The softball team is prepared for a three-game weekend series with Mid-American Conference West Division leader Central Michigan two days removed from a dramatic doubleheader with rival Miami.-á
Ball State enters play Saturday having won five of its last seven games. Nonetheless, Central Michigan looks to be the team to beat in the conference right now because of its current 10-game winning streak.
"It's tough to go play them there, but we just have to be consistent," coach Terri Laux said. "We need to focus on staying solid with the fundamentals."
The Chippewas are led by a strong pitching rotation that includes ace Amber Puchalski, a two-time first team All-MAC and all-region selection. Senior Jenni Rasmussen compliments Puchalski well, having completed a breakout season in 2002 when she tallied an 8-0 record in conference play.
Coach Laux, however, did not feel it was a foregone conclusion that her team would have trouble finding hits against the defending MAC regular season and tournament champions.
"To be honest, we have been successful hitting off Amber (Puchalski)," Laux said. "We've seen her for two years, so we know she throws a rise ball. We need to get people on base and manufacture runs somehow."
Laux said the Ball State pitching staff has the capability of doing well in head-to-head competition with CMU's superb rotation, which has only allowed four runs in the past eight games.
During that stretch, the Chippewas tossed six shutouts and held Bowling Green scoreless in three straight games.
Ball State put eight runs on the scoreboard Wednesday during the split with the RedHawks. A sweep over Miami would have given the Cardinals a half-game lead over Western Michigan for third place in the West.
The top six teams from the conference will receive bids in the conference tournament, which begins May 8. If the season ended today, Ball State would not make the field, as the team currently finds itself seventh overall in the league standings. -á
"I think anybody in the MAC is beatable," Laux added. "But, more importantly, we have to continue to get better. You don't want to make them (these games) seem bigger than what they are, but these are big games. We need to take care of business. We need to do something to help ourselves out if we want to make the MAC tournament."-á-á
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