Batting leadoff for Ball State’s softball team seems to suit shortstop Maia Pietrzak.
The 2023 Marist graduate earned her first All-Mid-American Conference First Team berth this spring while leading the Cardinals in runs (60) and hits (62). She was second in batting average (.376), third in home runs (seven) and stolen bases (14 in 16 attempts), fifth in doubles (eight) and sixth in RBIs (25).
“My hitting has never been super flashy,” Pietrzak said. “I’ve had a journey this past year of growing in my confidence, and through a lot of conversations with my hitting coach (at Ball State), coach (Matt) Burns. He helped me develop my swing, develop my confidence, develop different tools like my bunt for a hit, and my speed on the bases, which were huge this year.”
That development won her the spot at the top of the batting order.
“The first time I saw my name batting leadoff, I couldn’t believe that I was batting at the top of the lineup for a Division I college softball team,” Pietrzak said. “It was definitely like a ‘whoa’ experience, for sure.
“But I really enjoy the leadoff spot. I just like the opportunity to get to set the tone for the game. I like to see a lot of pitches and then come back in and give my teammates some information on the pitchers to help us out. It’s just a fun challenge to go in and be the first person to face a pitcher.”
Being first-team all-conference isn’t a solo achievement, she said.
“Honestly, the accolades will come and go as they need, but it is pretty cool to see my hard work pay off in a way that’s a tangible award,” Pietrzak said. “It’s pretty cool, especially to do that as a sophomore after kind of being in and out of the lineup last year a little bit.
“Half of my stats are due to my teammates hitting me in, and my teammates catching my balls at shortstop. I wouldn’t have half the runs that I scored this season without hitting before McKayla Timmons. It definitely shows a lot of the hard work that I put in this season. But I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and my coaches, for sure.”
While the first game of the 2026 season is still around nine months away, Pietrzak said she’s looking forward to her junior season at Ball State after helping the Cardinals go 33-18 overall this season and 18-11 in the MAC. Ball State loses nine players to graduation, but will have five freshmen coming in.
“I am so excited,” Pietrzak said. “We’re going to have some new people coming onto the team.
“It’s going to be a relatively new team for us. … I’m just so excited to show all the newcomers what this team’s about. I want to show them the type of path that we want to keep going on in my last two years and all the years to come after I’m done at Ball State. I want to just keep growing our culture on the team and keep becoming an even more competitive program and win a MAC championship next year.”
● Beloit senior goalkeeper Eric Seo received honorable mention from the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference in lacrosse. The St. Rita graduate started 15 games this season, posting a 15.11 goals-against average. He made 235 saves and compiled a .541 save percentage.