March 30, 2002
Final Stats
North Mankato, Minn. -
The sun was shining and the wind was blowing Saturday afternoon in North Mankato, Minn. Both those factors seemed to treat Illinois left fielder Erin Montgomery just fine in the Illini's 2-0 win over Minnesota. The win gives the teams a split in their two-game series and Illinois (17-12, 1-1 in the Big Ten) a boost going into a doubleheader Sunday afternoon in Madison, Wis.
In the fourth inning, Montgomery took a rise ball off Minnesota ace Piper Martin and sent it into the jet stream of a strong wind blowing out and over the left-center field fence. The long ball broke a string of 19 scoreless innings by Illinois against Minnesota dating back to last season. Montgomery had a big day, going 3-for-3 with a double, that home run and both Illinois RBIs.
"Our team met last night and after that, I knew we were going to come out and play hard," said Montgomery. "Our hitters were a lot more relaxed and as coach always says took three good cuts on three good pitches every time up."
The runs were more than enough for Illinois sophomore hurler Sherri Taylor, who shut out the Gophers on just three hits while striking out five. Taylor was working for the second straight day after tossing all seven innings of Illinois' 2-0 defeat at the hands of Minnesota (24-11, 1-1) the night before. Taylor, though, gave up just three hits and no earned runs while striking out six in that game.
"Yesterday's runs off Sherri were because of walks and errors," Illinois Head Coach Terri Sullivan said of her decision to send Taylor back to the mound. "She limited the number of pitches she threw by getting ahead in the count. She and (catcher) Lauren Gronski did a nice job of mixing up the pitchers and keeping their big hitters off balance."
"I was aware that they had seen me throw six innings last night, so I had to work to continue to keep them off stride," Taylor said. "Gronski did a great job calling pitches back there and we got the big hits when we needed them."
Both teams threatened early in the game, but couldn't eke home a run. With two outs in the Illinois first, Lindsey Hamma singled to right field and Montgomery followed with a single into the gap advancing an aggressive Hamma to third. Montgomery advanced to second on the throw to third putting runners on second and third. Illinois couldn't take advantage, however.
Minnesota got two runners on in the second, the big blow a double to the wall off the bat of Angie Recknor. Taylor, however, got Hailee Nanchy to line to Sarah Baumgartner in center and Veronica Roberts to bounce out to short to thwart that rally.
That began a major roll for Taylor, who retired 15 batters in a row, four by strikeout. Erin Jones made a diving stab of a line drive by the first Minnesota hitter in the seventh and had four assists against a slap hitting team.
Montgomery's home run really ignited the Illini bats, which had seven hits on the day. Hamma was 2-for-3 for the game and extended her hitting streak to nine games, the most in Illinois' young history. Hamma led off the sixth with a single to left, advanced to second on the throw, and scored on a single from Montgomery.
"In the sixth everyone had a big good at-bat," Sullivan said. "We just needed an igniter. They say offense breeds offense and hitting breeds hitting. Monty provided the spark we needed
"Today's win was a big one for several reasons," Sullivan added. "We defeated a ranked team, we won over a conference team on the road, and it showed how this team can persevere after a tough game and come ready to play the next day. They showed a lot of maturity because in the game of softball you can't too up or too down."
