and Northern Illinois University 6-4.
"I thought three out of four games we played pretty well," Nicholson said. "We had some breaks and that kind of thing but I thought overall it was a pretty good weekend."
Ball State's worst performance was Saturday against host Iowa, Nicholson said. In the fifth and sixth innings, the Cardinals gave up five runs and fell apart.
"We made a couple of mistakes, nothing huge, but enough to give them an opportunity to take advantage of those mistakes," Nicholson said.
In the sixth, starting pitcher Amanda Pick threw a wild pitch and passed ball that allowed the Iowa base runners to advance. She then gave up a two-run double before freshman Elizabeth Milian replaced her. Milian hit a batter and allowed two inherited runners to score.
Nicholson said Milian pitched great for the Cardinals on the weekend. Milian allowed one earned run in 15.2 innings of work.
She picked up the lone win for the Cardinals, pitching a complete game shutout against South Dakota State.
"We feel like when she's out there we have a chance to win," Nicholson said. "She's getting better and better."
Milian went 1-1 in the tournament and has a team-best 5-6 record on the year.
It was hard to pitch against South Dakota State because the umpire had an inconsistent strike zone, Milian said.
"It's hard to pitch when you don't know what he is going to call," Milian said.
On Friday, Milian was named the Mid-American West Pitcher of the Week for her play from March 14 to 18.
In five games, she went 2-3 with five complete games in her five starts. She had a 2.86 earned run average with 15 strikeouts in 34.2 innings of work.
Milian threw a one-hitter in a 3-0 victory against the University of Wisconsin on March 16.
"It's a huge honor but I'm not going to let it get to me," Milian said. "You're only as good as your last game."
Nicholson said Milian had another strong weekend for the Cardinals this weekend but no one else stood out. He said he likes to have a solid effort from everyone instead of two or three players carrying the team.
"I think it's important that you get a solid effort from 10 people," Nicholson said. "If your team is a team where any person can [step up] any day, you are kind of where you want to be in terms of what your squad is made of."
Nicholson said he was happy that the team showed more emotional consistency this weekend. Ball State's victory against South Dakota State, after a loss to Northern Illinois, showed the team's improvement.
"We're starting to mature a little bit in that way and being consistent with our emotions," Nicholson said.
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