Sept. 20, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
Despite a two-and-a-half hour rain delay, the first day of the 2008 State Farm Illinois Collegiate Softball Championship was completed successfully, as 11 of the 12 NCAA Division I softball teams in the State of Illinois, along with Heartland Community College, competed in four pools that were used to determine Sunday's championship brackets.
The event is officially hosted by the Bloomington-Normal Area Sports Commission, Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Town of Normal Parks and Recreation Department and Illinois State Athletics, with State Farm Insurance serving as the official title sponsor.
Pool A saw Northwestern hand Heartland Community College a 10-1 defeat in game one. Heartland was also on the losing end of its second game of the day, as it fell, 7-4, to Eastern Illinois. In the nightcap, Northwestern shut out EIU, 3-0.
Pool B, which featured the newest NCAA Division I member, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, began with a 2-0 shutout by DePaul over Bradley. The Braves regrouped for a 6-5 win over SIU-E in their second game. DePaul finished off its first day of competition with a 7-0 blanking of SIU-E.
Western Illinois defeated Illinois, 3-2, to start Pool C play. The Westerwinds were then defeated in game two, 3-1, by Southern Illinois-Carbondale. The Salukis then lost, 10-6, to Illinois in the final game of the day in Pool C.
Action in Pool D saw tournament co-host Illinois State defeat Northern Illinois, 2-0, in game one. The Huskies also lost later in the day to Illinois-Chicago, 4-1. Pool D's final game went 11 innings, with UIC pulling out a 7-4 victory over ISU.
Sunday's action will be divided up into three brackets, with each team being placed into either a gold, silver or bronze bracket depending on its record from Saturday's games. The Gold Bracket will pit Northwestern versus Illinois-Chicago and Illinois against DePaul, while the Silver Bracket will feature ISU against Eastern Illinis and Bradley versus SIU-Carbondale. The Bronze Bracket will see Bradley take on Heartland and SIU-Edwardsville face off against Western Illiniois.
Sunday's games are scheduled to start at 10 a.m., with the Gold Bracket (tournament championship game) slated to be played at 3 p.m.
ILLINOIS STATE GAME RECAPS
Game 1 - Illinois State 2, Northern Illinois 0
The long rain delay that began just 20 minutes into its first game of Saturday's pool play did not disrupt the Illinois State softball team's quest for victory in its first game of the inaugural State Farm Illinois Collegiate Softball Championship. A home run by Jessie Buker, combined precision control in the circle by senior pitcher Amber Smith, propelled ISU to a 2-0 shutout of Northern Illinois.
ISU appeared primed to score in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Smith roped a leadoff double off the left field fence. A sacrifice bunt by Buker advanced pinch runner Carly Billings to third base. The rally was short-lived, however, as the Redbirds ran themselves out of the inning when Billings was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a popup to shallow right field.
Illinois State finally broke the scoring stalemate in the bottom of the fifth inning. Center fielder Katie Mathis roped a two-out single to left field that was misplayed by NIU, which landed Mathis on second base. One batter later, shortstop Niki Stansell's double into the left-center field gap scored Mathis and gave ISU a 1-0 lead.
Buker sparked the Redbird offense once again in the bottom of the sixth, as she drove a two-out, solo home run over the center field fence that gave ISU a two-run cushion (2-0).
Smith looked sharp throughout the game for the Redbirds. The right-hander from Fairfield, Calif., earned her first win of the fall season after she pitched seven scoreless innings and surrendered just two hits and one walk to Northern Illinois.
Game 2 - Illinois-Chicago 7, Illinois State 4 (11)
A 2-for-3, two-RBI batting performance by Stansell was spoiled, as Illinois State saw its 2-0 lead through six innings erased in the bottom of the seventh and eventually lost, 7-4, to Illinois-Chicago in 11 innings.
Leading 2-0 after six-and-a-half innings, Illinois State's shutout came to a halt in the bottom of the seventh, as UIC plated two runs in the frame after two outs were recorded. After Shannon Kehr led off the inning with a single into left field, a throwing error by Stansell allowed the Flames to score their first run of the game. One batter later, Sarah Clynes' RBI single up the middle tied the game at 2-2 and sent it to extra innings.
With both teams unable to score during the next two innings, the game went into the international tie-breaker rule, whereby a team's final batter from the previous inning is placed on second base to start the next frame. The Redbirds took advantage of the free runner on base, as a sacrifice bunt by Smith moved Beth Current up to third base, and then Buker drove in Current with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Illinois-Chicago tied the game again at 3-3 in the bottom of the 10th after Clynes lined an RBI double into right-center field. After ISU briefly went up, 4-3, in the top of the 11th, UIC finished off the Redbirds with three runs in the bottom of the frame to secure the 7-4 win.
Stansell continued her hot hitting from game one, as she drove in the Redbirds' first run of the game in the top of the fifth inning. After second baseman Diciembre Vaca singled into left field and moved up to second base on a fielder's choice, Stansell lined an RBI double down the left field line that scored Vaca and gave ISU a 1-0 lead.
Two innings later, Stansell came through again in the clutch, as she ripped a two-out, RBI single through the UIC infield that scored pinch runner Jessica Roche.
Smith suffered her second loss of the fall season for Illinois State. She surrendered five runs to UIC after coming in to pitch in relief of starter Megan Warner with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
Warner, who had a stellar 2 2/3-inning relief effort in Wednesday night's 7-4 loss to Heartland Community College, recorded a no-decision after she pitched 7 1/3 innings. Warner had ISU positioned for a shutout until she gave up two runs to the Flames (both earned) with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
