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For Immediate Release
March 23, 2010
Illinois-Springfield Takes Two From Red Devils
EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka College softball team rallied to force extra innings in the opener of Tuesday’s non-conference doubleheader against Division II member Illinois-Springfield, but the Prairie Stars scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning to take game one, 3-2. Illinois-Springfield swept the doubleheader with a 13-4 win in game two.
UIS took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Brooke Carroll singled home Brianne Moeller. The Prairie Stars extended their lead in the fourth inning on a run-scoring infield single from Abby Sparks. The second run of the game was unearned.
Eureka started the sixth inning with a single from senior catcher Cathy Kalnicky (Bolingbrook, Ill./Plainfield H.S.) and a double from freshman outfielder Lauren Kao (Normal, Ill./Normal Community H.S.). Two batters later, senior third baseman Jill Doty (Metamora, Ill./Metamora H.S./Illinois Central) singled up the middle to score Kalnicky from third, but Kao was cut down at the plate trying to score from second base by a throw from center fielder Tina Buck. A groundout ended the inning with the Prairie Stars in front, 2-1
The Red Devils tied the game in the bottom of the seventh when Kalnicky’s single scored sophomore shortstop Carissa Alig (Metamora, Ill./Metamora H.S.) from second base. The Red Devils recorded three consecutive singles, all with two outs, to force the 2-2 tie and extra innings.
Playing international tiebreaker rules, each team had several chances to win the game in extra innings before Illinois-Springfield pushed the go-ahead run across in the top of the ninth. Buck hit a sacrifice fly to score Moeller for the 3-2 lead. The Red Devils loaded the bases on the bottom half of the inning after a walk to senior Amy Scammahorn (Decatur, Ill./Warrensburg-Latham H.S./Parkland) and another single from Kalnicky, but Moeller coaxed a lineout to end the game with the winning run at second base.
Kalnicky and Alig went 3-for-5 to lead the Red Devils in the opener, while Kao went 2-for-3 with her fourth double of the season. Senior starting pitcher Kelsey Brandt (Morton, Ill./Morton H.S.) was solid through nine innings, allowing only one earned run and striking out eight. Moeller allowed 11 hits and walked five in nine innings, but picked up her second victory of the season.
UIS broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning of game two with a pair of runs for a 3-1 lead, then broke the game wide open with five more runs in the fifth for an 8-1 advantage. Eureka responded with a three-run double from Alig in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 8-4 in favor of the visitors, but UIS scored five more runs in the seventh for a 13-4 lead.
Kalnicky added two more hits in game two, including her second double of the season. Eureka collected seven hits in the nightcap.
Eureka will open St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend with four games against four different opponents in a span of 24 hours in Springfield, Ill. Eureka will open play against Principia at 2:30 p.m. on Friday before taking on Spalding at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, Eureka will play Fontbonne at 10 a.m. before closing the four-game weekend against MacMurray at noon.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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