Lady Blues Sweep St. Norbert to Grab Share of MWC Lead

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – With 8-0 and 4-1 victories over St. Norbert College on Saturday afternoon, the Illinois College softball team pulled the Green Knights back to the pack and tied them for the top spot in the Midwest Conference standings. The two wins, the fifth and sixth in a row for the Lady Blues, improve the team to 19-9 (11-3 MWC). St. Norbert drops to 13-13 (11-3 MWC).

Illinois College is back at it tomorrow, facing Lawrence University on Senior Day at 1 and 3 p.m. from Jessica Kamp Softball Field.

Game One: Illinois College 8, St. Norbert 0 (6 innings)
In spite of the wind that was blowing in throughout the afternoon, Illinois College hit St. Norbert starting pitcher Emma Molenhouse hard, scoring multiple runs in the second, third and sixth innings to end the game early. Mariah Hedged continued her excellent week, throwing a complete game and limiting the Green Knights to just four hits to improve to 10-2 on the season.

The big inning came in the second for IC. After Hedges got through the top half and left a pair of SNC baserunners stranded, Frankie Sikora started the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Elyce Trout. Katie Prizer then came through with her first big hit of the day, a two-run blast over the wall in left for a 2-0 lead. Marissa Knowles came up next and doubled, and Mikayla Greenwood reached on a fielder's choice to put two on with two outs. Back at the top of the order, Jackie Reilly lined a ball hard into right-center, bringing both runners home and making it a 4-0 game.

That would be more than enough for Hedges. After getting the final batter of the second inning, Hedges got the Green Knights in order the rest of the way, sitting down the final 13 hitters in the St. Norbert lineup. 

With Sikora and Trout on base in the third inning, Prizer brought them both in on a single to make it 6-0. The St. Norbert defense then combusted in the sixth inning, committing a pair of errors that allowed Hailey Lesser and Knowles to score, increasing the lead to 8-0 and ending the game early.

Game Two: Illinois College 4, St. Norbert 1
Jess Feig was equally dominant in the second game of the day, but had to overcome a handful of errors from the defense to keep the Green Knights at bay. Despite allowing an unearned run in the fourth inning, Feig fought through and picked up the complete game victory, giving up only four hits and improving to 6-0 on the season.

Illinois College committed a pair of errors in the top of the first inning, but Feig was able to strike out Amanda Diedrich swinging to end the inning and keep two runners from scoring. In the second inning, Prizer led off with a single after her grounder to second took a tough hop and trickled away from Diedrich. With two outs, Lesser singled into shallow right field and Prizer scored from second for a 1-0 lead.

A St. Norbert rally in the fourth inning was helped by an error that could have gotten the lead runner off base. Instead, the Green Knights loaded the bases with one out and scored on a Carley Frauenhoff single up the middle. Feig dug in and struck out Megan Yeo before getting Amy McBride to fly out to a hustling Lesser in center to end the frame.

Late in the game, some clutch hitting put St. Norbert away. Prizer once again started things off with a lead-off single. Pinch-runner DJ Troli was then forced out on a fielder's choice at third, but Lea Hall and Greenwood reached with one away. After Lesser flied out to a diving center fielder for the second out, Reilly smoked a triple to the wall in left-center, driving in two runs for a 3-1 edge. Next up, Shelby Koehler doubled to left-center to bring Reilly home and make it 4-1.

In the seventh, Feig issued a rare one-out walk, but Trout made a solid play defensively to snare a line drive for the second out of the inning and Leigh Grall flew out to Lesser in center field to end the game.