Houston Hilton Plaza Invitational schedule
vs. Texas - Feb. 19
vs. Iowa State - Feb. 19
vs. Texas - Feb. 20
vs. Houston - Feb. 20
vs. Iowa State - Feb. 21
Senior pitcher Nicole Steinbach said the key will be to bounce back from last weekend's 2-3 performance at the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Ala.
"We have to take those losses and learn from them," she said. "Every big team is going to have these losses. We have to make sure we don’t dwell on them.”
In Gulf Shores, Ball State beat Louisiana Tech 6-1 and UAB 3-2, but lost to seventh-ranked (USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches' Association poll) Louisiana Lafayette 22-4, Southern Mississippi 17-1 and No. 23 South Alabama, 8-0. Head coach Megan Ciolli Bartlett said the Sand Dollar Classic was a "bumpy weekend filled with adversity."
Still, she said she isn’t worried about her team.
“The identity of this program is that we’re tough, resilient, and we don’t back down from people,” she said.
In their three losses, the Cardinals went a combined 13-60 (.217) and only managed six extra-base hits. Bartlett said they'll need to improve at the plate to win in Houston.
“We’re going to have to be a tougher team to play against offensively," she said. "We need intelligent situational hitting."
In the Houston Hilton Plaza Invitational, the Cardinals will play Iowa State twice, Houston once and Texas twice.
The team will kick off the games Feb. 19 against Texas, which is ranked 24th in the ESPN/USA Softball poll.
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