March 25, 2004

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The Week Ahead

Illinois plays in its final pre-conference tournament of the season this weekend, traveling to the Stanford Classic. The tournament is a five-team round-robin tournament with the third-place and championship games slated for Sunday.

The host Cardinal is ranked No. 13 in the nation and bring a 22-7 record into the week. This will be the first meeting between Illinois and Stanford. The Cardinal had a seven-game winning streak snapped on March 21 with a 3-2 loss to UIC.

Stanford shut out No. 14 Fresno State 7-0 on Wednesday. Illinois lost to Fresno State 3-0 on March 19 in the Kia Classic. The Illini meet Stanford at 4 p.m. CST on Saturday. The Illini also play BYU (Friday at noon), Hawaii (Friday at 2 p.m.), and UC-Riverside (Saturday at 8 p.m.). The best two records after pool play will compete for the championship on Sunday while the next two best records compete for third place.

BYU enters the tournament 14-7, defeating two Illinois opponents (Drake, 12-1; and Indiana, 2-0). Hawaii is 16-16, having played Northwestern (L, 1-0) and Southern Illinois (won one out of three meetings), Wisconsin (W, 7-5) and DePaul (W, 8-7). UC-Riverside is 10-24, having lost to Indiana (5-1), Michigan State twice, Wisconsin (10-2) and #15 Fresno State (9-0). UCR is coming off a 5-2 win over Central Connecticut.

Illinois is 16-9-1 on the season, having played 11 games against ranked opponents. The Illini went 2-4 at the Kia Classic, one of the top tournaments in the country, last weekend.

Rachelle Coriddi leads the Illini with a .406 batting average after going 12-for-21 at the Kia. Amanda Fortune threw a three-hitter in the last loss to Arizona.

Big Ten play starts April 2 vs. Michigan State. Northwestern also comes to town on April 4.

A Look Back

Illini played in one of the most prestigious softball tournaments in the country over the weekend, participating in the 23rd Annual Kia Classic, hosted by Cal State-Fullerton. The Illini defeated #23 Arizona State 4-2 and DePaul 11-0 to advance to the tournament semifinals. The Illini nearly defeated #1 Arizona, but fell 2-0 in the semifinals. The Wildcats lost 7-6 to Washington in the title game.

Individual Heroes - Rachelle Coriddi batted .571 for the tournament (12 for 21) with a double, a triple, two RBI and four runs scored. Erin Jones batted .316 playing in front of her hometown crowd.

Game-by-Game Recap

#1 Arizona 4, Illinois 1 - Illinois had multiple opportunities to score against Arizona All-America pitcher Alicia Hollowell, but couldn't push one across until the seventh. Second baseman Katie O'Connell, who came into the contest batting .366, belted a home run over the left field fence accounting for the Illini's only run.

#7 Oklahoma 5, Illinois 2 - Illinois had ten base runners in the first four innings, but managed only one run. All but one of the runs scored in the contest came on home runs. Oklahoma out-hit Illinois 8-7 and had two home runs in the contest. Lindsey Hamma (2-for-3) and Rachelle Coriddi (2-for-4) each had two hits on the day for Illinois.

#15 Fresno State 3, Illinois 0 - The Bulldogs out-hit Illinois, 10-2. Amanda Fortune gave up two earned runs in her 2 1/3 innings of work. Coriddi and Erin Jones had the only two hits for Illinois.

Illinois 4, #23 Arizona State 2 - Jenna Hall (2-for-3) drove in all four of Illinois' runs on a pair of two-run doubles. Rachelle Coriddi scored two of those runs and went 3-for-4 on the night. Jackelyn Diekemper (1-0) made her first start of the season and recorded the victory. Diekemper went 4 2/3 innings after closing the game against Fresno State, just her second appearance of the year. She retired 10 of 11 batters and allowed only three base runners in her first four innings.

Illinois 11, DePaul 0 - Lindsey Hamma and Rachelle Coriddi combined to go 5-for-6 with five RBI and two runs scored. Illinois scored two runs in the first, two in the second, three in the third, and four in the fifth, pounding out 15 hits, which ties for the fourth-most in Illinois school history. Eight of Illinois' 11 runs were scored by the bottom half of the order. Senior Katie O'Connell went 2-for-2 with a walk and three runs scored. Junior LeeAnn Butcher was 3-for-3 with two bunt singles, an RBI, a stolen base, and three runs scored.

#1 Arizona 2, Illinois 0 - Illinois gave the number one team in the nation all it could handle on Sunday. Facing Arizona All-American Alicia Hollowell (24-0), Illinois out-hit the Wildcats 4-3 and had a base runner in six of the seven innings. The Illini put together rallies in both the fifth and sixth. A runner was called out trying to score on a sacrifice fly.

2004 Highlights

* The Illini defeated No. 15 Texas A&M twice en route to the Aggie Invitational title on Feb. 22. Illinois also beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi twice and Boston University once. The Illini compiled a .993 team fielding percentage, and a 0.60 team ERA in the three-day tournament.
* Illinois defeated Southern Miss 2-0 in a rain-shortened five-inning game that was the only game played in the Florida State Sunshine Classic.
* Illinois battled back to tie No. 4 Oklahoma for the championship of the LSU Tiger Classic. The game ended knotted 2-2 after seven innings because of travel constraints. The Illini defeated No. 14 LSU in semifinal play and tied the Sooners after losing to both teams on the first day of the tournament.
* The Illini advanced to the semifinal of 24-team Speedline Invitational, winning its six-team pool with victories over Hofstra, Villanova, UNLV, and Tennessee Tech. Rachelle Coriddi and Amanda Fortune were named to the All-Tournament Team.
* Erin Montgomery hit a two-run home run off Lisa Fernandez as Illinois nearly upset the U.S. Olympic Team. The USA squad prevailed, 3-2. Amanda Fortune threw well, retiring the Olympians in order in four of the seven innings. She also didn't allow a walk while striking out four, including Team USA slugger Crystal Bustos.
* Made it to the semifinals of the prestigious Kia Classic and nearly upset #1 Arizona. The Illini defeated #23 Arizona State (4-2) and DePaul (11-0).

Inside the Numbers

* Amanda Fortune had a streak of 45 straight scoreless innings from Feb. 8-March 5. That included 10 apperances, five starts and four complete-game shutouts.
* Jenna Hall hit two home runs in the victory over Texas A&M on Feb. 20.
* Rachelle Coriddi has four of Illinois' 11 individual four-hit games. She became the first player in school history to post two four-hit games in the same weekend.
* Katie O'Connell is having by far her best season at the plate, batting .316 with five doubles, one triple, one home run and seven RBI for a .519 slugging percentage. O'Connell entered the season with a .225 batting average.
* The loss to Illinois State was the first by the Illini against a Missouri Valley Conference opponent. Illinois is now 11-1 vs. the Valley all-time.
* As usual, Illinois is a strong fielding team with a .971 fielding percentage. Illinois has finished in the Top 15 nationally in that category the last two seasons at .974 and .973, in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
* Not too many players steal on Janna Sartini. This season only 14 runners have successfully stolen bases on Sartini (25 attempts). Opponents have just 74 stolen bases against Sartini in 196 games for her career (132 attempts).
* Opponents are hitting just .177 with runners on base against Illinois.
* Rachelle Coriddi has a hit in 25 of the 28 games this season. She had a hit in every game of the Kia Classic.
* Teams are batting just .124 with two outs against Amanda Fortune.
* The Illini have 11 pinch hits on the season. Elene Planinsek is 4-for-6 in that role this season.

Team Notes

* Illinois pitching has been solid in the past five games, giving up four runs in the past 35 innings. In fact, opponents have scored in just one inning in the past three games - and that was by #1 Arizona. The Illini team ERA has dipped to 1.54.
* Illinois plays 12 of its 20 Big Ten games at home with just two Big Ten road trips at Purdue and Indiana (April 9-11) and Minnesota and Wisconsin (April 30-May 2).
* Of the six teams that qualified for the Big Ten Tournament the last three years, Illinois is one of only three teams to reach that tourney in each of those three years. Michigan and Iowa are the only other teams to also participate in the last three Big Ten Tournaments.
* This year's team has eight seniors, most of which have played nearly every game in the last four years. Katie O'Connell has started 212 games at second base, Lindsey Hamma all 213 games at shortstop, Erin Jones 212 games at third, Erin Montgomery 210 games in the outfield, Sarah Baumgartner 196 games in the outfield, and Janna Sartini 196 behind the plate.
* The Illini had a ten-game unbeaten streak from Feb. 7-Feb. 22, going 9-0-1. Illinois allowed just seven runs in those ten games that included a 2-2 tie with Oklahoma.
* Shorty Eichelberger is more than just the one who made the Eichelberger Field facility possible. She travels to most of the team's road games.

Individual Player Notes

* Rachelle Coriddi batted .571 (12 of 21) at the Kia Classic. She is proving to be a clutch performer, hitting .452 with runners in scoring position and .429 with runners on base. Coriddi also has driven in a runner from third base with less than two outs at a .500 rate.
* After batting in the third spot most of last year, Hamma has settled into the role as a lea-off hitter. Illinois is 18-7-1 with Hamma in the No. 1 spot, and she is batting .529 when she leads off any inning. Hamma still contributes as a run producer, driving in 11 RBI (second on the team) while being successful in advancing runners at a .591 clip.
* Erin Montgomery hit her 20th career home run against Illinois State. Montgomery is the career leader in that category.
* Although freshman Molly Lawhead has been used primarily as a pinch runner, she has started five games, including the last four at designated player. She has two doubles and seven runs for the year.
* With her performance against Drake, Sherri Taylor increased her scoreless inning streak to 14 and posted her second straight shutout. She has 15 strikeouts in those 14 innings, and has allowed only two walks.
* Elene Planinsek and Katie O'Connell were high school teammates at Joliet High School. Their coach was Katie's father, Dale. The Steelwomen won the 2000 Illinois High School Class AA state title.
* LeeAnn Butcher and Erin Montgomery were high school teammates at perennial power Casey-Westfield, which won the 2000 IHSA Class A state championship.
* Erin Jones returned to her hometown of Fullerton, Calif., over the weekend and batted .316 (6 for 19) in the Kia Classic, increasing her batting average 35 points to .216.
* Janna Sartini and Sherri Taylor are returning to near their hometowns this weekend at the Stanford Classic. Sartini is a native of Galt, Calif., while Taylor is from Stockton, Calif.
* Erin Montgomery has 44 doubles for her career, six away from the 50 mark.
* Janna Sartini has increased her numbers as the all-time career leader in being hit by a pitch. She has been hit six times this year and 28 times in her career.

General Notes

Quotable
"Michigan was the pre-season Big Ten favorite. Conference prognosticators should make room for Northwestern, playing very well in the winter tournaments, and now Illinois , which won't back down from anyone." -- spysoftball.com following the Kia Classic

Coriddi, Fortune nab honors
Rachelle Coriddi and Amanda Fortune have both won Big Ten honors already this season, Coriddi taking Big Ten Player of the Week March 9 for her outstanding effort at the Speedline Invitational. Coriddi hit .500 for the tournament, including two four-hit games. She was the first Illini player ever to have two four-hit games in one weekend of play. Coriddi also scored four runs and swiped four bases on the weekend.
Fortune won Big Ten Pitcher of the Week on February 24 for her efforts at the Texas A&M Aggie Invitational. She threw a scoreless 18.2 innings, including a complete-game, five-hit shutout against the No. 15 Aggies. Fortune was 3-0 in the tournament with a save and 12 strikeouts. She allowed opponents a scant .177 batting average over the weekend.

ILLINI BATTLE TEAM USA TO THE WIRE
Illinois gave the U.S. Olympic team its best competition so far in Team USA's Aiming for Athens tour, falling 3-2 at the Speedline Invitational. Before playing Illinois, Team USA had outscored opponents 106-6 and had run-ruled eight of its ten opponents.
The Illini jumped in front 2-0 after Erin Montgomery blasted a two-run home run off Lisa Fernandez, but the Olympic team tied the game 2-2 after four innings. Fortune struck out Crystl Bustos, one of the top hitters in the world, but eventually gave up a walk-off home run to Jenny Topping that lifted Team USA to a 3-2 victory.

ILLINI PROMOTIONS
April 2 -Schedule Magnet Day
April 3 - Camper Reunion Day
April 4 - High School Team Day
April 14 - Midweek Mania - Day 3
April 16 -17 - Spring Sports Festival
April 24 - World's Largest Softball Tailgate Optimist Club Youth Day/ FREE admission for everyone
April 25 - Girl Scout Day *
Run the Bases/Autograph Day
April 27 - Midweek Mania - Day 4 * Illini Student Athlete Day and Home Run Derby
May 5 - Midweek Mania - Day 5 * College Night
May 8 - Dog Day
May 9 - Senior Day

Illinois 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 13-23-2 all-time vs. ranked opponents. They were 5-2 in 2001, 2-10 in 2002 and 3-9-1 in 2003 and 3-3-1 this season.
A look at the scores:
2/23/2001, Illinois 1, #16 Florida St. 0
2/25/2001, #16 Florida State 2, Illinois 0
3/18/2001, Illinois 3, #18 So. Miss. 1
3/24/2001, Illinois 1, #21 Wisconsin 0
4/14/2001, Illinois 1, #12 Iowa 0 $
4/15/2001, Illinois 3, #12 Iowa 0 $
5/12/2001, #15 Iowa 11, Illinois 2 *
2/24/2002, #5 California 8, Illinois 0
3/29/2002, #24 Minnesota 2, Illinois 0
3/30/2002, Illinois 2, #24 Minnesota 0
4/5/2002, #19 Iowa 8, Illinois 2 $
4/6/2002, #19 Iowa 5, Illinois 4 $
4/21/2002, #22 Ohio St. 6, Illinois 5
4/21/2002, #22 Ohio St. 5, Illinois 2
4/26/2002, #11 Michigan 3, Illinois 1 $
4/30/2002, #18 DePaul 3, Illinois 0
4/30/2002, #18 DePaul 5, Illinois 4
5/9/2002, Illinois 3, #22 Iowa 2 *
5/9/2002, #20 Ohio State 5, Illinois 0
2/21/2002, Illinois 3, #24 Georgia Tech 2
3/6/2003, #24 South Florida 1, Illinois 0
3/8/2003, #12 Stanford 7, Illinois 6
3/9/2003, Illinois 6, #21 UMass 4
3/21/2003, #3 Washington 9, Illinois 1
3/28/2003, Illinois 4, #14 Michigan 0
3/29/2003, #14 Michigan 12, Illinois 4
4/24/2003, #6 DePaul 3, #21 Illinois 0$
4/24/2003, #21 Illinois 1, #6 DePaul 1 (10) $
4/27/2003, #24 Iowa 8, Illinois 0 (6)
4/27/2003, #24 Iowa 7, Illinois 0
5/9/2003, #23 Iowa 3, Illinois 2 (8)
5/16/2003, #16 Alabama 4, Illinois 2 %
2/6/2004, #4 Oklahoma 7, Illinois 0
2/6/2004, #14 LSU 7, Illinois 3
2/8/2004, Illinois 7, #14 LSU 2
2/8/2004, Illinois 2, #4 Oklahoma 2
2/20/2004, Illinois 5, #15 Texas A&M 0
2/21/2004, Illinois 4, #15 Texas A&M 3
3/17/2004, #1 Arizona 4, Illinois 1
3/18/2004, #7 Oklahoma 5, Illinois 2
3/19/2004, #15 Fresno State 3, Illinois 0
3/19/2004, Illinois 4, #23 Arizona State 2
3/21/2004, #1 Arizona 2, Illinois 0
$ Home games
* Big Ten Tournament
%NCAA Tournament