April 29, 2006

Final Stats

Ann Arbor, Mich. - For much of the day it appeared Illinois was going to post one of its most memorable victories in school history. Sophomore pitcher Claire DeVreese took a no-hitter and a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning against at No. 13 Michigan. Unfortunately for the Illini (23-27, 7-8 in the Big Ten), Michigan (33-12, 11-3) rallied for three runs in the sixth to capture a 3-1 victory.

"Claire DeVreese had the most outstanding pitching performance she has had yet in an Illinois uniform," said Illinois Head Coach Terri Sullivan. "We knew she had to throw a lot of innings to get the pitches working for her and she is doing that."

DeVreese allowed just two walks and no hits through the first five innings. Michigan superstar Samantha Findlay struck out and grounded out against her. DeVreese posted five strikeouts and gave up just three hits total on the day.

"I had a better warm-up than I did yesterday and BK called an outstanding game," DeVreese said of catcher Brittany Koester. "My pitches were working really well. No matter what pitches she called, I just threw it. I concentrated on throwing hard, hitting my spots and not giving up many hits."

In the last 15 games, DeVreese is 7-4 with a 2.12 ERA and has more strikeouts (29) than walks (24) in 76 innings pitched. Those numbers are even more impressive in Big Ten play where she has a 5-2 mark and a 1.74 ERA in the last nine conference games.

"I'm becoming more aware of what it takes to be a good pitcher in the Big Ten," DeVreese said of her late-season surge. "For starters, you have to have a lot of movement, and you can't make mistakes because there are so many great hitters in the league."

Michigan starter Jennie Ritter, who gave up just one hit in a 5-0 Michigan win on Friday, matched DeVreese's output through the first three innings, retiring the first 10 batters she faced, four by strikeout. Then up stepped senior slugger Jenna Hall, who, like Ritter, is among the 25 finalists for USA Softball Player of the Year. Hall laced a line drive over the left-field fence for a home run in the fourth to give Illinois a 1-0 lead.

The home run was Hall's 13th of the season, which establishes a new Illinois single-season record, held previously by Erin Montgomery. This is actually the second time that Hall has broken the record. Her homer against Indiana in the second game of the doubleheader, was wiped out because rain forced the cancellation of the contest before it became an official game.

"Remarkable is really the only word to describe how well Jenna is playing for us," Sullivan said. "You want your seniors to have great years and their experience to show, but it's not easy. Everyone knows to pitch her incredibly difficult. The mindset and calmness to see the ball that well against a great pitcher makes you realize you are in the presence of a very special player."

"It means a lot," said Hall of the record. "Erin Montgomery is a good friend of mine. She's been rooting me on ever since the season started."

Rachelle Coriddi also tied Illinois' single-season stolen base record, which she set in 2003, with a seventh-inning swipe of second, her 23rd steal of the year.

All the momentum, however, came to an abrupt halt in the sixth. Michigan catcher Becky Marx delivered a two-out single, scoring Stephanie Bercaw from second to tie the game. A pair of Illinois errors led to two more unearned runs in the inning.

Ritter, who struck out 14 on Friday, had 10 Ks on Saturday, including four in the final two innings to secure her 21st victory of the year. Kacey Coonce had the only other hit off of Ritter on the day.

"We fell short in not making mistakes, and you can't do that against a great team," Sullivan said. "We had a lot of momentum and felt the game was ours if we continued to execute, but we didn't do that in the end.

"The biggest lesson learned is how well Claire can throw. Her pitches were moving well. She was throwing with confidence. Her challenge, like all the great pitchers, is to do that on a consistent basis. Everyone on our team believes that any time, any place, they have the ability to win if they reach their competitive greatness now. Confidence is half the battle. We need to keep that confidence going into a couple of big games tomorrow at Michigan State."

The Illini and Spartans meet for two in East Lansing Sunday at 11 a.m. CDT.