While the Mid-American Conference softball teams have an average of 18 players on its roster, the Ball State University softball team has 12.
Because of Ball State's (13-22, 4-4 MAC) smaller roster, coach Craig Nicholson has all four of his freshmen seeing significant playing time.
Though Nicholson said he did not expect it, Alisha Etzler, Brittney Jones, Elizabeth Milian and Amber Wolf all start for the Cardinals.
"They've kind of pushed their way through and gotten into the lineup and been pretty successful once they got in," Nicholson said.
Milian was expected to see a lot of playing time, but she was not expected to be the team's No. 1 starting pitcher, Nicholson said.
Milian has seen the most playing time of the four freshmen, starting every game. She plays first base when she isn't on the mound.
Etzler, who plays second, and Jones, a center fielder, have started 33 and 31 games, respectively.
Wolf was the last of the four to break into the everyday lineup, and has started at designated hitter for three weeks.
"I didn't know really what to expect coming in," Wolf said. "I knew it would be a challenge coming in as a freshman to get playing time."
Milian said she expected her freshman year to be a learning experience she could use in future seasons. Now she has to speed up the learning process.
She leads Ball State with a 9-9 record, a 2.09 earned run average, a .237 opponent's batting average and 62 strikeouts. She also leads the Cardinals with 129.1 innings pitched, 16 games started and 23 appearances.
"I don't really like to think of myself as a freshman on the field," Milian said.
Milian said she thinks of everyone as equal on the field, regardless of class. Even though she is a freshman, Milian is playing against the veterans like everyone else, she said.
Leading the way offensively, Wolf is batting .327 and has a .431 on base percentage, both second on the team.
Milian is fourth on the team with a .253 batting average and 14 RB/S.
"It's a lot easier when you have people your age going through it with you," Etzler said.
The Cardinals have stolen 94 bases this season, second most in Ball State history. The freshmen have stolen 30 bases.
Etzler's 16 stolen bases is the team's second most. Jones comes in to pinch run and has stolen 10 bases.
When the four came to Ball State, they all connected and now love each other like family, Jones said.
"We connected right away," Jones said. "We hang out together and sit with each other on the bus."
Nicholson said he is accustomed to playing underclassmen on his team. At Central Arizona College, almost his entire roster was comprised of freshmen and sophomores.
Nicholson said he has no problem letting the players learn on the job. It will set Ball State up for more success in the upcoming years, he said.
"I'm used to having freshmen have to step up and make contributions," Nicholson said. "Even though it's a little bit different situation, I don't mind playing freshmen, especially if they're talented freshmen."
The freshmen will help lead Ball State against the No. 9 University of Michigan (28-6) today.
The Wolverines are very balanced, Nicholson said. He said they are solid from top to bottom in their lineup and have good pitching.
In order to beat Michigan, Ball State will have to eliminate mistakes and keep the score close.
"It's going to be a big, big challenge to go up there and play well and we'll see what happens," Nicholson said.
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