Although she will not be on the team in upcoming seasons, Abby Gross thinks the Ball State softball team could compete for a Mid-American Conference championship soon.
The Cardinals' senior catcher said she thinks Ball State should be able to win the conference tournament in the next couple years after it made a surprising run to the tournament semifinals this season. The strong showing in their first MAC tournament appearance since 2002 helped the No. 7 seed Cardinals gain respect from their competitors in the conference, Gross said.
"No one expected us to make it this far," the catcher said. "But all of us had complete confidence."
The team finished 2-2 in tournament play, with wins against Central Michigan and Akron coupled with losses to Bowling Green and Kent State.
Last year, Ball State finished 10th in the 12-team league and was thus one of four teams left out of the conference tournament. This season, Ball State made the tournament for the seventh time in program history.
Second-year coach Craig Nicholson, who won seven conference championships competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association at Central Arizona College, said his team's advancement to the semifinals shows the progress the Cardinals' program is making.
"You're not going to go from 11th in the MAC to winning the tournament in two years," he said.
The Cardinals' tournament run came to an end Friday at the hands of No. 1 seed Kent State. The Golden Flashes, who won the tournament with a 4-0 record, knocked the Cardinals out in the semifinals with a 6-3 victory.
Ball State began the tournament with a 3-2 win Wednesday against the No. 2 seed Central Michigan, who won the MAC West regular season title.
"Beating a team like Central Michigan, who is an established program, is big for our program," he said.
The tournament's No. 3 seed, Bowling Green, shut out Ball State 6-0 Thursday to give the Cardinals their first loss. Ball State then eliminated the tournament's host, Akron, with a 5-4 win Friday against the No. 8 seed.
"I thought we played really well all weekend," Nicholson said. "The two games we lost were against teams who have been perennial powerhouses in the league the past few years."
Of the eight teams that were represented at the tournament, half of them had a player earn all-tournament honors, including Ball State. Bowling Green, Ohio and Kent State each had three players make the all-tournament team while Gross made the squad for Ball State.
Gross batted .400 in 10 at-bats in her first MAC tournament with two walks, a run scored, a home run and eight runs batted in.
The senior, who finished her career as the program's all-time home run leader with 19, hit a three-run home run against Kent State.
"I was glad with the way I played," said Gross, who was one of two seniors along with Amanda Pick. "I just thought it was the last time I was playing, and I might as well make it memorable"
Gross and Elizabeth Milian, who pitched and was a designated player this season, also made second team all-MAC for the regular season.
Shortstop Alicia Barkley and third baseman Kate Wilczynski both made the MAC all-freshman team.
Nicholson said his players do not care much about individual honors, but he thought a couple of them got snubbed from the conference teams.
Ball State finished the season 38-34, the team's first winning season since 2002 and second-most wins in the program's 34-year history.
The Cardinals were 9-11 in the MAC regular season and did not play No. 5-seed Western Michigan in the tournament because the games were cancelled May 2 due to inclement weather.
Gross said she is sad to be done with her softball career and is going to miss playing and being around her teammates every day, but the team is heading in the right direction.
"I think with the new coaches coming in, it's really helped us improve," she said. "The whole team; the whole program."
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