Sept. 16, 2007
Box Score
ORLAND PARK, Ill. -
Securing extra-base hits in key situations in a game is the hallmark of any good collegiate softball team, and for the Illinois State softball team, Sunday's three wins at the Chicagoland Fall Classic in Orland Park, Ill., were a testament to this tenant of softball. The Redbirds used nine extra-base over three games to help them pick up victories over Kirkwood Community College (11-0), Indiana (9-2) and 2007 Women's College World Series (WCWS) participant DePaul (4-1).
"I saw a lot of good things from a lot of people (Sunday)," said head coach Melinda Fischer. "I think that we're learning and we're taking some steps to make adjustments and do things better than when we started. We still have some work to do, but overall, I feel that this was a really good weekend for us."
Illinois State took control of its game against Kirkwood in the top of the third inning, plating six runs in the frame, thanks to timely singles by junior Jessie Buker and newcomers Abby Olson and Katie Mathis. Buker started the drive with a single into center field that scored second baseman Kara Nelson. Mathis followed with a single of her own, and then Olson drove in two more runs with a sharp single up the middle that brought home Mathis and Buker. Three batters later, catcher Jennifer Brown came up with two runners on and blasted a line drive over the Kirkwood center fielder's head that rolled all the way to the 275-foot sign in center field for an inside-the-park, three-run home run, giving ISU a comfortable 6-0 lead.
ISU put two additional runs on the board in the top of the fourth when Mathis' drive to deep left-center field eluded the Kirkwood center fielder's glove, allowing Nelson to score all the way from first and placing Mathis on third base with one out. A Buker RBI triple into right field one batter later scored Mathis.
A spate of hits with runners in scoring position allowed the `Birds to score their final three runs of the game. Newcomer Chrissy Burton started the scoring with a double that plated Katie Thoennes. A slap-hit single by Nelson through the right side of the drawn-in Kirkwood infield scored Burton, and then Mathis came to the plate and notched her third single of the day with a hit to left field that plated Nelson and completed ISU's 11-0 shutout over Kirkwood Community College.
Earning the win in the circle for the Redbirds was sophomore walk-on Amy Mitchell, who pitched four complete innings, giving up no runs and no hits. Mitchell allowed three walks, all in the first inning, while striking out four. The game was called after five full innings, due to the tournament's eight-run rule.
Playing Indiana in its second game of the day, Illinois State found itself down 2-0 early, after the Hoosiers' leadoff batter, Anna Olson, reached second base on an error and scored on a Kristin King triple. Also scoring on the play was Alyssa Maiese, who reached earlier in the inning via a walk.
The `Birds threatened in the bottom of the third inning when Buker hit her second triple of the day into right field. ISU was unable to capitalize on the scoring opportunity, however, as Olson popped up to the Hoosiers' first baseman to end the inning and leave the score 2-0, Indiana.
ISU took the lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to erratic pitching from Indiana that allowed the Redbirds to bat around in the inning and take a 5-2 lead. Shortstop Kaprice Williams led off the frame with a ground-rule double into the left field corner and then advanced to third base on a wild pitch by Indiana's Jen Moore. Senior right fielder Andrea Shifflet singled Williams in, setting up the `Birds for four runs in the frame. Tiffany Prager, Buker and Olson all drew a walk, forcing in catcher Casey Gorrell, Shifflet and Nelson.
Clutch hitting in the bottom of the fifth broke the game open for the Redbirds, as they scored five runs on three hits, a walk and one Indiana error in the frame. All three Redbird hits in the inning came with runners in scoring position.
Switching from right field to the pitching circle for the Indiana game, Burton was solid for the `Birds, going five full innings to earn the victory. She gave up just two Hoosier runs on four hits.
Going up against DePaul in its third, and final, game of the day, Illinois State tallied its first run in the bottom of the second inning off a sacrifice fly from Shifflet that scored Mathis from third base.
ISU starting pitcher Amber Smith got out of a tough spot in the top of third inning without giving up any runs. After DePaul's Amber Patton tripled into the left-center field gap with one out, Smith induced two-straight ground outs to secure the 1-0 Redbird lead heading into the latter half of the game.
The Redbirds tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fourth, largely due to the clutch hitting of Shifflet and sophomore Michelle Henderson, who both had RBI triples in the inning. Henderson started ISU's offensive onslaught when she drove a pitch from the Blue Demon's Lauren Frankaewicz down the left field line for a triple that scored Olson. Three batters later, with both Williams and Gorrell on base, Shifflet came to the plate and lined a pitch over the DePaul center fielder's head, bringing in two more runs to increase the ISU lead to 4-0.
The Blue Demons scored their lone run of the game in the top of the sixth inning when pinch-hitter Marie Thompson singled into right field, scoring Sandy Vojik from second base.
Smith once again dominated in the circle for ISU, as the junior right-hander from Fairfield, Calif., went six innings, allowing just three Blue Demon hits, while striking out nine. She earned her fourth win of the fall season for ISU.
Illinois State concludes the competitive portion of its fall 2007 season next weekend when it travels to the Reverse Exposure Tournament in Kirkwood, Mo., Saturday, followed by hosting its annual Alumni Game Sunday at Redbird Softball Complex. ISU will face Saint Louis at 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by a 3 p.m. matchup with Eastern Illinois. Sunday's Alumni Game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
