The Ball State University softball team has some bright spots to build on Saturday and Sunday after struggling in its previous weekend.
The Cardinals (3-7) will look to reduce their defensive mistakes and continue to hit well at The Kay Brechtelsbauer Southern Classic this weekend.
Despite the team's woes, Ball State found a bright spot last weekend with the play of sophomore Kamilah Holle.
The shortstop was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week for her play at the Middle Tennessee State University Strikeout Breast Cancer Classic.
"I was pretty excited because last year I didn't do so well, and this year I'm doing a lot better," she said.
Holle said she loved everything about her play in the tournament. She had five hits, including two home runs and a double, in the Cardinals' five games. Holle also batted .428, hit in six runs, scored four runs and stole three bases during the weekend.
"If she continues to do that, that's gonna be a huge help for our offense," coach Craig Nicholson said. "You talk about your No. 8 hitter being the MAC player of the week - that says something about your offense."
Nicholson said Holle will continue to play well this weekend.
"If she can keep it rolling for a while then she's gonna gain some confidence, and it snowballs from there," he said. "When you have that confidence as a hitter, it absolutely makes you a better hitter."
Holle also had a good weekend defensively, Nicholson said. She did not commit any errors last weekend and has a .927 fielding percentage through the first 10 games of the season.
Ball State has struggled as a team defensively this season, Nicholson said. The Cardinals have committed 22 errors this season.
The Cardinals will improve defensively when they get a chance to practice outside on the field, Nicholson said. He said it is tough to work on the necessary defensive drills inside.
"You never get a chance [with the weather] to get outside and work on the things that you need to do better," Nicholson said.
On the other hand, the Cardinals are continuing to be productive offensively.
With four more home runs, they will break the Ball State single-season record of 18, which was set by the 2005 team. The Cardinals are on pace to hit more than 75 home runs this season.
The host of this weekend's tournament, Southern Illinois University, will be Ball State's toughest opponent, Nicholson said.
Southern Illinois is No. 20 in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll and No. 22 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll.
Mid-American Conference foe Ohio University withdrew from the tournament due to weather-related issues. The field is strong from top to bottom at this weekend's tournament, Nicholson said.
"The level of competition is probably a little bit better this weekend, so we're gonna have to play a little better if we expect to compete," Nicholson said.
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