May 6, 2003
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When it comes to consistency in Big Ten softball, Illinois ranks right up there with the best in the Big Ten. The Illini advanced to their third straight Big Ten Tournament, becoming the only school to do that in their first three seasons. In fact, only Illinois, Michigan and Iowa have qualified for the Big Ten Tournament each of the last three seasons.
Illinois, the number four seed, opens play Thursday at Noon. against Minnesota. The winner of that contest meets top-seeded Iowa in the final game of the day at 5 p.m.
BIG TEN SOFTBALL HISTORY
The Big Ten first sponsored softball in 1982 with seven charter members -- Michigan won the first conference tournament that season followed by Ohio State, Northwestern, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State. Penn State joined the league in 1992, Purdue in 1995, Wisconsin in 1996 and Illinois in 2001.
The Big Ten revived the conference tournament in 1995.
ILLINOIS STACKS UP WELL AGAINST
YOUNG BIG TEN PROGRAMS
Illinois finished this season at 11-7 in the Big Ten in its third season in the league making the Illini 33-24 in their first three seasons of Big Ten play. Of the other programs that joined the Big Ten in softball since its inception, the Illini had by far the biggest impact -- Penn State was 14-68 in its first three years (4-22, 4-24 and 6-22), Purdue was 34-42 (8-20, 12-11 and 14-10), and Wisconsin was 21-50 (3-21, 10-13 and 8-16).
BIG TEN TEAMS LAST THREE YEARS (PLACES)
ILLINOIS ALL-TIME AGAINST THE FIELD
ILLINOIS RIDES RECORD WINNING STREAK
Illinois posted its longest winning streak in school history from April 7-20.That broke the old mark of ten set April 11-21, 2001. In fact this is the third straight year that Illinois has gone on a good run through the middle of April. Last season Illinois won eight straight from April 7-19.
The Illini out-scored opponents 39-18.
Five of the 11 wins were the come-from-behind variety.
Amanda Fortune appeared in nine of the 11 games, pitching 46.2 innings going 8-0 and posting a save.
GOOD FORTUNE
Amanda Fortune won eight straight from April 2-20.
Fortune had 18 straight scoreless innings from April 2-9 and posted back-to-back shutouts against Bradley and Michigan.
With 24 wins, Fortune has set a personal record for wins in a season. Her previous best was 21 set two years ago. Kathryn Nevard won 26 games that year, the Illini all-time single-season record.
Fortune hasn't missed a start this season after off-season surgery for a torn bicep.
Teams are batting .223 against Fortune this season and she has given up just 22 walks in 184.1 innings pitched. Fortune has just nine walks in 65.0 innings pitched in Big Ten play.
Three times Fortune has inherited bases load, one-out situations in the past two weeks as she has come into the game in relief. She gave up just one run in those three outings
ILLINI HAVE SUCCESS AT EICHELBERGER FIELD
Illinois was 9-2-1 this season at Eichelberger Field bringing the Illini to an all-time mark of 35-9-1 in three seasons at home.
Illinois was 12-4 in 2001 that included two shutouts of No. 12 Iowa (3-0 and 1-0).
Last season Illinois went 14-3 at home with the three losses coming to the league's top two teams Michigan and Iowa. In fact, of the eight losses at home, five have come to the Wolverines and Hawkeyes.
The Illini are 23-7 at home in the Big Ten. The only losses other than to UM and Iowa was to Minnesota, 1-0 in 2001 and 6-0 to Penn State on April 5 of this year.
Illinois has outscored opponents 179-81 in 45 games at Eichelberger Field, an average of 4.0 runs to 1.8.
ILLINI AND THE RANKINGS
Illinois entered the NFCA/USA Today rankings for the first time in school history at No. 3 on April 8 at No. 24. Illinois moved up to 23 on April 15, then to No. 21 on April 22. The Illini were ranked No. 24 last week.
2003 ILLINOIS SOFTBALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Illinois won two tournaments -- the Maverick Classic hosted by Texas-Arlington on Feb. 7-9 and the Cox Communication Classic, hosted by the University of Florida on Feb. 21-23. That marks the third tournament Illinois has won in school history, having claimed the Sam Houston State Tournament to start the 2001 season.
The Illini won three games against ranked teams this season. Illinois has defeated No. 14 Michigan (4-0), No. 21 UMass (6-4) and No. 24 Georgia Tech (3-2). Illinois has lost to No. 3 Washington (9-1), No. 12 Stanford (7-6) and No. 14 Michigan (12-4), and No. 24 South Florida (1-0). The Illini are 1-1 against Florida, a team that is also receiving votes.
At 37-13-1, the Illini have their best winning percentage in school history.
Erin Montgomery has set the Illini single-season home run record with 11. Amanda Fortune has taken over the career record for career wins (49) and strikeouts (283).
Illinois recorded its 100th victory in program history with a 9-0 win over St. John's. The program is currently 133-77-1 in its four years.
Amanda Fortune and Sherri Taylor combined for the Illini's first seven-inning no-hitter in two years. The duo faced the minimum number of batters (27), with the two base runners being erased on a caught stealing and another on a double play.
Illinois received its first national ranking on April 8 with a 24th rating in the USA Today/NFCA poll. Illinois moved up to No. 23 then to No. 21 on April 22.
The Illini set a school record with their 11th win in a row against Wisconsin. The Illini won a pair of games in their last at bat in keeping the winning streak alive. Jenna Hall had a walk-off home run vs. Wisconsin after delivering a two-out double in a 3-2 comeback win over Minnesota
Illinois has 13 come-from-behind wins this season.
Sherri Taylor posted Illinois' first ever perfect-game in a 13-0 win over Valparaiso.
Illinois qualified for its third straight Big Ten Tournament, one of only three schools to do so the past three seasons.
Illinois ranks 15th in the nation in attendance average (438)
The Illini have set a record for most triples in a season (10)
The Illini have a slugging percentage of .414, the best of any year in the program. They had a .363 slugging percentage last year and a .337 percentage in 2001.
RECORD SETTING DAY
A crowd of 809 fans enjoyed the Illini's 12-1 win over Minnesota on April 19. Illinois scored eight runs in the first inning which is tied for most runs in an inning in Illini history. Illinois scored 10 runs in the first inning vs. North Carolina A&T on March 15, 2002. The Illini had nine hits vs. Minnesota in the first inning, which set a new mark for hits in an inning.
SARTINI CUTS DOWN RUNNERS
Not too many opponents have dared to run on Illini catcher Janna Sartini this year or throughout her career. This season for example, Illinois has stolen 71 bases in 101 attempts, a 70.2 percent success rate. Opponents, meanwhile have just attempted 34 bases and been successful 18 of those times, a success rate of just 52.9 percent. Last season, opponents stole 14 bases in 23 attempts against Sartini, who missed 16 days to injury. In 2001, opponents stole 28 bases in 54 at-bats . Overall, opponents have 60 stolen bases in 111 attempts (54 percent clip) against Sartini in her three-year career. In that same span Illinois has 234 stolen bases in 310 attempts (75 percent clip).
HALL OF THUNDER
Jenna Hall has been the hottest hitting Illinois player of late. She has raised her average to .329, the highest her average has been since February.
Hall posted a nine-game hitting streak from April 18-29 and has hit safely in 16 of her last 19 games.
Illinois had two come-from-behind victories against Minnesota. Hall had two clutch game winning hits against Minnesota and Wisconsin, In the Minnesota game with Illinois trailing 2-0 going into the bottom of the sixth, Hall delivered a two-out, two-run double to tie the score, then scored the winning run on a single from Erin Montgomery. In that game, Hall was 3-for-3. Until the sixth, she had the only two hits off of Minnesota ace Piper Martin.
Her biggest at-bat came against Wisconsin in the first game of a doubleheader. After Wisconsin scored two runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 4-4, Hall hit a two-out walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh,
For the week, Hall batted .471 (8 of 17) with a double a home run and 9 RBI. She had at least one RBI in each game this week, all Illinois wins.
During Big Ten play that week, Hall was 7 for 12 (.583) with a double, home run four runs scored and 7 RBI.
Hall also had four hits against #6 DePaul, who has one of the top pitchers in the country in Lindsay Chouinard.
Hall is batting .408 in Big Ten play.
ILLINOIS HAS THREE WINS OVER RANKED TEAMS
Illinois entered Big Ten play this season having defeated every conference team but one. The Illini took care of that in game one of the Big Ten season with a 4-0 victory over the Wolverines on March 28. Amanda Fortune tossed a five-hit shutout and the Illini got some timely hitting. Jenna Hall took an 0-2 pitch and drilled it over the centerfielder's head plating Lindsey Hamma in the fourth. Then with the bases loaded, Erin Montgomery cleared the bases with a three-run double, giving Illinois a four-run lead in the sixth.
The win over Michigan marked the third victory over a ranked opponent this season Illinois defeated No. 24 Georgia Tech, 3-2 at the Cox Communications Classic on Feb. 21. The Illini defeated No. 21 Massachusetts, 6-4 on March 9 in Plant City, Fla.
ALL-TIME VS. RANKED TEAMS
The highest ranked team that Illinois has beaten in history was No. 12 Iowa. The Illini swept a doubleheader against the Hawkeyes on April 14 and 15, 2001, winning 1-0 and 3-0.
The Illini are 10-19-1 all-time vs. ranked opponents. They were 5-2 in 2001, 2-10 in 2002 and 3-7-1 this season.
ILLINI ADD TO HOMER MARK
Although the Illini have been solid on pitching and defense, the biggest reason for Illinois' 37-13-1 record has been the resurgence of the offense. Illinois has 31 home runs this season compared to 16 homers all of last season and 20 the year before.
Illinois has a slugging percentage of .414 compared to .363 last year and .337 the year before.
Erin Montgomery has set a new single-season home run record with her sixth roundtripper of the year at Eastern Illinois. She now has 11 for the year.
TAYLOR TOSSES PERFECT GAME
Sherri Taylor tossed Illinois first perfect game on April 29 in a 13-0 win over Valparaiso. Taylor struck out nine batters in the first four innings and didn't allow a ball out of the infield. By the end of the game, the Illini had many players playing different positions. Rachelle Coriddi leaped to make the final out at second base.
Taylor and Amanda Fortune combined for a no-hitter in a 2-0 win over IUPUI on April 9. That was Illinois' first seven-inning no-hitter since March 27, 2001 when Kathryn Nevard no-hit Valparaiso.
CORIDDI SETS SEASON STEALS MARK
With her 19th stolen base of the year against Wisconsin, Rachelle Coriddi broke the Illini's single-season steals mark. Erin Jones stole 18 bases last season. Coriddi is now 22 of 26 in the stolen base department this season
SLICK FIELDING CONTINUES
Jenna Hall has continued the Illini tradition of playing tremendous in the field. The freshman has yet to commit an error in 348 chances. The rest of the infield -- Lindsey Hamma (.956), Erin Jones (.960), and Katie O'Connell (.953)-- each have lifetime fielding percentages of over .950. In 2002, Illinois ranked sixth nationally with a .974 fielding percentage. This season Illinois has a .972 fielding percentage which is third in the Big Ten.
REGIONAL SITES ANNOUNCED
The NCAA announced the sites for the eight regionals to be held May 15-18. The schools are not guaranteed a spot in the tournament, but will play at home if selected. The eight regional sites are Tuscaloosa, Ala. (U. of Alabama); Tucson, Ariz. (U. of Arizona); Fullerton, Calif. (Cal State-Fullerton); Gainesville, Fla. (U. of Florida); Fresno, Calif. (Fresno State); Ann Arbor, Mich. (U. of Michigan); Lincoln, Neb. (U. of Nebraska); and Austin, Tex. (U. of Texas). The College World Series is May 22-26 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
For the first time, the NCAA Division I Softball Field will be expanded to 64 teams, so the regionals will be a double elimination tournament with eight teams each. Although Illinois, if selected, could be sent to any of the eight sites, the NCAA strongly considers geography when seeding each site. Last year the Big Ten sent six teams to the tournament -- Minnesota and Penn State played in Minneapolis; Michigan and Ohio State played at Ann Arbor; and Iowa and Wisconsin played in Iowa City.
