March 22, 2006

Urbana, Ill. - The 2006 edition of the Fighting Illini continues to make progress as the start of Big Ten play is just over a week away. The Illini will have the final pre-conference tune-up this weekend at the Stanford Invitational. The five-team event includes No. 5 Stanford, Princeton, UC-Davis, and Santa Clara. The Illini are 9-12 on the season, but are picking up momentum heading into the close of the first half of the season.

Thanks to 32 hits in their final two games and a .353 team average at the Capital Classic over the weekend, the Illini moved to the top of the Big Ten in batting average with a .304 clip. The line-up itself has picked up a lot of balance, as evident by production at the bottom of the order. Junior Molly Lawhead, the eighth-place hitter in the line-up ,earned a spot on the Capital Classic All-Tournament Team after batting .583 with a double, two RBI and four runs scored. Kisten Martin has settled in a the designated player spot and hit her second home run of the year against Southern Utah, 10-0 Illinois victory.

"We have a lot of talented players and that has been evident during the first half of the year," said Illinois Head Coach Terri Sullivan. "We're at point now where everything is starting to come together and all the players are committed to getting the job done."

That is also evident with the pitching staff where freshman Kacey Coonce was strong at the end of the USF/Adidas Tournament two weeks ago and sophomore Claire DeVreese did the same in Sacramento. The Illini allowed just five hits against a powerful line-up from No. 6 California. DeVreese did not allow a run or a hit vs. the Golden Bears in three innings of relief then tossed a five-hit shutout vs. Southern Utah.

"We have improved in all areas of our game from the start of the year," Sullivan said. "Most notably has been the progress of our pitchers. It may not be evident in some our numbers because of the stiff competition we have faced, but Claire and Kacey are getting better every outing."

One step that the coaching staff has taken is to pair a starter with a particular catcher through the last two weeks. Junior Brittany Koester has caught DeVreese and freshman Lana Armstrong has called the game for Coonce.That has helped in familiarity and confidence, Sullivan said. The Illini have only three complete games on the year (all from DeVreese), and DeVreese has appeared in all 21 contests thus far. The sophomore made her first appearance in the Big Ten leaders in batters struck out looking (23) this week.

The top of the order continues to be loaded. Senior Jenna Hall leads the Big Ten in batting average (.485) and has a sizable advantage over league competitors in slugging percentage (.970 to second place .667). Despite playing a few less games than many of the teams in the conference, the Illini have three of the top five players in doubles, three of the top seven in RBI, two of the top six in runs scored and two of the top five in home runs in the Big Ten.

The Stanford Tournament gives Illinois another crack at knocking off a ranked opponent in No. 5 Stanford, who enters the tournament at 22-4. The Illini have already downed No. 10 Baylor and No. 23 Virginia Tech. The Illini defeated then No. 20 Northwestern in the final game of the 2005 Stanford Classic. Illinois has two games with Princeton, who has only played nine games thus far and posted a 6-3 record, but have already knocked off a Big Ten foe in Minnesota. UC-Davis (8-14) and Santa Clara (10-16) round out the field.