Friday, September 26, 2008 11:28 PM CDT
Another shutout has Mattoon in state softball semifinals
By BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
NORMAL -- Kacey Starwalt was great throughout and Mattoon’s offense came alive in time.
“Typically, we’re a third- or fourth-inning team,” Mattoon Middle School softball coach Jenny Nolte said. “It takes us one or two times through the order. It took us until the fifth today but the fifth inning is better than the seventh inning.”
Shelby Tate’s two-out, two-run triple in the fifth inning broke up the scoreless duel and Mattoon went on to beat Wenona Fieldcrest 7-0 Friday in the quarterfinals of the IESA Class AA state softball tournament.
That was more than enough support for Starwalt, who pitched a two-hitter with 15 strikeouts sending Mattoon, 18-0, into today’s noon semifinal at Champions Fields in Normal against Edwardsville Lincoln.
Beecher and Glen Elly Hadley are to play at 10 a.m. in the first Class AA semifinal.
Winners are to play at 4 p.m. for the state championship after a 2 p.m. third-place game.
Tate went 3-for-4 in Friday’s game.
She had had singles in her first two at bats and was on second base when Melanie Sparks’ deep drive was caught in center field to end the third inning.
That kept the game scoreless going into the fifth when Kaitlyn Bath started things with a one-out walk.
Karley Weber bunted for a hit and then with two outs Tate hit her triple down the left field line bringing home the pinch-runner Courtney Gard and Weber.
Sparks followed with a double to left-center field to make it 3-0.
In the sixth inning, Dulcey Weaver singled, stole her third base of the game and scored when Bath reached on an error.
Sparks singled and scored in the top of the seventh on Jamie Packer’s second hit of the game.
Starwalt had a stretch of seven straight strikeouts before a pop up for the second out of the seventh inning.
“Kacey did an awesome job,” Nolte said. “The last couple of games she’s had strikeout after strikeout.”
This was the fourth straight shutout in the postseason by Mattoon’s pitchers.
Now the Lady Wildcats are in the state’s final four for the first time since 2005 when they placed second in their first year playing IESA softball.
“Just having the nerves out of the way will help ups,” Nolte said. “The kids were so excited. Now they know what they are coming to see.”
Mattoon 000 031 3 - 7-10-0
Fieldcrest 000 000 0 - 0-2-3
Winning pitcher: Kacey Starwalt 7 innings, 15 strikeouts, 0 walks
MATTOON: Shelby Tate 3-for-4, triple, 2 RBIs, stolen base; Melanie Sparks 2-for-4, double, RBI; Jamie Packer 2-for-4, RBI, stolen base; Dulcey Weaver, 1-for-4, 3 stolen bases; Shelby Cox 1-for-1; Karly Weber 2-for-3
Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 235-6856.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
|
