With the start of Mid-American Conference play this weekend, the Ball State University softball team is entering some of the most important games of its season.
The Cardinals (18-14) will try to get out to a good start in the conference when they play host to Ohio University (10-9) Friday and the University of Akron (10-16) Saturday and Sunday.
Ball State coach Craig Nicholson said this weekend is extremely important because it will set the tone for the rest of the season.
"The first few weekends will have big effect on how a team thinks it can compete for the conference championship," Nicholson said. "Any time you got 12 teams in the conference starting out 0-0 the first weekend is huge."
Getting off to a good start is especially important for Ball State, Nicholson said, to get the players to start believing they can win the MAC title.
Ball State has never finished first in the MAC to end the regular season. It won the 1998 conference tournament, the one championship in program history.
The last time Ball State finished a season with a winning record or made the conference tournament was in 2002, when the Cardinals went 23-22 overall and 13-7 in the MAC, finishing second in the league.
Outfielder Allie Pennock said she does not think the lack of experience competing at the top of the MAC will have a negative effect on the team.
Ball State enters conference play this year as one of the three MAC teams with a winning record so far. The Cardinals lead the MAC West and trail 17-7 Kent State University in the overall conference standings.
"It feels pretty good when you go out with a different attitude that we are the ones who are expected to win," Pennock said.
This year the Cardinals have benefitted from having a more talented team, Pennock said.
"If you look at our team now, we have a lot more talent, and it's clear to see," she said.
While the players do not enter with experience of competing for MAC championships, Nicholson won seven conference championships in 11 seasons at Central Arizona College. He also guided his team to four NJCAA National Championships, two national runner-up positions and eight regional titles.
While his experience helps, Nicholson said players having experience is more important when trying to reach their goal of winning the MAC.
"Me having the experience is less important than the players having the experience," he said. "The point we're going to have to get to is the players believing in themselves."
The Cardinals begin their quest to win a MAC championship in a doubleheader against Ohio, which begins at 1 p.m. at the BSU Softball Complex.
Nicholson said the Bobcats are one of the better teams in the conference.
"We have to execute on offense and defense because both teams are going to pitch well," he said.
Akron, which, like Ball State, did not make the field of eight in the MAC tournament last year, does not have as good of pitching as Ohio, Nicholson said. The key to beating the Zips, who the Cardinals play at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday, is controlling the first four hitters in their lineup, he said.
Nicholson said his team is capable of turning around some of its past struggles, including an 8-14 record for 10th place in the MAC last year, and competing for a conference championship. The second-year coach said he came to Ball State to turn around the program.
"That's what our goals are, to get everything going in the right direction," he said.
In actionBall State vs. Ohio Time: 1 p.m.
Ball State vs. Akron Time: 2 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday
Venue: BSU Softball Complex
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