Feb. 22, 2009

Box Score

HOUSTON - The Illinois softball team completed a perfect 5-0 weekend with a 5-4 victory in extra innings over the No. 19/24 Texas A&M Aggies (9-7) on Sunday at the Marriott Houston Invitational. Combined with the win over No. 18/21 Houston on Friday, the Illini (10-4) defeated two different ranked opponents in the same weekend for the first time in program history.

Illini pitcher Monica Perry (6-3) fanned a career-high 10 batters as she went the distance, allowing four runs on seven hits. Illinois tagged Aggie pitcher Rhiannon Kliesing (6-4) for 5 runs on six hits.

"Monica pitched outstanding," head coach Terri Sullivan said. "She came up with championship-caliber strikeouts under pressure against really mature hitters. She was a great leader for the team because of her presence and very focused to execute some outstanding pitches."

Catcher Lana Armstrong led the Illini offensively, going 3-for-3 on the day with all four Illini RBIs. Overall in the tournament, Armstrong batted .571 with 10 RBIs.

"I'm proud of Lana's performance not just offensively but behind the plate as well," Sullivan said. "To come up with the home run and the key early hit showed leadership and desire. You've got to have the will to win in games like that and we know she's going to come up big for us again throughout the season. She was also terrific behind the plate because she gave Monica confidence to throw all her pitches. She's a wall back there."

The Illini jumped out to an early lead, scoring in the first inning for the fourth time in the last five games. Second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz led off with a single, extending her hitting streak to 14 games. Two batters later, the Texas natives gave their home fans something to cheer about as leftfielder Hollie Pinchback knocked a fielder's choice to put runners at the corners. With two outs, catcher Lana Armstrong delivered a double off the wall in right-center to plate both runners for the 2-0 lead.

"We have different goals within games and one of those is to come out and play aggressive," Sullivan said. "We set the tone early and showed we were there to play."

Perry shut down the Aggies until the fourth when they cut Illinois' lead in half thanks to an RBI single. A&M loaded the bases before Perry worked out of the jam with a strikeout to end the inning.

Armstrong continued to be a thorn in Kliesing's side, taking the first pitch she saw in the sixth over the centerfield wall for a two-run shot to give the Illini a 4-1 cushion. After the Aggies picked up two quick outs to begin the inning, Illinois collected back-to-back hits as Pinchback singled before Armstrong blasted her third homer in the last four games.

The Aggies tied the game in the bottom of the seventh when leftfielder Kelsey Spittler knocked a two-out double off the wall with the bases loaded, sending it into extra innings.

"What showed incredible maturity for Monica was after (the Aggies) tied it up, she didn't let it bother her and got next batter out," Sullivan said. "She came out again and was dominant in the eighth. She had fun playing with pressure and that excites this team."

With shortstop Ashley Conrad at second due to the international tiebreaker, Zymkowitz knocked a grounder to the third baseman but her throw to first was off the mark. The ball rolled behind the first baseman, allowing Conrad to charge home for the go-ahead run. Perry clamped down in the bottom of the eighth, striking out the first two batters before getting a pop up to clinch Illinois' fifth straight win, 5-4.

Next up the Illini travel to Gainesville, Fla., for the Cox Communications Invitational beginning Friday, Feb. 27. Illinois opens the tournament against Texas Tech at 8 a.m. (CT) and concludes the day at 10:15 a.m. against Pacific. The Orange and Blue will also face USF and No. 2 Florida twice.