Ball State University didn't take too much time to sulk over Tuesday's 5-4 home loss to IPFW.
Instead, coach Craig Nicholson said his team went to work Wednesday with a great day of practice and thinks the Cardinals are ready for a crucial weekend in Mid-American Conference West Division play.
Ball State (21-8, 1-1 MAC) plays host to Central Michigan University today for a doubleheader at the BSU Softball Complex before Eastern Michigan University comes to Muncie for games on Saturday and Sunday.
"We just need to get back to playing the way that we know we're capable of playing," Nicholson said. "The good thing about a tough loss like that is you get to play just a couple days afterwards."
Today's first game against the Chippewas (15-10, 2-2 MAC), scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, will feature two of the top pitchers in the West Division: Ball State ace Elizabeth Milian and Central Michigan ace Kari Seddon.
Milian is 15-2 this season and is among the national leaders in victories (26th), ERA (1.11 – 19th), shutouts (seven – 7th), walks allowed per seven innings (1.11 – 9th) and strikeouts per seven innings (nine – 36th).
Seddon (8-5), meanwhile, is the reigning MAC West Pitcher of the Week. The junior earned the distinction for the fifth time in her career after going 2-2 last week, both wins coming against Toledo. Seddon's 2.00 ERA ranks 73rd nationally and her 7.6 strikeouts per seven innings rank 82nd.
Milian and the Cardinals' pitching staff will have to deal with the best overall hitting team in the conference. The Chippewas lead the MAC with a .292 team batting average.
"Just like any team you face, it's all about making quality pitches," Nicholson said. "If we can throw the pitch we want in the spots we need to, then I think we can be successful."
Looking at the big picture, Nicholson said this weekend could be critical to his team's fate in MAC play.
Four wins, and the Cardinals are in the drivers' seat; a split, and Ball State is right back where it started; four losses, however, and the Cardinals are on the bottom looking up.
"We really have a chance to set ourselves apart in the West if we can take care of business," Nicholson said. "These couple of weekends where we play West teams exclusively could be huge for us, and hopefully we can knock off a couple teams that will be chasing us at the end of the season."
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