Oct. 3, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State softball team dropped a pair of games Sunday afternoon to Southern Illinois and Northwestern to finish fourth at the Illinois Collegiate Softball Championship at Champion Fields in Normal, Ill. The Redbirds finished with an overall record of 2-2 in the tournament after posting a 2-0 mark yesterday afternoon.
"I thought it was a great weekend of softball," head coach Melinda Fischer said. "We probably learned more about our team this weekend than we have in our entire practice season and our competitive fall season. A lot of positive things came out of this tournament and I also thought it was an eye-opener to our weaknesses. That was good to see at this point and it gives us a lot of direction heading into our winter practice season."
Kara Nelson finished the weekend with an impressive 12-for-14 showing at the plate for ISU. Nelson provided the game-winning single in Saturday's win over SIU Edwardsville and smashed a home run in the Redbirds' 6-5 loss to Southern Illinois.
"Our team showed stamina and determination in yesterday's games with Northern Illinois and SIU Edwardsville," Fischer said. "Today, I just didn't feel like we competed very well against Southern Illinois. Their pitcher, Danielle Glosson, was really tough against us with 12 strikeouts. I thought Kara Nelson had a great weekend. She was on fire and really showed why she is an All-American and that she is ready to go this season.
"Pitching-wise, I thought Chrissy Burton really did what we asked her to do," Fischer added. "I can see her taking on a closer role for us and come in the last two or three innings and really shut teams down. I saw some positive things from our pitching, but I also saw some weaknesses from our pitching. I also saw some weaknesses from our defense, but we learned a lot this weekend."
DePaul claimed the tournament title in dramatic fashion, defeating Southern Illinois in the championship game of the Gold Bracket, 8-7, in eight innings following a walk-off home run. The Blue Demons defeated Northwestern, 8-4, earlier in the day to earn their championship berth. The Salukis earned their spot in the championship game with a 5-4 win over host Illinois State. In the consolation game, the Wildcats topped the Redbirds, 10-2, in five innings.
SIU Edwardsville won the Silver Bracket, finishing the tournament with a 3-1 overall record. The Cougars posted a 7-2 victory over Western Illinois in the bracket's championship game. SIUE earned its spot in the final game with a 4-2 win over Illinois-Chicago in its opening game. The Leathernecks edged Lake Land, 3-2, in the opening game to advance to the championship contest. The Flames dominated the consolation game, scoring 14 runs in the first two innings and prevailing, 18-1, over the Lakers in five innings.
The Bronze Bracket was claimed by Bradley after the Braves came from behind to defeat Eastern Illinois in eight innings. Bradley tied the game at 3-3 in its final at bat and then pushed across a run in the eighth to earn the 4-3 win. The Braves also needed extra frames to advance to the title game, scoring in the bottom of the seventh to tie Heartland and then downing the Hawks, 8-7, with a walk-off hit. EIU earned its way into the matchup with Bradley by defeating Northern Illinois, 7-5, in its opening game. The Huskies won the consolation game in the Bronze Bracket, 14-3, over Heartland in five innings.
ILLINOIS STATE GAME RECAPS
Game 1: Southern Illinois 5, Illinois State 4
Southern Illinois took advantage of a pair of Illinois State errors in the bottom of the third to take 2-0 lead. Alicia Junker drew a one-out walk to start the rally before the Salukis loaded the bases on two Redbird errors. Haley Gorman drove in a pair of runs with a double to deep center to chase ISU starter Megan Warner after 2.1 innings. Taylor Baxter relieved Warner and retired the side to stifle the SIU rally.
SIU extended their lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth, after Junker belted a two-run double to right center. The Redbirds responded with three runs in the top of the sixth, highlighted by a three-run home run by Elizabeth Kay. Kara Nelson led off the inning with a single to left and Lauren Kellar followed with an infield single. Kay then cleared the bases with a deep line drive to left center.
Gorman added an insurance run for the Salukis in the bottom of the sixth, slapping a two-out single through the left side of the infield. Chrissy Burton took over in the circle after the RBI single in relief of Baxter to finish the frame.
Nelson continued to swing a hot bat for Illinois State, belting a two-out solo home run in the top of the seventh to trim the Saluki lead to 5-4. However, SIU starter Danielle Glosson struck out Kellar to end the game and preserve the victory.
Glosson earned the win in the circle for Southern Illinois, tossing all seven innings and striking out 12 Illinois State batters.
The loss dropped the Redbirds into the consolation game of the Gold Bracket, while Southern Illinois advanced to play DePaul for the ICSC championship.
Game 2: Northwestern 10, Illinois State 2 (5 innings)
The Northwestern offense struck early and often, sending 11 hitters to the plate and plating five runs in the top of the first. The Wildcats tallied six hits in the top of the frame, including a two-run single by Adrienne Monka and a three-run home run off the bat of Lauren Ackerman.
The Redbirds pushed across a run in the bottom of the inning on a RBI double by Kay. ISU used back-to-back singles from Nelson and Kellar to start the inning, and nearly plated a second run before Kay was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Northwestern took advantage of ISU miscues in the top of the third and extended its lead to 10-1. Monka capped the five-run Wildcat rally with a three-run blast to deep center.
Kellar recorded her second home run of the tournament with a solo shot in the bottom of the third to cut the NU lead to 10-2. Burton took to the circle in top of fourth, relieving ISU starter Jordan Birch.
Burton did not allow the Wildcats to score in her two innings of work, but NU starter Jessica Smith silenced the Redbird bats and earned the pitching victory in five innings.
With the defeat, ISU finished fourth in the Gold Bracket and finished the tournament with an overall record of 2-2. The Redbirds will wrap up their fall slate with the annual Parents/Friend Day at 1 p.m., next Sunday.
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