May 9, 2002

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Illinois softball went 1-1 on the first day of the Big Ten Softball Tournament. The sixth seeded Illini, upset third-seeded and 22nd-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, 3-2, in the first game, but couldn't make it two in a row against ranked teams, falling to No. 19 Ohio State, 5-0. Illinois (33-23) meets Wisconsin at 8:30 a.m. CDT in an elimination game on Friday.

Illinois (33-22) came into the tournament with just 13 home runs in 52 games, but nailed back-to-back homers in the second inning against Iowa. That inning started with a walk to Janna Sartini on four pitches. Montgomery failed twice to try to sacrifice her over, but took the two-strike pitch off Iowa All-American Kristi Hanks and hit it out to the deepest part of the ballpark.

"I didn't think ball would carry that far," said Montgomery. "I've been seeing the ball a lot better lately and have adjusted my hands a little. To hit the homer off an All-American is pretty awesome, but any time you can trot around the bases is something special."

The next hitter, Katie O'Connell, took a 3-2 offering over the left-field fence to make it 3-0 Illinois. The Illini, who went 0-2 against Iowa this year, led 3-0 in the second game of the series with Hawkeyes in Champaign, only to fall 5-4 on April 6. Iowa came back again on Thursday with two runs in the bottom of the second. Liz Dennis doubled home Christina Schmaltz from first. Two outs later, Kristen Johnson drove home Laura Chipman from third.

Illinois managed just three hits on Friday while Iowa had eight, but just three hits after the second. The Illini's Sherri Taylor retired eight in a row at one time and struck out five for the game.

"Sherri has really matured mentally," said Illinois Head Coach Terri Sullivan. "We had to win four in a row just to get here, and Sherri has some of her best performances over the last two weekends."

The game was not without its drama. Iowa's Lindsey Bashor doubled with one out and advanced to third on a ground out. But Taylor struck out Sarah Thompson swinging for the game's final out.

"Going into any tournament, whether it be pre-season or post-season, we try to focus on winning the first game," said Sullivan. "It was a hard-fought contest. We're not normally a home run hitting team, but we'll take it."

The second inning scoring continued against Ohio State, unfortunately the Buckeyes were the beneficiary, scoring four times in the second.

Kristine Himes led off the Ohio State second with a long home run off Illini starter Abby Lovejoy (10-2). Uncharacteristically, the defense let the Illini down the rest of the inning. After two Illini errors led to one more Buckeye run, the Big Ten's leading hitter, Anna Smith delivered a two-out single, making it 4-0.

First Team All-Big Ten selection Lindsey Hamma had three of Illinois' five hits on the day. The other two came in the second. A double by Alicia Hammel and a single by Sarah Baumgartner gave Illinois its best scoring chance, but the Illini were unable to score against Wendy Allen (17-4).

Himes delivered her second homer of the day, a solo shot off of Illinois reliever Sherri Taylor to complete the scoring.

"In tournament games, defense often sets the tone for the offense," said Sullivan. "We didn't play up to our capabilities defensively and it hurt us in the second inning.

"We're fired up to play tomorrow," added Sullivan. "Our goal is to be aggressive and score early."

Illinois is 5-1 against Wisconsin in the last two years. The two teams split a pair of games on Easter Sunday.