April 20, 2001
Box Score
Urbana, Ill. -
The University of Illinois softball team continues to gain momentum game-by-game. Friday the Illini extended their school-record winning streak to nine games with a doubleheader sweep of Wisconsin at Eichelberger Field.
Illinois took the first game 2-1 and the nightcap 2-1 in nine innings. With the wins, Illinois improves its record to 42-17 overall, 9-5 and in fourth place in the Big Ten Conference and break the Big Ten record for most conference wins by a first-year Big Ten team (9). Purdue went 8-20 in 1995. Penn State went 4-22 in 1992 and Wisconsin 3-21 in 1996. The Illini host Minnesota Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).
As is the case in most winning seasons, different players have had their moment in the spotlight. Lindsey Hamma was Big Ten Player of the Week, Katie O'Connell hit a big three-run homer two weeks ago to defeat Ohio State, Sarah Baumgartner nailed the first homer at Eichelberger Field, while catcher Janna Sartini has driven in a team-best 34 runs. Erin Jones had two RBI while scoring a run in the doubleheader sweep of No. 12 Iowa over the weekend. Kathryn Nevard has thrown two no-hitters, while fellow hurler Amanda Fortune retired 19 batters in a row in a 3-0 win over Iowa on Sunday.
The Friday afternoon sunshine at Eichelberger Field provided the stage for even more Illini players to shine. Designated player Lauren Gronski, who has turned on her game during the winning streak, provided the day's most dramatic moment. Gronski, who had her first collegiate extra base hit just three days earlier, led off the ninth inning by drilling an offering from Jennifer Cummings over the left-center field fence for a home run to provide the difference in the 2-1 game. Cummings (8-10), who suffered the loss in both games, had a valiant effort by pitching all 15 innings for Wisconsin on the day.
For five innings of the nightcap, it looked as if one run would be all that was necessary. Cummings and Fortune locked horns in an impressive pitchers dual. Fortune retired the first 11 batters she faced and relinquished just four hits for the game while striking out five in 8.1 innings pitched to eventually improve her record to 18-9 on the year.
Then came the sixth. Jones, Hamma, and Sartini each singled their way on base to give Illinois the bases loaded with no outs. Cummings got the next two hitters out without allowing a run to score. That brought the other Illini hero of the game, Alicia Hammel, to plate. Hammel then singled to left field scoring the game's only run to that point. In between Erin Montgomery made a diving catch in left field, while Meghan Watson made a nice over the shoulder catch in right.
Wisconsin answered in the bottom of the sixth, however, when shortstop Meghan Reiss delivered a two-out RBI single to center to tie the game and eventually send the contest into extra innings.
In the bottom of the ninth, Wisconsin got two runners on and Nevard came in to retire the final two batters, the second one via strikeout, to pick up her second save of the year.
Game one had some drama as well. Illinois scored its only two runs in the third. Sartini singled up the middle scoring Jones from second. O'Connell (2-for-3 RBI) then lifted a pop up on the infield, which eventually dropped just in back of the pitchers' mound for a hit that scored Hamma.
Wisconsin (24-20, 6-8) had a hit in every inning except one and out-hit the Illini 8-5 against Illini's Nevard (22-8). The Badgers finally got a run in the top of the seventh inning with Jade Gosse singled to right field with her team down to her final out that scored Kerry Hagen from second and put runners on first and third. Nevard, however, got the final batter to pop up to Hammel at first to secure the win.
