March 17, 2009
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -
Rightfielder Hope Howell's three-run blast and designated player Katrina Ross' grand slam powered the Illini (14-7) to an 11-3 victory over the Illinois State Redbirds (13-11) on a warm Tuesday evening at Kneer Stadium. Howell finished the day 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while Ross collected five RBIs on a 1-for-2 performance.
"We talked about coming out of the gate aggressively and the team carried that out," head coach Terri Sullivan said. "We were seeing the ball really well today and not only did we get solid hits, but also we were able to draw some walks. We stuck to our game plan and offensively, top to bottom, swung the bat well."
Illini pitcher Monica Perry (10-5) gave up just three runs on five hits while striking out five en route to the victory. Illinois tagged a trio of Redbird pitchers for 11 hits and collected eight walks, snapping starter Jordan Birch's (7-4) seven-game winning streak.
The Illini narrowly missed a chance to get on the board in the first inning after second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz led off with a walk and rightfielder Hope Howell followed with a base-hit. Catcher Lana Armstrong ripped a one-out single back up the middle, but Zymkowitz was thrown out at the plate, keeping things knotted at zero.
In the third, Illinois capitalized in a big way thanks to a pair of home runs. Centerfielder Jamie Adishian led off the inning with a single and Zymkowitz doubled to put runners at second and third before Howell drilled the ball over the centerfield wall for her second home run of the season.
"Hope makes such great contact with the ball because she has great hands," Sullivan said. "That home run got out of the park fast, and that comes from a confident hitter who aggressively attacks the ball. I would like to see our entire team do that game in, game out. Good things seem to happen when we have that approach."
After back-to-back singles and walk loaded the bases, Ross unloaded on a 1-1 pitch, blasting her first career grand slam over the leftfield wall to give the Illini a 7-0 advantage.
"Katrina is a terrific hitter," Sullivan said. "We knew she would bring that confidence to the plate with her. She's really unbeatable when she carries herself with that confidence. She showed a great work ethic this past week and it carried over into today's game."
The Redbirds responded in the bottom half of the inning with a three-run homer of their own to cut it to 7-3.
The Orange and Blue made up for the runs and then some in the fourth, putting up a four-spot to make it 11-3. Zymkowitz again led off with a walk and Howell knocked her third hit of the day before Pinchback reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases. After Zymkowitz charged home on a wild pitch, Armstrong re-loaded the bases with a walk. First baseman Meredith Hackett drove a deep fly to right to plate Howell, then Ross took a walk to add her fifth RBI of the day. Adishian put the nail in the Redbirds' coffin with an RBI-single to put the Illini up by eight runs.
Perry retired ISU in order in the fifth to seal the run-rule victory. Illinois is now 3-0 against in-state foes, including wins over Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois.
Illinois returns home to open the Big Ten season this weekend, hosting Penn State for a pair of games. The Illini and Nittany Lions will christen the 2009 season at Eichelberger Field on Saturday at 5 p.m. then conclude the series on Sunday at 2 p.m.
