TERRE HAUTE, IND. -
Box Score
Illinois softball continued to make strides Saturday in
the first day of the Indiana State Tournament. The Illini played strong
defense against NCAA regular Northern Illinois, then put on an offensive
display in a 9-3 win over Western Michigan. The Illini (7-11) will meet
Loyola (9:30 a.m. CST) and the host Sycamores (1:30 p.m. CST) in the
round-robin format Sunday.
"We played excellent defense against an established team," said Head Coach
Terri Sullivan of Northern game. "That gave us confidence in game two.
Offensively, we wanted to attack the ball the way we have at times this
season. We got offensive punch from many different players. It was a total
team effort."
Illinois exploded for six runs in the sixth inning, breaking a 3-3 deadlock
against WMU. Lindsey Creydt culminated the frame with a two-run home run to
left field. Creydt was 2 for 4 with two runs scored. Heather Black picked up
the win in relief, shutting out the Broncos in the final 3 1/3. She also was
2 for 4 at the plate with a double and two RBIs and a run scored.
Illinois took a 2-1 lead in the second on Black's double to center, scoring
Jean Jones and Laura Cannizzo. The Illini padded to their lead with a run in
the third on an RBI single by Jenny Floyd. Western Michigan tied the game
with two runs in the bottom of the third.
Illinois took advantage of two WMU errors to go along with singles from
Lori Schaeffer, Kim Hubbard and Black, setting the stages for back-to-back
extra base hits by Kim Hofert (an RBI double to left) and Creydt (two-run
home run).
The Illini relinquished single runs to Northern Illinois in the fourth and
sixth. Suzie Rizek's double accounted for the second Huskie run. Illinois
threatened in the seventh, loading the bases, but couldn't push home the
tying runs.
