March 18, 2001
The University of Illinois women's softball team finished second at the Winthrop Invitational with two wins on Sunday afternoon in Rock Hill, S.C. Illinois finished the tournament with a 5-1 record and improved to 21-11 overall this season.
Behind a three-hit shut out performance by Amanda Fortune (Newhall, Calif.), Illinois opened single elimination play with a 3-0 win over Virginia Tech. Fortune (7-5) also set a team record for strikeouts in a game with 12. Leading the way was Janna Sartini (Galt, Calif.) who was three-for three with three RBI singles.
"The whole coaching staff is proud of what our team did this weekend," head coach Terri Sullivan said. "This season is a journey and you want to improve with each game. I thought our team showed great maturity against high caliber teams with great athletes."
In the semifinals of the Gold bracket, Illinois rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the seventh inning to defeat Southern Mississippi, 3-1, a team that has been to the College World Series in each of the last two seasons. With two outs and Alicia Hammel (Orland Park, Ill.) on third base, pinch hitter Lauren Gronski (Morris, Ill.) singled up the middle to knot the game at 1-1. Erin Jones (Fullerton, Ill.) stepped up to bat and singled to left field. On the play, the USM shortstop interfered with pinch runner Kim Hubbard (Aiea, Hawaii) as she ran from second to third and Hubbard was awarded home to give Illinois a 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish.
Kathryn Nevard (Camarillo, Calif.) pitched seven innings and limited the Golden Eagles to five hits as she notched her 10th victory of the season.
In the championship game, Illinois broke out to a 1-0 lead against Virginia, but a four-run fourth inning gave the Cavaliers a 6-1 victory. Sarah Baumgartner (Wheaton, Ill.) and Katie O'Connell (Joliet, Ill.) each were two-for-three for the Illini in the cause. Three players, Jones, Sartini and Fortune were named to the Winthrop Invitational All-Tournament team.
Illinois will next play in the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic in Atlanta, Ga., on Friday, March 23rd.
