Feb. 17, 2011
Printable Complete Week Two Notes 
Games 6-10 // Blue & Gold Felsberg Memorial Tournament
FIU Softball Complex; Miami, Fla.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb. 18: vs. Providence, 10 a.m. CT
vs. #17 Georgia Tech, 12 p.m. CT
Saturday, Feb. 19: vs. Pittsburgh, 2 p.m. CT
at Florida International, 5 p.m. CT
Sunday, Feb. 20: vs. Providence, 8 a.m. CT
OPPONENT INSIDER
The Illini continue their season in Miami, Fla., as one of five teams set to take part in the Blue & Gold Felsberg Memorial Tournament. Held at Florida International University, the BIG EAST Conference's Providence and Pittsburgh as well as 17th-ranked Georgia Tech from the ACC will join the Illini and host-FIU in Florida. In program history, the Illini are 7-1 against teams set to participate - with three victories over FIU and two each against Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech.
The Illini open and close Felsberg Memorial Tournament play with games against the Providence Friars on Feb. 18 and Feb. 20, with the first game serving as the Friars' season-opener and the first meeting between the programs.
In 2010, Providence finished 22-28 overall and 10-12 in BIG East play. Now-senior Justine Stratton led the Friars lineup last season, hitting .329 with nine doubles, four home runs and 28 RBIs. Stratton's classmate, Christy Becker (.300 BA), and current junior Michelle Huber (.311) also connected at a rate of .300 or higher for the Friars last year, combining to total 69 hits, 49 runs scored, 11 doubles, five home runs and 34 RBIs as key members of the Providence lineup.
The Providence pitching staff returns both starters who eclipsed the 100 innings mark in 2010 with junior Corinne Clauss (126.2 IP) and sophomore Alicia Grosso (111.1) back in the circle in 2011. This duo totaled 18 wins against 17 losses last season, giving up 90 earned runs on 246 hits and 94 walks while striking out 119 batters.
The second game of their Feb. 18 doubleheader will pit the Illini against the nationally-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Last season, Georgia Tech finished 51-11 overall and 19-2 in ACC play - falling in the NCAA Tournament Atlanta Regional final to Oregon.
Kristine Priebe led all returning Yellow Jackets in batting average, finishing with a .331 clip to go with 18 doubles, 12 home runs and 59 RBIs last year. Georgia Tech also returns three more players who batted at least .300 on the season in 2010 with junior Kelsi Weseman (.330) and sophomores Caitlin Jordan (.322) and Hope Rush (.302) in the 2011 lineup.
Rush was also a leader on the pitching staff as the team's ace in 2010 - finishing the year with a 1.98 ERA in 222.1 innings pitched. Kristen Adkins, who currently sports a 0.00 earned run average in 15 innings this season, was also a solid contributor as a junior in 2010 - totaling an 8-2 record and 2.30 ERA in 88.1 innings.
Pittsburgh ended 2010 with a 27-25 overall record and 10-11 mark in BIG EAST play. Now-senior Ashley Amistade was the most consistent contributor in the Panthers' lineup in 2010, finishing the year with a .320 average on 57 hits, with all but three of them being singles.
The Pittsburgh staff had two pitchers split the workload in an almost identical manner. Current senior Cory Berliner totaled 166.1 innings, finishing the season with a 2.06 ERA in 32 appearances. Berliner allowed 156 hits, 49 earned runs and 30 walks while striking out 103 batters. Classmate Alyssa O'Connell also appeared in 32 contests, wrapping up the year with a 2.16 ERA in 165 innings. O'Connell was charged with 51 earned runs on 154 hits while striking out 113.
FIU had a successful year in 2010, closing out the season with a 38-21 overall mark as well as a 17-7 finish in Sun Belt Conference action, reaching the Gainesville Regional final. Brie Rojas earned SBC Freshman of the Year after batting .407 with 10 doubles, eight home runs and 40 RBIs in 167 plate appearances. With the graduation of Kasey Barrett, now-junior Jenn Gniadek assumes control of the rotation as the returning ace. In 2010, Gniadek pitched 144 innings, earned a 2.82 ERA with 82 runs, 68 walks and 118 strikeouts.
WEEKEND RECAP
Illinois finished 2-3 in its season-opening tournament, the Getterman Classic, at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Illinois opened with losses to UTSA, 11-10, and Baylor, 4-1, on the first day of competition. The Illini bounced back with wins over McNeese State, 11-2, and UTSA, 9-2, to reach the Getterman Championship Game where the Orange and Blue fell to Baylor, 3-1.
Meredith Hackett led the Illinois offense, totaling seven hits in 15 at bats during the weekend. Hackett crushed two home runs against UTSA while the junior first baseman found a way on base in every game. Hollie Pinchback also produced at the plate for the Illini, hitting .353 with one double, one home run, four RBIs and five runs scored while playing perfect defense in right field.
HACKETT CAN HIT
Through the first tournament of the season, junior Meredith Hackett has proved her preseason All-America (ESPN) and Player of the Year candidacy to be a deserving nomination. The Corona, Calif., native is hitting .467 with a 1.067 slugging percentage in five games. Hackett has three doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs in only 15 plate appearances. Hackett leads the team in average, hits (7), total bases (16), doubles, home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage (.526). The Santiago High School graduate also leads the conference in doubles and total bases and is second in slugging percentage, home runs and RBIs.
NO EASY OUTS
Five games into the season, six Illini are connecting for a hit in at least 30% of the plate appearance. First baseman Meredith Hackett lead all batters with a .467 average followed by right fielder Hollie Pinchback (.353). Third baseman Kelley Wedel and shortstop/leftfielder/designated player Jessica Davis each sport a .333 average. Second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz has collected five hits in her 12 most recent at bats to increase her average to .316 while shortstop/leftfielder Danielle Vaji has totaled four base knocks in 13 trips to the plate for a .308 average.
As a team, the Illini are hitting .305, good for second in the Big Ten Conference in batting average. Illinois is also second in at bats (141), runs (32), hits (43), doubles (8), RBIs (27), total bases (67) and slugging percentage (.475) while they lead the league in triples. The Orange and Blue lineup has also produced at a high enough rate to reach the top-5 in walks, on-base percentage and stolen bases.
RECAPPING 2010
Another All-American: First baseman Meredith Hackett earned NFCA All-American honors following a stellar sophomore season, becoming the third Illini to earn All-America status. Hackett led the Big Ten with a .418 batting average, blasting 16 home runs to go with 11 doubles. Hackett also led the Illini in slugging percentage (.804), total bases (123), walks (29) and on-base percentage (.516). After her phenomenal season, Hackett now leads all current and former Illini with a career .641 slugging percentage.
All-Big Tens All Around: The Orange and Blue set a new program record with six All-Big Ten selections during the 2010 season. Senior Hope Howell, junior Danielle Zymkowitz and sophomore Meredith Hackett each earned First Team All-Big Ten honors while junior Hollie Pinchback, sophomore Monica Perry and freshman Pepper Gay were each named to the Second Team. The previous record was set in 2009 when five Illini earned All-Big Ten recognition.
Off to the Races: Junior Danielle Zymkowitz again led the Illini in stolen bases, finding success in 36 of her 37 attempts. With this high output on the base paths, Zymkowitz set the single-season stolen base record, previously held by Rachele Corriddi, who stole 23 in 2003 and 2007. Zymkowitz also took control of the career stolen base percentage mark, having found success in 70 of her 80 attempts since her freshman year in 2008.
First-Year Impact: Freshman pitcher Pepper Gay earned Illini Female Newcomer of the Year after finishing with a 16-1 record to go with a 1.46 earned run average. Gay set the program single-season mark for strikeouts per seven-inning contest, fanning an average of 6.88 per game. The Georgia native threw a total of 115 innings on the season, striking out 113 opponents against only 91 hits.
Howell Finished Strong: Senior Hope Howell concluded her final season in Orange and Blue by setting nearly every personal record possible. Howell reset her career-bests in batting average (.418), at-bats (180), runs (51), hits (74), home runs (seven), RBIs (41), total bases (110), slugging percentage (.611), on-base percentage (.455) and fielding percentage (1.000). For her career, Howell finished with a .342 career batting average to go with 215 hits, 37 doubles, 16 home runs and 112 RBIs. Howell was equally as impressive in the field, only committing eight errors in 264 chances for a .971 career fielding percentage.
RPI: Illinois finished in the top-20 in schedule difficulty yet again, sitting among 2010 Women's College World Series participants such as Missouri, Georgia, Hawaii and Tennessee. The Illini's top-20 ranking in 2010 marks the third consecutive season head coach Terri Sullivan has schedule one of the 50 most difficult slates in the nation.
No Extra Innings Necessary: In their 48 victories, the Illini did not see extra innings in a victory for the first season since 2006. The 2010 schedule also marked the first year in which the Illini did not play extra innings during any contest, completing a full seven-inning game 40 times, while ending due to the NCAA-mandated mercy rule after six innings in four games and after completing five innings in the remaining nine match-ups.
Don't Call It A Comeback!: After Ohio State scratched out one run in the top of the seventh to tie its April 10 meeting with the Illini at 2-2, the Orange and Blue may have looked to be destined for their first extra-innings contest of 2010. However, junior Ashley Conrad stepped to the plate as the first Illini batter of the final frame and belted a two-strike home run over the left field fence at Eichelberger Field to send Illinois out with a 3-2 victory over the Buckeyes. On the day, Conrad finished 2-for-3, having opened the fifth inning with a single. This walk-off home run also marks the first of Conrad's career.
Senior Send-offs: The Illini sent seniors Bailey Behrens, Hope Howell and Ashley Wright out convincingly, shutting out the Minnesota Gophers, 10-0, in five innings on May 15. Wright pitched two innings of relief to close out the regular season for Illinois, striking out four batters without allowing a baserunner. Howell led the Illini at the plate, finishing the day 3-for-3 with four RBIs on a double and home run to go with two runs scored.
Combo No-No: Illinois hurlers Monica Perry and Ashley Wright also made 2010 Senior Day memorable by teaming to notch the only Illini no-hitter of the season. In five innings, the Gophers only recorded one baserunner, with Perry issuing a walk to the first batter of the game before setting down the next three Minnesota players on a sacrifice bunt, fly ball and pop up. Perry went three innings to earn the win, striking out five before Wright took over to close the books, needing only 69 pitches between the duo to complete play. For Wright, this marks the second year in a row she has been involved in a no-hitter, having combined with Taylor Call to record a 9-1 no-no against Prairie View A&M on Feb. 21, 2009. Perry also recorded a no-hitter during the 2009 season, blanking Wisconsin on April 4 for the Illini's first-ever Big Ten no-hitter.
In-State Success: The Illini proved their superiority against Illinois-based institutions, finishing 11-1 overall. The Fighting Illini downed Bradley during the Children's Hospital Invitational in Columbia, Mo., 5-1, to record their first victory of the season versus Illinois teams. The Orange and Blue followed with victories over Eastern Illinois, Southern Illinois, Illinois State and Northwestern in the regular season before downing DePaul twice during NCAA Tournament action to reach the regional final.
Raking From Top To Bottom: The Fighting Illini produced eight starters who hit better than the league average of .270 at the plate in 2010; the first time in team history eight of the nine starters produced at least this average in a season. Meredith Hackett, Hope Howell and Danielle Zymkowitz led the way for the Illini, with each earning over a .400 average. Jessica Davis finished her season with a .298 clip followed closely by Hollie Pinchback's .296 mark. Audrey Gallien hit .288 in her first season as the full-time catcher while Danielle Vaji immediately bounced back from season-ending injury five games into the 2009 slate by producing a .285 mark in 2010. Kelley Wedel rounded out the group by finishing with a .272 average in her second season as a starter in the Illini infield.
Bombs Away: The Orange and Blue finished 31-4 when slugging at least one home run during a contest in 2010, finishing the season with 60 homers, second among all Big Ten teams. The Illini opened the season by hitting one or more home runs in each of the five UNLV Sportco Kock-Off Classic games, finishing with a 5-0 mark in the process. Illinois tallied at least one home run in a season-high nine consecutive contests, beginning with Hope Howell and Kelley Wedel going yard against Penn State on April 18 until Meredith Hackett, Hollie Pinchback and Audrey Gallien notched the difference in the Illini's 10-6 win over Iowa on May 5. Illinois also produced a season-high three home runs in five contests, downing Radford, Florida Gulf Coast, Loyola-Chicago, Indiana and Iowa by a combined score of 36-10 in the process.
