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For Immediate Releaseeureka, illinois
April 30, 2008
5 school records fall as season concludes for red devils
EUREKA — The Eureka College softball team dropped its season finale to 19th ranked Illinois Wesleyan University Tuesday evening in Bloomington. The Titans, who were the regular season champions of the CCIW, tallied three runs in the first inning en route to a 6-0 victory.
Eureka pitcher Abby Segal (Peoria, Ill./Limestone) entered the game in the second inning. She kept the Red Devils (15-16) close by allowing three runs on six hits, one walk and four strikeouts in five innings. Her strikeout of Lisa Norotsky of Illinois Wesleyan (29-7) in the fourth inning was Eureka's 136th strikeout of the season, setting a new single season school record. Individually, Segal ended the season with 93 strikeouts, which is tied for the third most in a season for a Red Devil with Donita Williams (1992).
Segal surrendered just 75 hits in 106 innings pitched during the season, easily setting a new EC school record in opponent's batting average against at .192. The previous mark was .210 set by Eureka Hall of Famer Amy Mulvaney in 2001. Segal was ranked 28th in the country for fewest hits per seven innings entering play this week.
Although she was held to an 0-for-2 with a walk by the Titans, Cathy Kalnicky's (Bolingbrook, Ill./Plainfield) 2008 season ranked in the top five in three offensive categories, including home runs (second most with four), doubles (tied for third most with 14) and batting average (fourth highest at .443). Kalnicky entered the week ranked 19th nationally in doubles.
She also helped Eureka defensively, setting a single season record with a .994 fielding percentage. As a team, the Red Devils, who are ranked fourth in the country in double plays turned, set a school record in fielding percentage at .954. The previous best defensive mark of .951 had been set in 2002 by Eureka's first NCAA Tournament team. Eureka also set a team record in stolen base percentage at 89.6 percent (43 stolen bases in 48 attempts).
Brittany Gardner (Mooresville, Ind./HS) and Jill Doty (Metamora, Ill./HS) recorded Eureka's two hits in the game. Gardner was one of five to play their final game in a Red Devils uniform, joining fellow seniors Emily Forbes (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais), Natalie Lardi (S. Wilmington, Ill./Gardner-S. Wilmington), Brandi Payne (Eureka, Ill./HS) and Nicole Pitts (Pekin, Ill./HS).
Natalie Chase drove in two runs and Christy Engel tossed four shutout innings to improve to 17-3 on the season to lead Illinois Wesleyan to the win.
Eureka head coach Karen Sweitzer will announce her team awards at the E-Tribe Softball Banquet set for 6:30 pm Wednesday, May 7 in the Terrill Rooms of the Cerf Center.
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For More Information Contact:
Brian Sullivan |
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