Lady Blues Win Once on Final Day in Florida

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – A split on Friday by the Illinois College softball team against Montclair State University and Rowan University ended the Spring Break trip for the Lady Blues with an overall record of 5-5. IC got to Montclair State's pitching in the early going of an 11-6 victory. Rowan was able to answer a big inning from Illinois College with one of its own, coming from behind to down the Lady Blues, 7-6.

Illinois College returns to the Midwest for four more neutral-site games on March 16 and 17. The Lady Blues play Illinois Wesleyan University and DePauw University on March 16 at 2:30 p.m. (EST) and 5:00 p.m. (EST) in Westfield, Ind.

Game One – Illinois College 11, Montclair State 6
Illinois College scored early and often, putting up eight runs in the first three innings, to provide enough cushion to hold off Montclair State's comeback bid, winning 11-6. Sam Seggerman went 2-for-2, scoring twice, and contributed two RBIs.

Jackie Reilly walked to lead off the Illinois College first, then stole second to put herself in scoring position. Four batters later, Savanna Brady found a hole through the right side for a single, bringing home Reilly for the first run of the game.

With a walk, a hit by pitch, and a fielder's choice that didn't result in an out, IC loaded the bases in the bottom of the second. Shelby Koehler stepped up and laced a bases-clearing double down the left-field line, extending the Lady Blues' lead out to 4-0, and also prompting a pitching change from Montclair State.

The Lady Blues found themselves with the bases loaded again in the third following a walk and two singles. An error from the shortstop allowed Hailey Lesser to reach on a fielder's choice, which brought in Jessica Belzer and Elyce Trout, giving IC a commanding 6-0 advantage. Reilly then launched a ball over the center fielder's head for a double, bringing in two more Lady Blues runs, pushing the margin to 8-0.

In the fourth inning, three consecutive walks loaded the bases for Montclair State. One run was pushed across on a fielder's choice, giving the Red Hawks their first run of the game. After reloading the bases, Montclair State picked up a second run on a bases-loaded walk. A sacrifice fly capped the inning for MSU, bringing the score to 8-3 through three-and-a-half innings.

Back-to-back singles from Trout and Belzer put the Lady Blues in scoring position with two outs in the bottom half of the fourth. Seggerman drilled a double to left-center, and was caught at third trying to extend it into a triple. However, before the out, Trout and Belzer hustled around the base paths to score, pushing Illinois College's lead back to seven runs, 10-3, entering the fifth inning.

Montclair State earned three runs back in the fifth, as a leadoff single followed by a walk set up Amber Powers, who cranked a three-run shot over the left-center fence, pulling the Red Hawks within four, 10-6. Illinois College picked up some insurance in the bottom half of the frame, with Christin Mathias singling in Reilly from third, giving the Lady Blues an 11-6 lead.

Feig (2-1) sealed the deal for Illinois College, holding Montclair scoreless in the final two innings, giving IC the game one victory. In six-and-two-thirds innings, Feig only allowed five hits, while striking out four.

Game Two – Rowan 7, Illinois College 6
Illinois College represented itself well against an opponent receiving votes in the Division III Top 25 poll in the final game of the trip. The Lady Blues had a big inning in the fifth, scoring five runs to take a 6-2 lead, but the Owls answered back with five of their own and held on from there to get the win.

Single runs by Rowan in the first and third innings against Mariah Hedges allowed the Owls to take a 2-0 lead into the fourth. The Lady Blues had their first real threat of the game in the top of the fourth, loading the bases with one out before Rowan erased one opportunity by throwing out a runner at home on a groundout for the second out of the inning. Seggerman worked a walk following that, forcing in Trout from third to make it 2-1.

In the top of the fifth, the Lady Blues batted around to take a 6-2 lead, scoring five runs on three hits and an error. A Maddy Morgan single plated Reilly to tie the game at 2-2, and that was followed by a Brady fielder's choice grounder to get Frankie Sikora across for a 3-2 lead. A Rowan error on a Trout ground ball allowed another run to score, this time with Morgan getting in from third. With two down and the bases loaded, Lesser singled to left to score Brady and Trout.

Rowan was quick to get back in it, drawing a walk and then hitting a two-run homer to make it 6-4. Later on, there were two outs with the bases loaded when Rebecca Lombardo doubled and cleared the bases, putting the Owls back ahead.

In the sixth, Sikora led off with a single and Morgan singled after her, but a poor call by the umpiring crew led to an out that helped stem the tide. With one on and one out instead of two on and no outs, Brady hit a hard grounder that turned into a 6-3 double play to end the inning. IC could manage just a two-out walk from Mikayla Greenwood in the seventh as Rowan closed it out.