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For Immediate Releasejacksonville, illinois
April 22, 2009
Tomi taps out MacMurray with 1st career homer
Game 1 Boxscore
Tomi Tapper (East Peoria, Ill./HS) hit her first career home run and Nicole Ropp (Minonk, Ill./Fieldcrest) drove in the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the sixth as Eureka College earned a split in SLIAC softball doubleheader action at MacMurray College Wednesday. Both teams won in the their final at bat with MacMurray walking off with a 6-5 victory in game one thanks to a run in the bottom of the seventh before Eureka won by the same count in the nightcap.
Cathy Kalnicky (Bolingbrook, Ill./Plainfield), who was the winning pitcher in game two, used her great all-around talents to get the Red Devils (10-20, 4-8 SLIAC) off to a fast start in the opener by blasting her 10th career homer in the first inning for a 2-0 lead.
MacMurray (7-23, 3-7 SLIAC) came back to tie the game at 2-2 after the second, but EC regained the lead in the next half-inning with back-to-back two-out hits. Ropp hit the first of her two doubles on the day and came home on an RBI base hit by Jill Doty (Metamora, Ill./HS).
The tide turned in the fourth when MacMurray plated a pair of unearned tallies to take a 4-3 lead, its first of the day. The Highlanders gave one back in the fifth as two errors allowed Amy Scammahorn (Decatur, Ill./Warrensburg-Latham) to tie the game. MacMurray see-sawed back on top 5-4 in the bottom of the frame only to see Tapper reach base on error to start the sixth and score the tying run on a two-out RBI single by Allie Trainer (Manito, Ill./Midwest Central).
The score remained tied at 5-5 until the bottom of the seventh when MacMurray pushed across the winning run on a fielder's choice. It was the third unearned marker against EC pitcher Kelsey Brandt (Morton, Ill./HS), who allowed just three earned in 6.1 innings pitched. She walked two and struck out four.
Trainer went 2-for-3 with an RBI for her first career multi-hit game. Kalnicky became the first ever EC player to reach double digits in career home runs. She has three this season.
In game two, the Red Devils had the lead off batter reach base in all six chances and scored in four of those innings to reach double figure wins for the sixth consecutive season. Ropp, Tapper and Carissa Alig (Metamora, Ill./HS) recorded two hits each to make sure Eureka never trailed.
A bizarre inference play deflated Eureka's chances of taking control in the opening frame after EC had filled the bases with no outs, but the Red Devils did not miss their chance in the second. After three walks loaded the bases with one away, Alig, who had already singled in the first, knocked in two runs with a double. Eureka made to 3-0 in the third when Ropp and Doty reached on base hits ahead of an RBI double by Tapper.
Kalnicky showed little rust for someone who had not pitched in over one month. MacMurray managed just one hit and no runs against the junior righthander through the first 13 batters of the contest. The Highlanders enjoyed great success hitting with two outs, though. They recorded a .545 average (6-for-11) in game one and a .467 clip (7-for-15) in game two. Their two-out attack eventually allowed them to tie the game at 3-3.
It did not stay tied for long, however, as Tapper followed a lead off walk to Doty with her first collegiate home run to give Eureka a 5-3 advantage. MacMurray rallied back once more in the sixth, featuring a two-out triple by Beth Boyer and subsequent double be Rikki Jenkins that tied the score for a second time in the game and sixth time on the day.
The Red Devils secured the lead for good in the sixth as Alig drew a walk to begin the inning, went to second on a sacrifice bunt, moved over to third on a ground out and crossed the plate on Ropp's clutch double. Alig was 2-for-3 in the game with two runs batted in as well. Ropp finished 2-for-4 with a run and RBI.
Kalnicky set down the Highlanders in order in the seventh to improve to 2-1 in the circle for the year. She walked just one in the complete game, allowing five runs in seven innings.
Tapper set a career-high with two runs scored and matched her career-high with three RBIs. She also accounted for one of Eureka's seven walks in game two, while only two Red Devils were called out on strikes.
Eureka will close out the 2009 season with Senior Day for Nicole Ropp and Abby Segal on Saturday, April 25 against Fontbonne University starting at 1:00 pm. The Senior Day ceremonies will take place between games against the Griffins, who have won five consecutive games and sit in third place in the conference standings.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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